The New Version
Cinema Paradiso
Review by Ross Anthony

My girlfriend and I rented the “new version/director's cut” (2002) of Cinema Paradiso. We’d both seen the original (1989) many years back and remembered it fondly. But when we popped in the nearly 3 hour “new version” we slowly got the feeling we were watching a different movie. And, really, we were. The power of editing so often underestimated.

By the 1.5 hour mark, the new version had added an additional ten minutes to the film. Seemingly not much, but it left us with a feeling of tedium. Added with that ten minutes was a sense of languishing. Perhaps the original editors weren’t just hacks.

In the original, at this point the film would have another 30 minutes to pull itself together and climax. But in the new version, you’ve got another 1.5 hours. We became solidly bored and frustrated with a love story that labored on out of control. It was at this point the “new version” takes off in quite a different direction than the first. And we became frustrated with ourselves for not having re-watched the original version (which was on the same DVD – just the other side).

Anyway, taken on its own. I’d give this “new version” a B-/C+. And if I didn’t have fond memories of the original, the new would fall further into the C range. So, by all means, if you’ve never seen “Cinema Paradiso” make sure you see the original version -- not this new version. And if you rent the DVD, be very careful as you put the DVD into the drive, the menus don’t make it all that clear which version you’ll be watching. That is, “New” or “Old” version is not an option – as you might expect. It simply says “Old” or “New” faintly below the title.

We barely made it through the new version. Then in the morning I fast forwarded through the original version to see where edits had been made out of all that extra footage. I’d like to pat the back of those who smartly edited the original. And in fact, after you watch the original, you might want to fast forward the newer one to the 1.5 hour mark on to see what had been cut out. Now, that’s kind of interesting. You’ll see how the long version’s love story has quite a different flavor and some major differences. Still, its cutting was absolutely necessary (in my opinion).

Ironically, though, in a film whose early subject matter included the cutting out of “kissing scenes” – ultimately, “Cinema Paradiso” is a film with a strong kissing scene removed. Also, one of the lines in the film, “The picture is too high-brow for us” ultimately, the newer version is more high brow, with a very very telling/surprising twist to the Alfredo character that is never revealed in the older version. And since this element has been edited out of the old version, it is really made lower-brow/more commercially acceptable.

All that said, again, I recommend the 1989 version. See the new version – only with a FF remote control.

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  • Cinema Paradiso. Copyright © 2002 (original 1989).
  • Starring Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, Agnese Nano, Bridget Fossey, Antonella Attili, Pupella Maggio, Leopoldo Trieste, Enzo Cannavale, Isa Danieli, Leo Gullota.
  • Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.

Grade..........................C+ (1.5/4)


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Copyright © 1998-2023 Ross Anthony, Author - Speaker - Solo World Circumnavigator In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Mr. Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Mr. Anthony has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over 30 countries & 100 cities (Nairobi to Nagasaki). He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (Washington State to Washington DC). To get signed books ("Rodney Appleseed" to "Jinshirou") or schedule Ross to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Go into the world and inspire the people you meet with your love, kindness, and whatever it is you're really good at. Check out books by Ross Anthony. Rand() functions, Pho chicken soup, rollerblading, and frozen yogurt (w/ blueberries) also rock! (Btw, rand is short for random. It can also stand for "Really Awkward Nutty Dinosaurs" -- which is quite rand, isn't it?) Being alive is the miracle. Special thanks to Ken Kocanda, HAL, Jodie Keszek, Don Haderlein, Mom and Pops, my family, R. Foss, and many others by Ross Anthony. Galati-FE also deserves a shout out. And thanks to all of you for your interest and optimism. Enjoy great films, read stirring novels, grow.


Last Modified: Saturday, 16-Sep-2006 08:16:46 PDT