8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
Starring: Antonella Attili, Enzo Cannavale, Isa Danieli, Leo Gullotta, Marco LeonardiDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 69% |
Period | 26% |
Melodrama | 15% |
Coming of age | 11% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Italian: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Theatrical Version is 124 minutes (MPEG-4 AVC@34.986Mbps).
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
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
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).
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.
BLU-RAY DISC ONE
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.
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