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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Cinema Paradiso -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Giuseppe Torantore's wonderful love poem to the cinema, which won the Best Foreign Film Academy Are for 1988, has arrived via Arrow, in a two-disc set -- theatrical (124 minutes) and director's cut (174 minutes) -- and it's a winner in every respect.

With a new scan, derived from the OCN, imagery is magnificent. Actually, the best I've ever seen, inclusive of theatrical screenings. Color, grain, black levels are spot on. Something one would expect with James White at the helm.

This is an easy one to recommend, as both the film, as well as the presentation are top drawer.

There are a multitude of extras, that allow those re-visiting the film, as well as newcomers to achieve full understanding of the work.

For those who love the cinema, and have somehow missed Cinema Paradiso, just go with this one.

For those familiar with the work...

you know.

The great Roger Ebert wrote the following for his review in 1988, and it rings even truer today.

"Yet anyone who loves movies is likely to love "Cinema Paradiso," and there is one scene where the projectionist finds that he can reflect the movie out of the window in his booth and out across the town square so that the images can float on a wall, there in the night above the heads of the people. I saw a similar thing happen one night in Venice in 1972 when they showed Chaplin's "City Lights" in the Piazza San Marco to more than 10,000 people, and it was then I realized the same thing this movie argues: Yes, it is tragic that the big screen has been replaced by the little one. But the real shame is that the big screens did not grow even bigger, grow so vast they were finally on the same scale as the movies they were reflecting." - Roger Ebert

You can find all of this thoughts on the film here:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cinema-paradiso-1990

Image - 5

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Highly Recommended

RAH
 
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Bernard McNair

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Thank you for the great review. This is one of my favourite films; in my mind just about everything is perfect in this film. I particularly love Ennio Morricone's magnificent score; I never tire of hearing it.
The extended cut fills in a number of holes from the 124 minute cut and for me makes the extended cut a more satisfying experience.
I look forward to having this new release in my library.
 

Konstantinos

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If this is identical to the UK Arrow edition, it's the best bluray I've ever seen!
Honestly Arrow's encoding, or should I say the person's encoding in this, is top notch, like I've never seen in any Criterion edition.
 

PMF

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When was the Director's Cut produced and was it ever shown theatrically?
I imagine that those extra 50 minutes make for a rich and thoughtful addition to this wonderful film.
Great that Arrow supplied us with both !!
 

Robert Harris

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If this is identical to the UK Arrow edition, it's the best bluray I've ever seen!
Honestly Arrow's encoding, or should I say the person's encoding in this, is top notch, like I've never seen in any Criterion edition.

You're missing seeing some superlative Blu-rays...
 

ahollis

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I received it yesterday and even though I want desperately to watch this now, I'm gonna wait until next week to watch this with a young friend that has never seen it, but has a passion for movies.
 
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Angelo Colombus

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Lucky to have seen this in the theater and it's a great film. Do have the Miramax Blu-ray but will upgrade to this new release.
 
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Bernard McNair

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When was the Director's Cut produced and was it ever shown theatrically?
I imagine that those extra 50 minutes make for a rich and thoughtful addition to this wonderful film.
Great that Arrow supplied us with both !!
I saw the Directors Cut at the Paris Cinema in NYC about 10 years ago. As I recall the print looked great. The Paris is a wonderful cinema that attracts movie lovers to its predominantly art house selection.
I cannot recall the Directors print ever having been shown in my native Australia in a cinema.
 

PMF

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I saw the Directors Cut at the Paris Cinema in NYC about 10 years ago. As I recall the print looked great. The Paris is a wonderful cinema that attracts movie lovers to its predominantly art house selection.
I cannot recall the Directors print ever having been shown in my native Australia in a cinema.
There is nothing more satisfying than a Director's Cut that fulfills and further expands on an already perfect film.
I miss the Paris, Zeigfeld and Carnegie Hall Cinemas.
 

Sgt Pepper

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A truly beautiful film and one of the best transfers i have seen committed to Blu Ray (just for balance alongside many from the likes of Criterion, Eureka etc). Long overdue a second viewing for me.:)
 
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zoetmb

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I saw the Directors Cut at the Paris Cinema in NYC about 10 years ago. As I recall the print looked great. The Paris is a wonderful cinema that attracts movie lovers to its predominantly art house selection.
I cannot recall the Directors print ever having been shown in my native Australia in a cinema.

