La vita è bella (1997)

Director:

Roberto Benigni

Writers:

Vincenzo Cerami (story) &
Roberto Benigni (story)

Release Date:

23 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all.

Plot:

A Jewish man has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Concentration Camp | Tank | Italy | 1930s

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 52 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Roberto Benigni	...	Guido Orefice
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Dora
Giorgio Cantarini	...	Giosué Orefice
Giustino Durano	...	Eliseo Orefice
Sergio Bini Bustric	...	Ferruccio Papini (as Sergio Bustric)
Marisa Paredes	...	Madre di Dora
Horst Buchholz	...	Doctor Lessing (as Horst Bucholz)
Lidia Alfonsi	...	Guicciardini
Giuliana Lojodice	...	School Principal
Amerigo Fontani	...	Rodolfo
Pietro De Silva	...	Bartolomeo
Francesco Guzzo	...	Vittorino
Raffaella Lebboroni	...	Elena
Claudio Alfonsi	...	Amico Rodolfo
Gil Baroni	...	Prefect

Also Known As:

Life Is Beautiful (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for holocaust-related thematic elements.

Runtime:

116 min | USA:118 min (English dubbed version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | German | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Ireland:PG | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Norway:7 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Trivia:

Roberto Benigni's Oscar for best actor marked only the second time that an actor had directed himself in an Academy Award winning performance. The other was Laurence Olivier for Hamlet (1948)

Goofs:

Continuity: Not only that the champagne bottle changes position as said before (first it's tilted towards the right, then centered, then tilted again, etc.), but also the bottle is first completely sealed (with all the labels and stuff) and then we can see it without all those labels, to appear completely sealed again in a backward-to-forward take, and then opened again.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Giosué Orefice: [narrating as an adult] This is a simple story... but not an easy one to tell.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Marcia Reale

The best foreign language film I have ever seen.

I typically don't care much for sub-titled movies. Foreign films to me are slow and about nothing. So I naturally went to see Life is Beautiful with a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to hate it. I wanted it to be just another movie that Hollywood was praising to show that they were an intelligent bunch of people. Oh boy was I in for the surprise of my life. Not only is this film good, I honestly believe that it was the second best film of 98, next to Saving Private Ryan. The mere fact that Shakespeare in Love won best picture over not only Ryan but over this, is a joke. It's actually funny.

Benigni did everything in this film. He wrote, produced, directed and probably swept the floors at night. There is that much raw energy in this film. There really is. For someone to have that kind of vision is truly incredible. And not only is the film a terrific cinematic experience because of the importance and seriousness of the subject matter, but it is one of the funnier films I've ever seen. When Roberto is translating the German soldiers insructions to his son so that he isn't scared, it is at that moment that you realize you are under his spell. He's got you and no matter how much sceptisism you may have about the film you know you're witnessing a classic in every sense of the word.

I loved this film. Loved everything about it and I am so glad that I got to see it and cheer Benigni at the Oscars. He certainly deserved his best actor award and he should have gotten more.