“When my friends at Istituto Luce Cinecittà, Cineteca di Bologna, and Dolce&Gabbana said they wanted to restore Cinema Paradiso, I was incredulous: ‘Thank you, but the film has just been released, why would you restore it?’”
Twenty-six years have passed since Giuseppe Tornatore’s most appreciated film debuted in Italy, and its return to Hollywood has caught the attention of enthusiasts worldwide, eager to watch again on the big screen a movie that made the history of Italian cinema.
On November 10, the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood hosted an exclusive gala to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Academy Award victory of Cinema Paradiso as Best Foreign Language Film in 1990.
Celebrities the likes of Al Pacino and Danny DeVito were in attendance, and the red carpet also became a nostalgic tribute to the memory of the late producer Franco Cristaldi. Danny DeVito, a living legacy of the Italian-American heritage, said that Italian cinema has always meant a lot to him and his career, from his very first exposure to it: “I realized that after watching Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, which encouraged me to revisit all the Italian filmmakers that I could.”
Director Giuseppe Tornatore answered to a few questions on this experience.
Cinema Paradiso returns to Hollywood after twenty-five years. How can you describe the feeling of being here again as a protagonist?
It’s a very special emotion, even if I still think that the movie was finished only two weeks ago. The memory of it is so recent, so alive. And realizing that nearly 30 years have passed, to the point that the negative needed to be restored, was such a big surprise to me. All of this has created an interior turmoil not easy to solve. Attending the screening of the film in a room crowded with people and witnessing to the same reactions that the public had years ago was an incredible feeling. So many years later, I can still see exactly the same strong emotions, the same attention, the same quality entertainment. And I was very impressed.
After Paolo Sorrentino, next year another Paolo – Virzì – will run for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. It looks like the Italian cinema is back to the U.S.
This is what I hope for. Every year there’s a movie that represents Italy at the Oscars: sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don’t, but we always do our best to show the world our great tradition and culture. Fingers crossed then, I hope that Paolo can win and lead Italy to the second victory in a row.
Forty years have passed since Vittorio De Sica’s death. Can you share with us your memory of him?
Vittorio is still a landmark for all film lovers, and not only in Italy. The whole world still recognizes him as a leading figure in the seventh art. His movies are a source of inspiration for both new generation filmmakers and the most established ones. De Sica has led to cultural, humanistic, and narrative references, creating unsurpassed masterpieces as Bicycle Thefts and Umberto D., two milestones that nobody else will ever achieve.
The restoration of Cinema Paradiso took six months and was carried out by Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, personally overseen by director Giuseppe Tornatore and cinematographer Blasco Giurato. Roberto Cicutto, CEO and President of Luce Cinecittà, stated: “Every opportunity to celebrate great authors and great films should become a tool for their new diffusion. Cinema Paradiso is reborn, thanks to the recovered images and sounds that have been enriched with cutting-edge technical means.”
The restoration was realized thanks to the support of Italian fashion brand Dolce&Gabbana, reaffirming their passion for art as a whole: “Giuseppe Tornatore is one of our favorite filmmakers, who has contributed to Italian cinema in a memorable way. In our collections we are very often inspired by his films.”
The world premiere of digitally restored Cinema Paradiso was also linked to the 10th edition of Cinema Italian Style and AFI Film Fest. On November 13, Giuseppe Tornatore – and Franca Sozzani, Chief Editor of Vogue Italia – was presented with the Cinema Italian Style 2014 Award, in recognition of his contribution to promote Italian creativity and art in the world. As Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles, Antonio Verde, underlined, “Cinema represents an opportunity to disseminate Italian culture and to strengthen our relationships.”
The celebrations also included the opening of the exhibition 25 Years in Cinema Paradiso at the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles, on view until January 15, 2015, and showcasing memorabilia, images, props, and a series of documentary screenings, including a tribute to iconic actress Sophia Loren and producer Franco Cristaldi, considered as one of the most influential figures in the Italian movie industry.
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