MovieChat Forums > Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1990) Discussion > The 123 minute version is my favorite be...

The 123 minute version is my favorite because....

posted 13 years ago by Gutch220
3 replies | jump to latest

...it doesn't answer every question and put things into a nice, neat little box. This goes against 99% of all movies. The fact that things remain unanswered throughtout a lifetime makes the film much more powerful, and relatable to almost everyone watching. This is one of the few movies where the shorter version tells a better story by not telling the whole story.
Most movies with extended versions just add/extend certain scenes but don't change the plot of the film. This film does.

[–] randyhndrsn 13 years ago

Without question, the 123 minutes cut has better pacing and is just a better overall film, it gives you the emotional punch, screw the little details.

[–] paleolith 13 years ago

I just watched the 3-hour version. I've seen the movie before and I assume I saw the two-hour version -- it's not in my complete Netflix history so I must have seen it before 2000, very likely during its US release.

The long version does drag a bit, especially in the middle hour. The Toto-Elena love story is extremely well done, but doesn't stand out from quite a few other films nearly as much as the cinema-love story does. Morricone's music is somewhat too lush, and this excess is more striking in the latter, extended part. OTOH, there's a stunning, slow arc of emotion over the last two hours, and it's connected to the film theme in the way the Toto-Elena story mirrors the old cinema.

So I don't remember the 2-hour version well enough to have an opinion on which is better. But I'll say that I don't feel anything in the 3-hour version was superfluous in telling that story.

Edward

[–] withnail69 13 years ago

"I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"