Track Listing

1. Cinema Paradiso
2. Maturity
3. While Thinking About Her Again
4. Childhood and Manhood
5. Cinema on Fire
6. Love Theme
7. After the Destruction
8. First Youth
9. Love Theme for Nata
10. Visit to the Cinema
11. Four Interludes
12. Runaway, Search and Return
13. Projection for Two
14. From American Sex Appeal to the First Fellini Film
15. Toto and Alfredo
16. For Elena

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16855 in Music
• Released on: 1991-06-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Original language: English, Italian, Portuguese
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
European pressing of the soundtrack to the classic 1984 film, with music from the legendary master Ennio Morricone, features exclusive artwork. Acqu.

Amazon.com
The initial effort in what's become an ongoing collaboration between filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore and composer Ennio Morricone (in this instance assisted by his son Andrea) remains one of the Italian musician's most internationally beloved works. The bittersweet tale of a young boy's friendship with the local cinema projectionist and the profound, almost magical influence the movies have on both their lives won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and the Best Foreign Film Oscar, and netted Morricone a BAFTA (U.K. equivalent of the Oscar) for Best Score. In the late '90s, the music also received one of America's other great "honors"--it was adapted for a car commercial! The score is among Morricone's most elegant and memorably melodic, effectively evoking a rich cinematic legacy; it's a virtual musical love letter to the power of films and their music. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

A perfect match to a beautiful film
The soundtrack of Cinema Paradiso was practically a co-star in the wonderful film. Listening to the music brings back every frame of the film. I believe it is essential to own the soundtrack. There are times when I am viewing my video of the film, and I just want to enjoy the music. With this CD, I can do that. It is incredibly beautiful, unique, uplifting and heart-breaking music by the genius Ennio Morricone.

BRAVO MAESTRO!!!
Ennio Morricone touches everyone's soul with this beautiful music he composed to go with the masterpiece of Italian director, Giuseppe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso.

The music goes with the story perfectly as a result of the scheme Tornatore and Morricone follow with the soundtracks to Tornatore's movies: the composer becomes involved very early in the process, almost as the script is being taken into the screenplay process, so as to make the music of the movie an integral component of it. And Cinema Paradiso is no exception to this: you can almost follow the story throughout the soundtrack... The love, the sadness, the desperation. It's one of those musical pieces that will last forever.

Beautiful. Similar to Hisaishi's compsitions.
I recently got a copy of Ennio Morricone's score for Cinema Paradiso. However, I was a bit reluctant about getting it, as I had listened to some sample tracks and thought it was very boring fluff. Yet being normally curious, I came here and was surprised to find people commenting on it with phrases like "masterpiece!", "most beautiful and incredible music I've ever heard" or "internationally beloved." I was surprised as none of these words popped into my head when I listened to the few snippets that I heard. But you don't read such stunning, positive reviews everyday.

At first, I had to force myself to listen all the way through. Yes, it was very melodic and orchestrated very well, but I just kept thinking how it seemed like stuff I'd heard a thousand times before. Then as I payed more attention to it, it hit me. Joe Hisaishi! It sounded almost exactly like the hyptonic melodies (the utterly simple and attractive melodies only great composers can write) of Joe Hisaishi (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa). Who would have thought? An Italian and a Japanese composer having very similar styles. Though Ennio Morricone is known for a lot more stuff than this film--most famous is his scores for the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns--for this particular score, he eerily matches Joe Hisaishi in thought and form, especially in comparison to the score for My Neighbor Totoro. The two films have similar attitudes as well. Cinema Paradiso is about a little boy who grows up loving movies and My Neighbor Totoro is about two little girls who grow up knowing about magical monsters in a forest. They both have very happy as well as achingly sad moments, and the musical demands are very similar as a result.

I think the reason Morricone's score didn't catch my ears at first listen was the fact that it doesn't use any synthetic instruments. Joe Hisaishi uses a lot of it for My Neighbor Totoro--the melodies come through a lot more memorabley as a result. I also have the symphonic version of the Totoro score, but I find it loses a lot of personality in this form. Maybe it's something about these simple melodies that takes a bit to listen for it. It really will glide over your senses if you're not receptive to it on the first listen, and the synthetic instruments was this ear-catcher for Totoro, however, the recording for Cinema Paradiso is more subtle.

I seem to have this problem a lot. I've had this experience more than once--listening to a piece of music that I didn't really care for on first listen, then over time, if I keep hearing it, I keep hearing more and more that I like. Most of the music that are my favorites are this type of music. Stuff I didn't like on first listen yet eventually realized is better than all those other readily-liked tunes. There's a certain amount of thought and receptiveness you have to bring to a great piece of music. Most pop tunes are composed so that you'll like it even with your brain turned off.

A great piece of music to have in your collection. You won't regret it. (oh, and check out some of Joe Hisaishi's works as well)