The Story
 

The death of his mentor Alfredo reminds filmmaker Salvatore Di Vitta of his misspent childhood in the village cinema Paradiso where he acquired his love of all things filmic from projectionist Alfredo . When Alfredo loses his sight in a fire , Salvatore becomes his eyes and eventual the projectionist as well . During his adolescence , he makes a documentary , falls in love with a girl , completes his National Service and follows Alfredo's advice to leave home and become a filmmaker . His return is tinged with sadness as the Paradiso is under demolition and his family have become strangers , however Alfredo's legacy of a reel of all the kissing scenes that were censored from the films of his youth vindicates his devotions to film .

Comment
 

Although similar to fellow Italian Ettore Scola's Splendor (1988) which also deals in nostalgia for the cinema's past , it was Giuseppe Tornatore's sentimental evocation of the pre-televison days when cinema played an important role in the fabric of community life that struck an international chord and saw the film showered with awards including a special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscar for Best Foreign Film .
 

Unlike a film like The Last Picture Show (1971) in which the closure of the local cinema serves as a lament for the passing of an era , Cinema Paradiso is more intent on celebrating than mourning the past and is ale to reach out to audiences all over the world . This is because in the specific details of the incidents that occurred in the cinema Paradiso in a small Sicilian village , Tornatore is able to reflect the cinema-going experiences that were then common to all audiences in the heyday prior to the later assembly-line characterless efficiency of the multiplex and modern multi-screen endeavours . His depiction of the eccentric patrons , unruly children , masturbating adolescents and snoring geriatrics is the story of all those who have participated in the communal experience of a Saturday night at the movies .

Despite the irresistible warmth of the director's approach , and the obvious skill in the performances of veteran Noiret and endearing moppet Cascio , the film needed the endorsement of foreign acclaim and the loss of 30minutes before finding an audience in Italy . Its success launched Tornatore as a skilled manipulator of the heartstring and , at the time of writing ,there has been increasing speculation of an impending American remake that would feature Burce Willis and Macaulay Culkin in the central roles .
 

故事梗概

電影放映員阿爾弗雷多的去世勾起了導演薩爾瓦多對陳年往事的回憶，在村鎮的天堂電影院裡，童年時的他從自己的良師益友阿爾弗雷多身上繼承了對電影的熱愛。當阿爾弗雷多在一次火災事故中失明後，薩爾瓦多成了他的眼睛，並接手了電影放映員的工作。在他青春懵懂時，他拍攝了一部紀錄片，與一位女孩墜入愛河，服了兵役，然後聽從阿爾弗雷多的建議離家闖蕩並最終成了一位電影導演。成年後的薩爾瓦多回到家鄉，物是人非，天堂電影院已經被廢棄，自己與家人也難以親近。然而，阿爾弗雷多遺物中一盤剪輯了以往所有未通過審查的接吻鏡頭的電影膠片印證了他們對電影的癡情。

影評

雖然本片題材與同鄉伊托·斯考拉拍攝的《光影花妓》（1988）類似，都是對電視出現前電影院佔據大眾娛樂生活主要地位時代的追憶和懷念，但義大利導演吉塞貝·多納托雷在本片中卻以其細膩的手法和豐富的情感表達更勝一籌，由此觸動全世界影迷的心弦，最終在坎城電影節斬獲評委會特殊大獎並榮膺奧斯卡最佳外語片。

不像影片《最後一場電影》（1971）那樣，把電影院的衰頹視作對過往歲月的挽歌，《天堂電影院》更像是對那些美好年代的熱情讚美，也因此它能夠引起世界範圍內觀眾的共鳴。在這個小小的西西里村鎮電影院中，多納托雷重現了電影放映從鼎盛時期到衰落過程中觀眾的觀影體驗：偏執的常客、頑劣的兒童、自慰的少年和鼾聲大作的老人——導演勾勒出的影院眾生相是每個在週六晚上曾紮堆看過電影的人所曾擁有過的經歷。

儘管導演將影片拍得如此溫馨感人，老練的諾瓦雷和可愛的卡西歐兩人的表演是如此真實可信，但本片必須憑藉著它在國際上獲得的聲譽和一個剪去了30分鐘戲份的版本才引起了義大利國內觀眾的興趣。不過，這並不妨礙多納托雷贏得“煽情高手”的美名。就在本文寫作之時，好萊塢要翻拍此片的消息甚囂塵上，聽說他們想找布魯斯·威利斯和麥考利·卡爾金來擔當主演。