Director’s cut of ‘Cinema Paradiso’ is worth discoveringDate: 2/23/2017 After a year’s absence, film reviews, on home video, streaming and in theaters, return in a new monthly column called “What I’m Watching.”
On Blu-Ray and DVD
Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1988 film “Cinema Paradiso has been re-released in a special edition on Blu-ray that includes the version that was released internationally and won the Academy Award for best Foreign Language Film in 1989 and Tornatore’s director cut.
After a poor reception in Italy, the film was re-edited, cutting almost an hour of footage. That version became a box office success in Europe and the United States.
This is one of those films that somehow escaped me seeing it upon its original release and I’m very glad I took the time to enjoy the director’s cut that runs a whopping 173 minutes.
The film opens with a middle-aged successful film director being told of the death of someone who figured prominently in his life, but who he has not seen for 30 years.
In flashback, we are transported to a small village in Sicily shortly following the end of WWII. Salvatore is a precocious five year-old boy, whose mother hopes her husband will be returned by the Russians who apparently held him as a prisoner of war.
Salvatore, better known as Toto is enthralled by the movies shown in the village’s small theater, Cinema Paradiso. He is even more fascinated by the projector and how the movies manifest themselves on the screen.
At first the projectionist, Alfredo (played with great warmth by Philippe Noiret) is not interested in the troublesome kid, but soon the two form a close friendship. Toto’s interest in films deepens and he takes over Alfredo’s duties when he is seriously injured in a fire.
Toto’s story is told within the framework of his job at the theater and we see him become a teenager and find his first love.
The film is sweet, funny and sad in appropriate turns. For anyone who fell in love with movies as a kid one can easily understand Toto’s obsession.
In some ways the film has a similar tone as Frederico Fellini’s “Amarcord,” another memory film set in Italy.
“Cinema Paradiso” is more straight-forward a narrative, but it just as rich with some great details such as the town’s priest previewing each movie and forcing Alfredo to cut any scene with kissing.
Despite the long running time, the film moves quickly telling its story and the large cast does an excellent job portraying characters over more than 30 years.
This is a film well-worth seeking out.
The IT Crowd: The Complete Series
Okay, this is simply one of the funniest, most inventive TV comedies ever produced. If you are a fan of “The Big Bang,” you must see “The IT Crowd.”
Graham Linehan, who had a huge hit on British television with “Father Ted” followed up with a show about two IT guys comfortably hidden away in the basement of a huge multinational company’s building and the young woman assigned to manage them who is hoping for corporate success.
Roy (the great Chris O’Dowd) and Moss (the equally great Richard Ayoade) make the lads on “The Big Bang” seemed well adjusted. Roy yearns for acceptance but sabotages himself at every turn. Moss seems to be from another planet. Their manager Jen (Katherine Parkinson) actually thinks the Internet is in a box the guys keep and plots how she can advance out of the basement office.
This set includes the shows four seasons plus its stand-alone finale, plus many extras.
This is the kind of show that invites repeat viewing and is consistently funny from episode to episode.
In theaters
A quick nudge to get out of your homes and into the theaters to see an outstanding film: “Hidden Figures.”
With the cinematic landscape dominated by special effects epics, it’s great to see a story about people who quietly but definitely became real heroes – in this case, three African-American women who became pioneers in breaking the color barrier with their work at NASA during the start of the space race.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae star as three of the African-American women NASA employed who did mathematical calculations in the years before computers.
It’s an amazing story and a vital one to show every member of your family.
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