Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Giuseppe Tornatore
Cast
Philippe Noiret,
Jacques Perrin,
Marco Leonardi,
Salvatore Cascio,
Agnese Nano,
Antonella Attili
Genre
Drama,
Romance
Cinema Paradiso is a nostalgic love letter to the movies. It follows a filmmaker, Salvatore, as he looks back on his formative childhood experiences at the local movie house in his Sicilian village. There, he forms a deep friendship with the projectionist, Alfredo, who instills in him a lifelong love of film.
San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle
You leave Cinema Paradiso with that feeling that's kind of like getting kicked in the stomach, but nice. It's one of those breathless, swept-away-by-a-movie experiences that you might have once a year, if you're lucky. [16 February 1990, Daily Notebook, p.E-1]
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Jay Scott
Cinema Paradiso converts you to the credo that art can indeed be holy.
Time by Richard Schickel
Remain open to fantasies but not be consumed by them. These are good lessons for a would-be director. They are good lessons for everybody. And no recent movie has taught them with more patient sweetness. [Feb. 5, 1990]
Mr. Showbiz by David Mermelstein
Unapologetically sentimental, this movie is certain to melt all but the hardest of hearts.
Los Angeles Times by Michael Wilmington
It's a shining valentine to the movies--full of homages, collages and swooningly romantic Ennio Morricone music--and it gets right at the messy, impure, wondrous way they capture and enrapture us. [16 February 1990, Calendar, p.F-1]
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
This film is sometimes funny, sometimes joyful, and sometimes poignant, but it's always warm, wonderful, and satisfying. Cinema Paradiso affects us on many levels, but its strongest connection is with our memories.
Empire by Patrick Peters
Every bit as enchanting as you remember. Molto, molto bene.
Total Film by Jessica Mellor
A 25th anniversary restoration of Giuseppe Tornatore’s ode to moving pictures and puppy love.
Washington Post by Rita Kempley
There are films as lovely, but none lovelier.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
Anyone who loves movies is likely to love Cinema Paradiso.
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Just about everything you ever loved (or hated) about Italian films can be found.
USA Today by Mike Clark
Lovely “memory'' film. [2 March 1990, Life, p.4D]
Film.com by John Hartl
A sweet, funny exercise in nostalgia, though it's also self-congratulatory and awfully calculating.
Chicago Tribune by Dave Kehr
A few moments of sly inspiration are not enough to carry an entire feature; along with the tears, it leaves behind an aftertaste of phoniness. [16 March 1990, Friday, p.H]
TV Guide Magazine
They don't make movies like they used to, and this Oscar-winning Italian-French co-production spends the better part of three hours proving it.
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Originally a two-part film running about three hours, this treacle has been reduced by almost a third, though it still seems to run on forever -- a bit like life but much less interesting.
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