There is nothing more satisfying than a Director's Cut that fulfills and further expands on an already perfect film.
I miss the Paris, Zeigfeld and Carnegie Hall Cinemas.

Paris is still open in case there was any doubt about that. It's currently playing "Their Finest". Good news is that the Quad has reopened, the 2-screen Metrograph opened downtown, Landmark, which operates the Sunshine, is opening a new 8-screen on 57th St and 12th Avenue and the IFC has been pleading for a zoning variance so they can add 6 more screens.

Personally, I did not like the expanded edition of this film. While it did fill in some holes, it took away some of the magic and it turned Salvatore into a stalker. Sometimes more isn't more. But it did solve one problem: the closing credits of the original cut edition has a scene that wasn't in that edition and therefore caused some confusion as to what it was supposed to mean.
 

Mark Booth

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I picked up the Arrow Video release a couple of weeks ago and watched the theatrical cut today (first time). WOW! What a FABULOUS tribute to film and the cinema. I loved every minute of it and I'm not typically a fan of reading subtitles.

If you love the movies, you have to put this on your must see list. You'll be glad you did!

Mark
 

ghostwind

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Watching this years later, the transfer upscaled to 4K looks good overall, but I wouldn't say great. It's inconsistent - some scenes are clearly better than others. Not sure why, but many are also quite soft and without detail. Perhaps that's how it was shot.
 

Angelo Colombus

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Blu-ray.com is reporting that the film will have a 4k release by Arrow Academy on September 22:


Arrow Academy has announced that it will release on 4K Blu-ray Giuseppe Tornatore's film Cinema Paradiso (1988), starring Antonella Attili, Enzo Cannavale, Isa Danieli, Leo Gullotta, and Marco Leonardi. The release will be available for purchase on September 21/22.

Synopsis: A winner of awards across the world including Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, 5 BAFTA Awards including Best Actor, Original Screenplay and Score, the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and many more.

Giuseppe Tornatore's loving homage to the cinema tells the story of Salvatore, a successful film director, returning home for the funeral of Alfredo, his old friend who was the projectionist at the local cinema throughout his childhood. Soon memories of his first love affair with the beautiful Elena and all the highs and lows that shaped his life come flooding back, as Salvatore reconnects with the community he left 30 years earlier.

The original award-winning theatrical version of Tornatore's classic is presented here for the first time on 4K Blu-ray. This edition also includes the expanded Director's Cut, which delves deeper into Salvatore's backstory [Blu-ray].

Special Features and Technical Specs:
  • DOLBY VISION/HDR10 PRESENTATION OF THE 124-MINUITE THEATRICAL VERSION OF THE FILM
  • High Definition(1080p) presentation of the 174 minute Director's Cut
  • Uncompressed original stereo 2.0 Audio and 5.1 surround sound options
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Audio commentary with director Giuseppe Tornatore and Italian cinema expert critic Millicent Marcus
  • A Dream of Sicily – A 52-minute documentary profile of Giuseppe Tornatore featuring interviews with the director and extracts from his early home movies as well as interviews with director Francesco Rosi and painter Peppino Ducato, set to music by the legendary Ennio Morricone
  • A Bear and a Mouse in Paradise – A 27-minute documentary on the making of Cinema Paradiso and the characters of Toto and Alfredo, featuring interviews the actors who play them, Philippe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio as well as Tornatore
  • The Kissing Sequence – Giuseppe Tornatore discusses the origins of the kissing scenes with clips identifying each scene
  • Original Director's Cut Theatrical Trailer and 25th Anniversary Re-Release Trailer
U.S./CANADA STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 22.
UK STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 21.
 

usrunnr

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Amazon lists this as being released in 2020. Some commentators say it is Region B only, but that is not in the listing. Can anyone comment?
 

titch

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Amazon lists this as being released in 2020. Some commentators say it is Region B only, but that is not in the listing. Can anyone comment?
There is a US blu-ray available:


The 4K UHD is only available from the UK store:

 

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