Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		5.0

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 24, 2013

Winner of the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore's "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" a.k.a. "Cinema Paradiso" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the release include original trailers; documentary film; video interviews with the director; audio commentary with the director and Italian cinema expert Millicent Marcus; and more. The release also arrives with a booklet featuring new writing on the film by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone, illustrated with original archive stills. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the two versions of the film. Region-B "locked".

Coming home

Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso tells the story of Salvatore/Toto (Salvatore Cascio), a charismatic boy living in a small Sicilian town who loves movies, and his best friend, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret, Tango, Alexandre le bienheureux), a film projectionist, who treats him as if he is his son.

The film begins with the end. Toto (Jacques Perrin, Girl with a Suitcase, The Desert of the Tartars), who has become a famous film director in Rome, is informed that Alfredo has passed away. Shocked and saddened by the news, he immediately heads to Sicily, hoping to arrive in time for his friend's funeral. Once in the town, Toto begins remembering - the days when Alfredo would let him stay in the projection booth and talk to him about films; Elena (Agnese Nano, Il lungo silenzio), the beautiful girl he fell in love with but could not have; his decision to leave behind everything he had ever loved and move to Rome to pursue a dream.

As Toto begins remembering, we are also introduced to a number of colorful characters from the town, mostly as they come to the theater to see the latest big film projected by Alfredo - Giuseppe de Santis' Riso Amaro, Howard Hughes' The Outlaw, Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush, Jean Renoir's Les bas-fonds. Then we see how as cinema begins to change so does the town.

It may sound pretentious to describe cinema as life, but Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso proves that it is precisely that. I personally cannot recall another film that captures so well the very essence of cinema and makes it so clear why we love it as well as Cinema Paradiso does. Its finale is absolutely stunning - simple yet so powerful, magical yet so real.

Since its premiere, Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso has appeared in three different versions. The original 155-minute version of the film was first released in Italy in 1988, but, after a series of lukewarm reviews, was quickly pulled from the local theaters. The 124-minute version was prepared by Tornatore before his film went on to win the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and then the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The third and final version of the film, the Director's Cut, running at approximately 174-minute, was released during the mid 90s.

I prefer the 174-minute director's cut of the film, which Miramax released in the United States in 2004. In it, Toto and Elena meet again after years of living apart from each other. It is a deeply moving reunion, one that apparently both had dreamed about, but also feared. The sequence where Toto and Elena ponder what could have been is so sad yet so beautiful.

In the Director's Cut of Cinema Paradiso there is also additional footage with Elena's daughter. There is a sequence during the final third of the film where Toto sees her from afar and immediately recognizes her. Elena's daughter is beautiful and elegant, looking exactly like the girl who once stole his heart. Toto can barely breathe. The camera slowly moves, and for a short moment Tornatore shows Toto's eyes. It is an incredible sequence.

Cinema Paradiso is complimented by a truly wonderful soundtrack courtesy of legendary composer Ennio Morricone (Le Professionnel, Once Upon a Time in America, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion).

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

Please note that the release contains two versions of the film:

Disc One: Theatrical Version (02:03:50).
Disc Two: Director's Cut (02.53.31).

The screencaptures included with our review appear in the following order:

1. Screencaptures #1-17: Director's Cut.
2. Screencaptures #18-25: Theatrical Version.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"The original 35mm negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered Arriscan at Technicolor Rome. The film was fully graded using Nucoda Film Master color grading system. Restoration work was carried out using a combination of software tools and techniques. Thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and debris were carefully removed frame by frame. Damaged frames were repaired, and density and stability issues were significantly improved.

Cinema Paradiso was exclusively restored by Arrow Films for this release, with all work overseen by James White at Deluxe Digital Cinema - EMEA, London."

The technical presentation of the Director's Cut of Cinema Paradiso is as impressive as Arrow Video's technical presentation of Brian De Palma's The Fury. Indeed, during close-ups as well as during panoramic shots image depth is simply outstanding, while clarity is dramatically improved. Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film, despite the fact that different portions of the film were shot under different conditions. Color reproduction also does not disappoint - there is an excellent range of beautiful and healthy colors. There are absolutely no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Also, there are no traces of compromising sharpening corrections (there isn't even a whiff of edge-enhancement). Image stability is very good. Finally, it is easy to see that scratches, debris, cuts, dirt, and stains have been carefully removed. All in all, this is a lovely presentation of the Director's Cut of Cinema Paradiso which is guaranteed to make its fans enormously happy.

The Theatrical Version also boasts improved depth and clarity. Shadow definition, in particular, is far more convincing. Color temperature is fairly similar to that of the older release, but color saturation is improved. Debris, scratches, dirt, and stains have also been removed as best as possible.

(Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Each version of Cinema Paradiso arrives with two standard audio tracks: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English subtitles for each version.

I am unsure if some additional work was done on the lossless tracks for the Director's Cut, but I've done some tests with the lossless tracks from this release and I can hear some obvious discrepancies. The high-frequencies appear to be better balanced and the sound is notably fuller. This is easy to hear if one compares the clarinet solo from the final sequence where Jacques Perrin is seen alone in the studio room - the first clarinet entry sounds far 'thinner' on the old release. On the old release I can also hear light distortions when the orchestra joins the clarinet and flute, but these are missing on this newly restored Director's Cut of the film. The dialog is clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Also, there are no pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• A Dream of Sicily - in this wonderful documentary film, Giuseppe Tornatore recalls how he decided to become a director while still living in Bagheria, and discusses the socio-political climate in Sicily during the '70s and '80s, the difficult dilemmas a young film director from the South would face in the Italian film industry, and some of the unique characters and themes in his films, including Cinema Paradiso. Also included are clips from interviews with the great Italian director Francesco Rossi (The Moment of Truth, Salvatore Giuliano) and Sicilian artist Peppino Ducato. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (55 min).

• A Bear and a Mouse in Paradise - in this featurette, director Giuseppe Tornatore recalls how he decided to shoot Cinema Paradiso while he was helping the owner of an old movie theater disassemble the equipment he had been working with for years, and talks about his love for cinema, his experience as a film projectionist, the film's reception at the Cannes Film Festival, etc. The Legendary French actor Philippe Noiret also discusses the film, its characters and message. Also included are excerpts from an interview with actor Toto Cascio (young Toto). The documentary also appears on Arrow's old Blu-ray release of the Theatrical Version of Cinema Paradiso. In Italian and French, with optional English subtitles. (28 min).

• The Kissing Sequence - director Giuseppe Tornatore discusses the moving finale of Cinema Paradiso. This featurette also appears on Arrow's previous release of the film. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (7 min).

• 25th Anniversary Trailer - new theatrical trailer for Cinema Paradiso. In Italian, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Audio Commentary - audio commentary with director Giuseppe Tornatore and Millicent Marcus (professor of Italian at Yale University and author of a series of books on Italian cinema). Mrs. Marcus spends a great deal of time dissecting important sequences from the film. Comments from the Italian director are inserted throughout the commentary. In English, not subtitled.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Director's Cut Trailer - original Miramax trailer for the Director's Cut of Cinema Paradiso. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Booklet - booklet featuring new writing on the film by Italian cinema expert Pasquale Iannone, illustrated with original archive stills.

Cinema Paradiso Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I could not be any more pleased with Arrow Video's new Blu-ray release of Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful Cinema Paradiso. The new 2K restoration of the longer Director's Cut of the film, which I prefer, is beautiful. There are improvements in the audio department as well. If Cinema Paradiso happens to be one of your favorite films, buy with with confidence, folks. It has never looked better. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.