Director Giuseppe Tornatore Wins Best Foreign Film Oscar for “cinema Paradiso”

in 1988 proves the adage that if success was easy every film would achieve critical acclaim and would be a box-office smash. The original version released in Italy was 155 minutes (2 hours, 35 minutes) and had a poor response. After shortening the film to 123 minutes (2 hours, 3 minutes), it became an instant success.

I saw the 123-minute version that was released in the United States and was disappointed that there was no indication of what ultimately happened in Toto’s relationship with Elena. I have since learned that Director Giuseppe Tornatore released a 173-minute version (2 hours, 53 minutes) in 2002 that contains exactly what I wanted to see. Find and watch the longer version if you can, it just adds to an already excellent film.