http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/dec/09/cinema-paradiso-25th-anniversary
For many years it was just one of those films on my ever-growing "must see" list - until two years ago when we screened it at out film society. Many of our regulars had seen it several times and a number of strangers travelled from far and wide to see it. When it was over I could understand why they were so keen to see it, and it's now on my "must see again" list.
I particularly liked the following quote from Stephen Woolley who originally distributed the film in the UK:
"Cinema Paradiso is a movie about memory, and for our generation cinema was a place to congregate, a magical place to let your imagination run free. The character of the cinemas of my childhood and youth were all different and special. Now it's all boxes, little long rooms, every cinema is the same, they smell the same, they have the same character, the sameness is the central quality. It's like air travel, it used to be an occasion, now it's a fast-food experience."As a taster, here's the trailer:
