Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Cinema Paradiso 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 30, 2020

Cinema Paradiso has turned up repeatedly in my review queue over the course of many years, and it hasn't bothered me one little bit. This genuinely touching film that is at least a bit about film is what I might call an "evergreen" of relatively modern global cinema, in that it can be revisited regularly like an old standard from the Great American Songbook, with new delights waiting in store each time. Arrow is releasing this for the second time since I've been covering the label for this site, but even before that release, Lionsgate had also brought the film out on Blu-ray. This new 4K UHD release sports the theatrical version in 4K UHD and the longer director's cut on a second 1080 disc. Arrow has also recently released a "standard 1080 set" featuring two 1080 discs, one with the theatrical cut and one with the director's cut, which I'll be reviewing as soon as I receive a copy.

If you'd like a running tally of my review relationship with this film, below are several links. The Arrow one in particular is a good source for screenshot comparisons and assessing how the supplements between the versions stack up:

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray review (Lionsgate 2011)

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray review (Arrow 2017)

Cinema Paradiso 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc included in this set.

Cinema Paradiso is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Arrow Academy, an imprint of Arrow Video, with a 2160p transfer in 1.67:1. Arrow's insert booklet doesn't have a ton of information on the 4K upgrade, offering only the following:

This 4K restoration of Cinema Paradiso was produced by Istituto Luce Cinecitta, with support by Dolce & Gabbana, Cristaldi Film and the Cineteca di Bologna.

The restoration was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna under the supervision of Director Giuseppe Tornatore and Director of Photography Blasco Giurato.

A new 4K HDR/Dolby Vision graded master was created at L'Immagine Ritrovata on behalf of Arrow Films.

Interestingly, there's a bit more information on the provenance and/or restoration of the Director's Cut also released in this set as revealed in the following text card verbiage which precedes the film (I included a screenshot of the text card in position 23 as part of my Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray review):

Cinema Paradiso was exclusively restored by Arrow Films for this release. The original 35mm camera negative elements were scanned in 2K resolution at Technicolor Rome, with all grading and restoration work completed at Deluxe Digital Cinema - EMEA, London.

Throughout the process, care was taken to ensure that the film's original texture, details and grain structure remained unaffected by digital processing. Although every effort has been made to present Cinema Paradiso in the highest quality possible, some minor picture issues remain, in keeping with the condition of the original archive materials.

Thanks to Cristaldifilm for making this restoration possible.

For my thoughts on the 1080 presentation, please refer to the review of the previous Arrow release I've linked to above, though the fact that I gave that release a 5.0 score for video may indicate as well as anything what I felt about Arrow's first "at bat". Arrow's 4K version of the theatrical cut is often a thing of extreme beauty, but as with all of the previous home video releases of this film that I've personally encountered, this can be a very grainy viewing experience at times. Interestingly, the optically printed opening credits sequence struck my eyes as less gritty looking than in some previous versions, but at around 2:36, as with previous versions at circa this timecode, there is a huge uptick in grain for some close-ups and material in a darkened interior. These ebbs and flows in grain structure can be seen again and again throughout the 4K UHD presentation, but what I found so impressive is that the grain, while undeniably heavy and (as the 2K version verbiage calls it) "textured", compression handles things really well for the most part. As I noted in my review of the previous Arrow version, occasionally there's a slightly chunky yellowish quality, especially in some of the darkest material, but I really found this to be a surprisingly "tight" and natural looking grain field considering how thick it can be.

Dolby Vision has added some significant new luster to the proceedings, and some of the outdoor material, notably some of the buttery yellow summer scenes, are visually awe inspiring in both saturation and detail levels. But even some dark interior scenes see new pops of color as in the very opening moments where a dark red sweater has an almost burgundy or crimson hue, and where pill and flyaways fibers can still be easily spotted despite the overall dimness of the lighting. There are some scenes inside the movie house that look just slightly desaturated with almost more of a sepia tone in this version.

The uptick in fine detail is noticeable across the board, but is probably expectedly easiest to spot in the most brightly lit moments. Textures and detail levels on everything from the stones of the town square to actual information you can now make out in some of the film Salvatore and Alfredo handle is often quite impressive. If some may be disappointed that Arrow is once again offering a kind of weird combo platter without offering both 1080 and 2160 presentations of the same version (or both versions) of the film, at least the 4K version offered here is another nice effort from the label.

Cinema Paradiso 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio on this release mimics that of the prior Arrow release, so I'll repeat my thoughts from my original review. Unlike the Lionsgate release, which featured only a mono track, the Theatrical Version sports both an LPCM Mono and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, while the Director's Cut features an LPCM 2.0 (stereo) track along with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (kind of funnily, the trailer for the Director's Cut hawks the film as being "now in stereo"). The mono track on the Theatrical Version is very much in keeping with the track on the Lionsgate release, somewhat (unavoidably) narrow sounding, but easily supporting dialogue and Ennio Morricone's ravishing score. As I suspected in my review of the audio of the Lionsgate release where I was supposing what a surround mix might add to the film, the answer is: really not that much. Morricone's music certainly gets a bit more breathing room, though I have to say the wider spatial placement sounded a bit artificial to me, kind of like those old "reprocessed for electronic stereo" record releases that older audiophiles may recall. The 5.1 mix on both versions does add a bit of activity in the raucous scenes in the movie theater or where crowds are otherwise filling the frame. The stereo mix on the Director's Cut is fairly subtle, adding minor but noticeable separation to both Morricone's score and those selfsame boisterous scenes with large populations crowding the frame. All of the tracks sport excellent fidelity. For my personal listening tastes, I'd say stick with the original mono and stereo tracks, but that's obviously simply my personal preference.

Cinema Paradiso 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc Theatrical Cut Supplements

• Audio Commentary with director Giuseppe Tornatore and Italian cinema expert critic Millicent Marcus


• A Dream of Sicily (1080p; 54:45) is a nice profile of Giuseppe Tornatore featuring interviews with him, as well as things like some charming early home movies. This features music by Ennio Morricone. In Italian with English subtitles.


• A Bear and a Mouse (1080p; 27:26) is a making of documentary with some nice interviews with Tornatore, Philippe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio. In Italian with English subtitles.


• The Kissing Sequence (1080p; 7:01) features Tornatore again as well as clips identifying each scene.


• 25th Anniversary Trailer (1080p; 1:40)

1080 Disc Director's Cut Supplements

• Director's Cut Trailer (1080p; 1:24)

Arrow also includes its typically well appointed insert booklet.

Cinema Paradiso 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I previously suggested that even those who had bought the Lionsgate release of Cinema Paradiso might want to double dip for the previous Arrow release, and I have to say for diehard fans of the film, I personally wouldn't hesitate one moment to get this new 4K version, even if you're only getting a 4K UHD presentation of the theatrical version, and with no new supplemental material. Technical merits are first rate, and Cinema Paradiso 4K comes Highly recommended.