FUN STUFF - FILM: Cinema Paradiso

No blog post of late as it is still under attack and needs to be moved.  Not a top priority for me for right now, but it doesn't mean we can't use e-mail.

Cinema Paradiso is an Italian Oscar winning film nobody ever told me about (1998?).  I think it is at least one ot the top 10 films of all time.  Perhaps top 5, it is that good.  A very personal story set in Sicily, we saw the directors cut, almost three hours long with sub-titles.

It chronicles the life of Salvatore (or nickname Tito) from age 10, in his 20s and in middle age after he becomes a famous movie director.  The simple coincidences and people he met inspire, frustrate and propel him througout the film.  Starts with his somewhat abusive mother, his adopted Projectionist "father" Alfredo and the complex relationship with the "girl that got away" that forever haunts him.

I first heard about the movie via a Steve Hacket song.  I thought "Cinema Paradiso" was Hackett's tune and I have copies of it in about six or seven playlists on iTunes.  He does credit Ennio Morricone as the author on the CDs.  Ennio Morrocone a master of movie soundtracks, most notibly "The Mission" starring DeNiro and Jeremy Irons.  Like the film, the soundtrack is haunting and all consuming.  See the short video of Steve Hackett playing the main theme.  Stunning.  Hackett on acoustic guitar, Roger King accompanying on Keyboard.

Not necessarily a happy film, it is great drama, romance and storytelling.  The finale, a sequence of some edits is masterful.  Cannot tell tales out of school.  Rented it via Netflix.  Don't say nobody ever told you to see it.

Note to Marty, YES, there is ONE explosion, so you might like it.  Mostly though, not your kind of film.

Still not convinced?  See the Wikipedia link here.

JA

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