Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)

1988

Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)

Critics Consensus

Cinema Paradiso is a life-affirming ode to the power of youth, nostalgia, and the the movies themselves.

90%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 73

97%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 65,414

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Movie Info

Cinema Paradiso offers a nostalgic look at films and the effect they have on a young boy who grows up in and around the title village movie theater in this Italian comedy drama that is based on the life and times of screenwriter/director Giuseppe Tornatore. The story begins in the present as a Sicilian mother pines for her estranged son, Salvatore, who left many years ago and has since become a prominent Roman film director who has taken the advice of his mentor too literally. He finally returns to his home village to attend the funeral of the town's former film projectionist, Alfredo, and, in so doing, embarks upon a journey into his boyhood just after WWII when he became the man's official son. In the dark confines of the Cinema Paradiso, the boy and the other townsfolk try to escape from the grim realities of post-war Italy. The town censor is also there to insure nothing untoward appears onscreen, invariably demanding that all kissing scenes be edited out. One day, Salvatore saves Alfredo's life after a fire, and then becomes the new projectionist. A few years later, Salvatore falls in love with a beautiful girl who breaks his heart after he is inducted into the military. Thirty years later, Salvatore has come to say goodbye to his life-long friend, who has left him a little gift in a film can. In 2002, over a decade after the film's original release, Tornatore brought the original 170-minute director's cut to American screens for the first time. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Cast

Salvatore Cascio
as Salvatore As A Boy
Philippe Noiret
as Alfredo
Marco Leonardi
as Salvatore As An Adolescent
Jacques Perrin
as Salvatore As A Man
Agnese Nano
as Young Elena
Brigitte Fossey
as Adult Elena
Pupella Maggio
as Maria
Antonella Attili
as Young Maria
Enzo Cannavale
as Spaccafico
Isa Danieli
as Anna
Nino Terzo
as Peppino's Father
Roberta Lena
as Lia
Leopoldo Trieste
as Fr. Adelfio
Nicola Di Pinto
as Madman
Leo Gullotta
as Bill Sticker
Giorgio Libassi
Beatrice Palme
Ignazio Pappalardo
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Critic Reviews for Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)

All Critics (73) | Top Critics (20)

  • Cinema Paradiso is much loved, though I have occasionally been the man in the Bateman cartoon: the reviewer who confessed to finding Cinema Paradiso a bit sugary and the kid really annoying.

    Dec 12, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • A bald-faced act of unalloyed, weapons grade sentimentalism in which humanity is drained of anything with even a passing resemblance to a soul.

    Dec 12, 2013 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    David Jenkins

    Little White Lies
    Top Critic

  • Returning to cinemas in spiffily remastered form ... the film retains its wide-eyed charm, pitched halfway between unrestrained romanticism and unknowing kitsch.

    Dec 9, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Guy Lodge

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • The heightened symmetry of this new/old Cinema Paradiso makes the film a fuller experience, like an old friend haunted by the exigencies of time.

    Jul 19, 2002 | Rating: 4/4

    Tom Keogh

    Seattle Times
    Top Critic

  • In the director's cut, the film is not only a love song to the movies but it also is more fully an example of the kind of lush, all-enveloping movie experience it rhapsodizes.

    Jul 19, 2002 | Rating: A

    Eric Harrison

    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic

  • The film's final hour, where nearly all the previous unseen material resides, is unconvincing soap opera that Tornatore was right to cut.

    Jul 19, 2002 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

    Terry Lawson

    Detroit Free Press
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (73)

Audience Reviews for Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo Cinema Paradiso)

  • Apr 16, 2013
    Paradiso is gorgeous film making. A true love story of cinema and how the appeal of an old theatre and its projectionist have on a budding movie lover.
    John B Super Reviewer
  • Mar 09, 2013
    "Cinema Paradiso" is a charming drama about friendship, childhood and the magic of cinema. Philippe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio are the standout performers; they have excellent chemistry during the first hour, which is the film's best part. After that, their friendship is put on hold for a good forty minutes while a sluggish romantic subplot takes center stage. While the romance is touching, it's nowhere near as interesting as the relationship between the two main characters. But even though its greatness is diminished by this, "Cinema Paradiso" is a fantastical experience worth any film lover's time.
    Stephen E Super Reviewer
  • Dec 30, 2012
    (For the original, shorter cut)
    Louis R Super Reviewer
  • Dec 02, 2012
    A filmmaker's film made with love and appreciation for the art, Cinema Paradiso is a beautiful piece of cinema that's unforgettable!
    paul o Super Reviewer
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