Cinema Paradiso - The New Version (1990) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Cinema Paradiso is one of my favorite movies.I finally found the new version available for rent through Netflix when I couldn't find it in any Blockbuster.
For those who have already seen Cinema Paradiso it needs no introduction. For everybody else, it won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film in 1989 and features one of the most nostalgic treatments of the role of movies in people's lives. Ennio Morricone's theme song has also been recycled in countless commercials and movie montages and trailers.
What's good about the Director's Cut or "New Version" DVD is that one can view the director's cut with added scenes on one DVD side and the originally released version on the other.
For those of us who wanted some kind of closure to Toto and Elena's relationship, the Director's Cut has it-- there's about an hour more of footage of their relationship. The new version also more footage of Toto's military service and his adulthood. The added scenes somewhat mute the focus of the movie, so I could see why they were originally cut out. But, at the same time, the added scenes fill in the blanks that originally made a lot of us think, "Hey-- What about...?" And although Toto's childhood scenes are, as far as I can tell, unchanged from the original version, we also find out more about Alfredo.
After finishing the New Version I appreciated the original version better. I highly recommend the new version not because it makes Cinema Paradiso more of a masterpiece, but because it adds more characterization to what, arguably, is a masterpiece. The added scenes can be a bit superfluous, but they show how important editorial decisions are to shaping the structure and momentum of a movie.

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This Miramax Classics presentation of CINEMA PARADISO: THE NEW VERSION brings you the critically acclaimed triumph as never seen before! A famous Italian filmmaker, haunted by the memories of his first love, returns to his hometown after an absence of 30 years. Upon his return, he reconnects with the community and remembers the highlights and tragedies that shaped his life and inspired him to follow his dream of becoming a filmmaker. For those who have never seen it -- and those who have never forgotten it -- director Giuseppe Tornatore's (MALENA, THE STAR MAKER) cherished Academy Award(R)-winning motion picture (1990, Best Foreign Language Film) is now fully restored, digitally remastered, and includes 51 minutes of never-before-seen footage!

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