This DVD item from Miramax was reviewed on 10-Dec-2008.
Life Is Beautiful Reference DVD. Classifications : General Art House & International Genres DVD Video General AAS Italy By Country Art House & International Genres DVD Video Italian By Original Language Art House & International Genres DVD Video Jewis . Click the following link to view the cover of Life Is Beautiful. Related topics: 1998-10-23. General. Genres. DVD. Video. General AAS. Italy. By Country. Genres. DVD. Video. requestid: af5295df-a3f2-488d-8037-673a61a605e1
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1) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. This is a beautiful movie about the power of humor to bring hope and protect innocence in the face of unspeakable evil. Roberto Benigni´s achievement is incredible: his performance is hilariously endearing, his screenplay brilliant, and his directing wonderfully atmospheric. Truly heartwarming.¤ 2) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. Technically speaking, this movie share the same weaknesses of all the other Benigni´s production: it´s essentially a group of short gags assembled together more or less casually just to reach the proper length of a film.
As far as the content is concerned, most of the positive reviews run something like:
OK, don´t seek historical accuracy in this film. This film is not about the holocaust primarily, it´s purpose is not to document the holocaust. It is a film about family and the love of a father for his son. It is a film about how to survive in the most horrible conditions imaginable.
It seems to me they fail to grasp that this movie contains his own paradox. Out of a thousand way one can choose to stage "the love of a father for his son" Benigni picked up, not surprisingly, the holocaust, because he knew it was "the most horrible conditions imaginable", i.e. it´s sooo touching and also the easiest way to get the audience on your side. On the other hand Benigni depicts a sort of watered, hilarious, Hogan heroes type of holocaust that is far from being "the most horrible conditions imaginable". Why? First because he is inherently a clown and that is the only way he knows to describe the facts of life, second because it would have been impossible to give the smallest bit of credibility to such a character amidst the horror of a real camp situation.
As a result, the film ends up giving no historical accuracy (actually is an insult to historical accuracy), and, much worse, sounding so fake also on the main characters side.
He simply was ready to take advantage of a real historical drama just as a background in order to give weight and gain support to a otherwise very inconsistent plot, script and mediocre acting.
¤ 3) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. This is definitely in my Top Ten Movies of all time. It was beautiful, inspiring, heart-warming, poignant, heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud, and gut-wrenching. Every character in the small cast was great, but Roberto Benigni was absolutely amazing. I watched in on Thanksgiving and urge you to watch it on a similar occasion; it is an incredibly inspiring film that stayed with me long after it ended.¤ 4) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. Life is indeed beautiful and this wonderful movie by Roberto Begnini makes us stop to think about it, to admire it, to enjoy it, to love it, to come to the conclusion that, no matter how hard it is sometimes, it´s always worth it! From my point of view, the core message of this masterpiece is the selfless love. Whenever we feel this kind of love, we will see that nothing else matters. We will have accomplished the highest goal a human being can be assigned to. That´s also GOD´s message for us and, amidst laughter, smiles, humor and tenderness, Roberto Begnini leads our thoughts to same conclusion. Watch it because you won´t regret!¤ 5) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. This is on my top 5 list of favorite movies. I can watch it over and over again. Everyone should see this movie.¤ 6) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. An inspired motion picture masterpiece, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL was nominated for 7 Academy Awards(R) -- winning 3 Oscars, including one for Best Actor Robert Benigni. In this extraordinary tale, Guido (Benigni) -- a charming but bumbling waiter who´s gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor -- has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family. But then, that life is threatened by World War II ... and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate! Honored with an overwhelming level of critical acclaim, this truly exceptional, utterly unique achievement will lift your spirits and capture your heart!¤ 7) DVD DVD Life Is Beautiful by Miramax. Italy´s rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni accomplishes the impossible in his World War II comedy Life Is Beautiful: he shapes a simultaneously 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 more impetus 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 of which 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¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Jan-2009, 0788816209717951003089, 036-ESB-DPB-T5B-VOB-BJB-8GB-V6B-8 
Life Is Beautiful, DVD, Image © Miramax
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