Life Is Beautiful
starring: Claudio Alfonsi, Lidia Alfonsi, Gil Baroni, Massimo Bianchi, Sergio Bini Bustric
directed by: Roberto Benigni
directed by: Roberto Benigni
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Product Description:
Conjuring keys and hats out of thin air, Guido (Roberto Benigni), a clever Jewish-Italian waiter, successfully courts Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a beautiful local woman, in Fascist pre-WWII Italy. His life, however, is turned upside down a few years later when he, Dora, and their young son, Giosu (Giorgio Cantarini), are sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Refusing to give up hope, Guido tries to protect his son's innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is just an elaborate game, with the grand prize being a tank.For years the box-office champ in Italy and the country's most beloved slapstick comic, the Chaplinesque Benigni took a huge risk with LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. Many people worried that the film would be as offensive as plopping a cartoon character in Auschwitz. (A similar work--THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, a Jerry Lewis film about a comedian in a concentration camp--turned out to be a disaster two decades earlier.) Although LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL did provoke some controversy, many people found the film to be a poignant, tragicomic story that profoundly reaffirmed the humanity of concentration camp victims. The film became the highest grossing foreign language film in the U.S. and established Benigni as an international star.
Amazon.com:
Italy's rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni accomplishes theimpossible in his World War II comedy Life Is Beautiful: he shapes asimultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy out of the tragedy of the Holocaust. An international sensation and the most successful foreign language film in U.S. history, the picture also earned director-cowriter-star Benigni Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor. He plays the Jewish country boy Guido, a madcap romantic in Mussolini's Italy who wins the heart of his sweetheart (Benigni's real-life sweetie, Nicoletta Braschi) and raises a darling son (the adorable Giorgio Cantarini) in the shadow of fascism. When the Nazis ship the men off to a concentration camp in the waning days of the war, Guido is determined to shelter his son from the evils around them and convinces him they're in an elaborate contest to win (of all things) a tank. Guido tirelessly maintains the ruse with comic ingenuity, even as the horrors escalate and the camp's population continues to dwindle--all the moreimpetus to keep his son safe, secure, and, most of all, hidden. Benigni walks a fine line mining comedy from tragedy and his efforts are pure fantasy--he accomplishes feats no man could realistically pull off--both ofwhich have drawn fire from a few critics. Yet for all its wacky humor and inventive gags, Life Is Beautiful is a moving and poignant tale of one father's sacrifice to save not just his young son's life but his innocence in the face of one of the most evil acts ever perpetrated by the human race. --Sean Axmaker
Conjuring keys and hats out of thin air, Guido (Roberto Benigni), a clever Jewish-Italian waiter, successfully courts Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a beautiful local woman, in Fascist pre-WWII Italy. His life, however, is turned upside down a few years later when he, Dora, and their young son, Giosu (Giorgio Cantarini), are sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Refusing to give up hope, Guido tries to protect his son's innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is just an elaborate game, with the grand prize being a tank.For years the box-office champ in Italy and the country's most beloved slapstick comic, the Chaplinesque Benigni took a huge risk with LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. Many people worried that the film would be as offensive as plopping a cartoon character in Auschwitz. (A similar work--THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, a Jerry Lewis film about a comedian in a concentration camp--turned out to be a disaster two decades earlier.) Although LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL did provoke some controversy, many people found the film to be a poignant, tragicomic story that profoundly reaffirmed the humanity of concentration camp victims. The film became the highest grossing foreign language film in the U.S. and established Benigni as an international star.
Amazon.com:
Italy's rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni accomplishes theimpossible in his World War II comedy Life Is Beautiful: he shapes asimultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy out of the tragedy of the Holocaust. An international sensation and the most successful foreign language film in U.S. history, the picture also earned director-cowriter-star Benigni Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor. He plays the Jewish country boy Guido, a madcap romantic in Mussolini's Italy who wins the heart of his sweetheart (Benigni's real-life sweetie, Nicoletta Braschi) and raises a darling son (the adorable Giorgio Cantarini) in the shadow of fascism. When the Nazis ship the men off to a concentration camp in the waning days of the war, Guido is determined to shelter his son from the evils around them and convinces him they're in an elaborate contest to win (of all things) a tank. Guido tirelessly maintains the ruse with comic ingenuity, even as the horrors escalate and the camp's population continues to dwindle--all the moreimpetus to keep his son safe, secure, and, most of all, hidden. Benigni walks a fine line mining comedy from tragedy and his efforts are pure fantasy--he accomplishes feats no man could realistically pull off--both ofwhich have drawn fire from a few critics. Yet for all its wacky humor and inventive gags, Life Is Beautiful is a moving and poignant tale of one father's sacrifice to save not just his young son's life but his innocence in the face of one of the most evil acts ever perpetrated by the human race. --Sean Axmaker
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Must see this wonderful film!
The marvelous movie takes place during the Holocaust but is also very aptly named, for it shows the even amid the worst atrocities the Enemy through his servants can afflict upon man, there is still beauty, love and joy as a father strives to keep his young son innocent of the horror that surrounds and would drown them and to give hope to his wife in the concentration camp they are all sent to. Inspiring, uplifting and encouraging that even in the greatest darkness, there could still be great light. ... Read More
Rating: - Fairy Tales can Come true
"Fairy Tales can come true,it can happen to you, when you're "Young at Heart".
The horror of this Holocaust story is balanced by the overcoming
love and careof a father for his child's view of life.When I think
of the unspeakable depravity and inhumanity of man toward
his fellow man I also remember this father improvisingcircumstances
to lead his child to that table prepared for him in the "presence of his
enemies" hopefully to deliver him "from evil"."Greater ... Read More
Rating: - Romance And Creativity
This movie would easily fall into my top twenty favorite films. It has romance, comedy, and tragedy rolled up into one. It has subtitles, but it is well worth the watch.
Rating: - Life is Beautiful
A great movie that everyone will love. Great plot with a story everyone age will love!
Rating: - inspirational
The movie is inspirational. I'm a guy. I don't like movies that make me cry, but this one I love because it does make me cry. I sit in the basement late at night and watch it by myself so I can cry my eyes out.
Love doing business through amazon.com. they are consistent and I always get what I order.
- Must see this wonderful film!The marvelous movie takes place during the Holocaust but is also very aptly named, for it shows the even amid the worst atrocities the Enemy through his servants can afflict upon man, there is still beauty, love and joy as a father strives to keep his young son innocent of the horror that surrounds and would drown them and to give hope to his wife in the concentration camp they are all sent to. Inspiring, uplifting and encouraging that even in the greatest darkness, there could still be great light. ... Read More
- Fairy Tales can Come true"Fairy Tales can come true,it can happen to you, when you're "Young at Heart".
The horror of this Holocaust story is balanced by the overcoming
love and careof a father for his child's view of life.When I think
of the unspeakable depravity and inhumanity of man toward
his fellow man I also remember this father improvisingcircumstances
to lead his child to that table prepared for him in the "presence of his
enemies" hopefully to deliver him "from evil"."Greater ... Read More
- Romance And CreativityThis movie would easily fall into my top twenty favorite films. It has romance, comedy, and tragedy rolled up into one. It has subtitles, but it is well worth the watch.
- Life is BeautifulA great movie that everyone will love. Great plot with a story everyone age will love!
- inspirationalThe movie is inspirational. I'm a guy. I don't like movies that make me cry, but this one I love because it does make me cry. I sit in the basement late at night and watch it by myself so I can cry my eyes out.
Love doing business through amazon.com. they are consistent and I always get what I order.
