Stars: Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Agnes Nano, Salvatore Cascio

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Summary: In this delightful Academy Award-winning film, a young boy (Marco Leonardi) in a small Italian village is overjoyed when the local movie projectionist (Philippe Noiret) reveals to him the mysteries of moviemaking, beginning his lifelong love affair with cinema.

A nostalgic look at a young boy's coming-of-age in postwar Italy and his fascination with a small local cinema, CINEMA PARADISO from director Giuseppe Tornatore is a famed and beloved classic.

'Alfredo is dying'... those words jolt the successful filmmaker Salvatore (played as a child by Salvatore Cascio, as a teen by Marco Leonardi, and as an adult by Jacques Perrin), into contemplating his childhood and the hours he spent in the projection booth of his adored local movie theater, Cinema Paradiso. Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), owner of the moviehouse, befriended and encouraged young Salvatore, known as 'Toto' as he grew up in his small Sicilian home town, ravaged by the horrors of the war. The cinema offered escape and fantasy to the townspeople, including Toto's mother, a grieving war widow. In one breathtaking scene a popular comedy is projected onto the walls of the town square and the entire town glows in the dreamy light of projected celluloid, washing away the harsh realities of poverty and grief. As Toto grows to manhood, his friendship with his mentor deepens. With the love and guidance of the aging man, Toto navigates the trials of first love and builds on his ever-growing passion for the cinema. Ultimately, it is Alfredo who convinces Toto to leave his village to pursue his dreams of becoming a director. But as Salvatore thinks back on his youthful romances and his innocent love of movies, he comes to realise that perhaps his success has come at a very high price. A beautifully filmed tribute to the power of movies that captivated an entire generation of filmgoers, CINEMA PARADISO is an unforgettable masterpiece.

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Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful 1988 film about a little boy's love affair with the movies deservedly won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. Philippe Noiret plays a grizzled old projectionist who takes pride in his presentation of screen dreams for a town still recovering from World War II. When a child (Jacques Perrin) demonstrates fascination not only for movies but also for the process of showing them to an audience, a lifelong friendship is struck. This isn't just one of those films for people who are already in love with the cinema. But if you are one of those folks, the emotional resonance between the action in Tornatore's world and the images on Noiret's screen will seem all the greater--and the finale all the more powerful. --Tom Keogh

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen, 14:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	Italian
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1989
Release Date:	April 28, 2003
Runtime:	168 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	F C D 128
Keywords:	Subtitled, Two, Version, General, Wide, Screen, Italian, Paradiso, Drama, Cinema, Discs, Theatrical
Genre:	Drama