New version of Cinema Paradiso
 

From New York Times summer movies preview. It's probably old news to some people but it's news to me!


CINEMA PARADISO
This is not your standard rerelease. This director's cut of 1990's Oscar winner for best foreign picture is now half an hour longer than the original. Philippe Noiret and Jacques Perrin are the stars of Giuseppe Tornatore's memory film about a director who goes back to the Sicilian village where he grew up and recalls how, as a boy, he fell in love with the movies. In Italian, with English subtitles. June 14.

yeah i'm looking forward to this one, although it will have a very limited release.

originally i heard it was an hour longer, like 3 hours or so.

There are at least 3 different versions of the film.

Original release 155 minutes

after poor box office performance in Italy was shortened to 123 minutes

then there was/is the special Director's cut of 170 minutes

I read about this in a recent EW. Really looking forward to seeing the Director's Cut. This is my favorite foreign film. :up:

One of my all time favorite films. I'm squealing like a little girl just thinking about it.

Overseas, the video versions of this film have been the 170 minute Director's cut for awhile now, it sure has taken awhile for this expanded version to be finally seen in the US as such.

http://www.miramax.com/images/p_cinema_paradiso.jpg

http://www.apple.com/trailers/mirama..._paradiso.html


The release date was supposed to be June. Has anyone seen it yet? The trailer says it has 51 minutes of added footage.

Ebert, as well as other film critics, have stated that they preferred the original Theatrical version of Cinema Paradiso.

If anyone lives in Orange County, CA I would suggest checking this out in the Irvine University Edwards Theatre. I saw it there a couple days ago and was emotionally blown away by this film. Thank heavens I got to see it on the big screen.

I saw this, and I liked it a lot. I haven't seen the original, so I can't compare. If they cut some of the stuff with Elena, I might like the theatrical cut more.

Having just read the Ebert review, he says the new version goes past its natural climax and I disagree. While I didn't care for some of the stuff with Elena, this was because her character is introduced later in the film and I didn't have as much connection with her as I did with the other characters. But I never felt bored. If you're going to have Elena in the movie at all, you might as well find out what happens when they grow up. And she makes a point that drives the ending home that much more. So I probably would prefer the director's cut, anyway.

I love the original and really want to see the Director's Cut. It's not released here yet though.

I finally got to see the extended version of Cinema Paradiso this weekend. It was playing at an old theater in Delaware Ohio that might as well have been the Paradiso itself. It's from 1914 and still looks it did back in the day. A concession to modern financial needs, the balcony has been sealed of and converted to its own cinema, but the main theater still looks and feels classic.

Well, about the film. I have always loved Cinema Paradiso since I first saw it in Chicago in 1990. It is a beautiful tribute not only to the movies but to the love of movies. The extended version adds in nearly an hour of new scenes. Some are from its original version before it was trimmed for the international market and some are brand new. Most are just extensions to the original scenes while the biggest additions come in the last hour. It is still the same film, but the new scenes almost make it a new experience. We finally find out what happened to Elena and a little more insight into why Alfredo gave the advice that he did. It's amazing how it makes the characters' feelings and motivations different. While the original version is tighter and a little more heartfelt, this new version left me satisfied and loving the film even more.

Cinema Paradiso: The New Version

Buena Vista Home Video 02/18/2003
runtime: 173 minutes
MSRP $29.99
"additional footage"

no other details at the moment

Ive seen this 170 min version and found it dissapointing as something happens in the 2nd hour that ultimately changes what you think of a certain character [anyone else agree with me here]

Basically
Hour 1 Toto as a child
Hour 2 Toto as a young adult
Hour 3 Toto as an old man

I'm hoping the new DVD also has the 2-hour version. Any chance of that?

Resurrecting this old thread...

This is one of those movies I've always suspected I'd love, but never got around to seeing...

Now that the new version is out and perhaps more people have seen it, I'd love a few reactions...

Specifically, will I be missing an important experience if I don't see the shorter version first?

There seems to be a substantial size group who find it more magical and charming than the long cut... Too bad they're not on the same disc...

Any opinions either way?

Uh, they ARE on the same disc. :confused:

Nevermind. :D

Still, I take it the shorter version is worth watching first?

From what I've heard, absolutely. The longer version changes your image of certain characters, so I'd watch the shorter version first.

Yeah, watch the shorter version first. If you have the patience wait a while then go back and revisit the longer version. I saw the shorter version 12 years before seeing the longer version. The new version is almost a different film. I still love it, but my opinion is to watch it much later after seeing the shorter version.

In Italian with English subtitles?!

So are the 2 versions on different sides of the DVD, or is there an option where you choose to view the longer cut and all the extra scenes will be played automatically?

one version on each side......even though that little circular sticker that goes around the hole says "The New Version" on both sides A and B

Yes, it is an Italian film.

Is this available through Columbia House ? :)