Cinema Paradiso Page #3

Synopsis: Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instills in the boy a deep love of films. When Salvatore grows up, falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso's projectionist, Alfredo must convince Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.
Genre: Drama
Production: Miramax Films
  Won 1 Oscar. Another 23 wins & 31 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.5
Metacritic:
80
Rotten Tomatoes:
90%
R
Year:
1988
155 min
$239,630
Website
1,468 Views


PRIEST:

OK, Alfredo, you can start!!

He sits down an by himself in the middle of the empty theatre.

Up in the booth, ALFREDO lights the arc lamp and sets the

projector going.

Down in the theatre, the light goes off and out of the lion's mouth

streams the glowing ray aimed al the screen. String music, sweet

and ominous, spreads through the theatre. On the screen appear

the credit titles of an American film of the 1940s. The PRIEST

screws up his face and holds the bell in his right hand resting on

the arm of his seat.

At the back of the theatre, behind the last row, a curtain moves,

opens a crack and SALVATORE'S gaunt little face appears. He

has managed to sneak in somehow and stands there without a

word, spellbound, watching the 'movie' on the glowing screen.

The credit titles have long come and gone. The story is at a

turning-point.

Up above, in the hole of the booth next to the lion,

ALFREDO watches the film, but his eyes keep looking down at the

PRIEST, who is now drumming the bell with his fingers. On the

screen, the male and female lead, two Hollywood stars, are in

close-up; the dialogue is passionate, romantic. SALVATORE,

carried away by those faces, by the way they talk, by the beauty

of the woman, slowly slips down the length of the curtain until he

is sitting on the floor, his eyes glued to the screen.

The love scene reaches a climax, the music crescendos, and the love-struck

couple finally fall into each other's arms and kiss. Instinctively, the PRIEST

raises the bell into the air, as in some age-old ceremony, and gives it a loud

ring...

Up in the booth ALFREDO hears the bell; it's the signal he's been

waiting for. He takes a slip of paper from a pad prepared for that

purpose and sticks it into the loops of the film containing that

specific scene as it winds on to the reel. The projection

continues...

...And also the kiss of the two actors. The PRIEST'S nervous look lingers on

those black-and-white lips meeting and now pulling apart for one last

declaration of love before separating. SALVATORE is wide-eyed, he's probably

never seen a man and woman kiss before, it's a vision that for him has all the

attraction of forbidden fruit, the horror of sin. The screen is now filled with

the figure of a woman getting undressed, showing for one instant the white,

voluptuous flesh of her broad, naked shoulders. SALVATORE stares in open-mouthed

wonder. The PRIEST, in a fury, grabs the bell and shakes it for all he is worth.

From the sound of the bell to another sound...

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Giuseppe Tornatore

Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered as one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema. In a career spanning over 30 years he is best known for directing and writing drama films such as The Legend of 1900, Malèna, Baarìa and The Best Offer. Probably his most noted film is Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, for which Tornatore won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He directed also several advertising campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana. more…

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