Life Is Beautiful

Amazon.com

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

Description

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!

Customer Reviews:

Awful.......2007-09-11

I was extremely disappointed with this movie. I read the raving reviews and thought it would be great but it wasn't. Some parts were funny but I don't think you can make light on something as dreadful as the Holocaust no matter how good the acting is. I think this is taking dark humor too far and I found it extremely offensive and over rated!

and more ******.......2007-09-10

Yes, I cried too. In a world, where we forget to appreciate our beloved ones, Guido gives the most strength to his beloved ones in the most difficult times. A smiling face, a loving heart, a courage to give that strength to his family in the most beautiful way. a sharp thinking capability... With his love, Dora and Joshua find the direction to survive and with his love, I am sure both Dora and Joshua find the way to move on... lovely...

a truly unforgettable film................2007-09-01

I had the privilege of seeing LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (LA VITA E BELLA) in the movie theater, right after star and co-director Roberto Benigini had won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Actor. There is no other word to describe it. This film is beautiful, and it definitely makes you appreciate and value life more.

I know some people have trouble picturing a film whose subject matter is the Holocaust that starts out as such a bubbly comedy. But, that is exactly the tone that the director and writers (Roberto Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami) developed, and it's brilliant. Guido (Benigni) is a young, Jewish-Italian man with a wonderful sense of humor and a gusto for life. He falls madly in love with Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a beautiful woman who he continues to pursue (even when she is engaged to be married to another man!). Of course, love conquers all. However, the second half takes a decidedly different turn when he and his son (Giorgio Cantarini) are placed in a concentration camp. This is when Guido's inventiveness and imagination become invaluable tools in shielding his son from the horrors they encounter there.

It is rare that I see a fillm that leaves me so breathless as this one does, ten years later. This is the film that Roberto Benigni will be most remembered for, and for good reason. I suggest that you watch this for your heart, your soul and your spirit. Be sure to have a box of kleenex and prepare to lose yourself in the spellbinding beauty of this movie.

Beautiful Story.......2007-08-09

The love of a man for his wife and son is remarkably touching. This is a very well done movie. I enjoy it every time I see it!

Life is Beautiful is Beautiful.......2007-08-03

My entire family adored this charming tragicomedy about life in Italy just before and during World War II. Director and star Roberto Benigni has created a fairy tale with an edge. An irrepressible Jewish waiter falls in love with a socialite, winning her away from her Fascist fiance with a mix of humor, coincidence, opportunism and whimsy. They have a son and find themselves in the midst of a Jewish pogrom that transports them to an unnamed concentration camp. Father "Guido" uses the same skill set that he used to win his wife to protect his four-year old son from the brutality that surrounds him, convincing him that the camp is an elaborate holiday and game in which the winner will receive a new tank.

Benigni's performance (which won a Best Actor Academy Award--rare for a foreign language film) is a masterwork--manic, touching, hilarious and affecting in about every possible way. The scene where he translates a German soldier's camp instructions for the benefit of his son is priceless ("No lollipops! Don't even think about asking!") His wife Dora is beautiful and bemused in the first act and exists more symbolically, but still powerfully in the second. The very young actor who plays son Joshua is amazing--portraying the wide-eyed enthusiasm of his father combined with a mistrustful wisdom well beyond his years.

Like the recent French film "Amelie", "Beatiful" has a whimsical soul. The concentration camp sometimes seems a little too smooth, a feature that Spielberg films on serious subjects are sometimes accused of. Still, the Germans were known for the their organization and order, and the story doesn't really need grisly depictions of much of what went on during the Holocaust to make its point. The production design also fits with the fairy tale feeling of the tale.

My wife doesn't much care for foreign films, but said she felt like she'd learned some Italian watching this one. My daughter doesn't like foreign films or period movies. Both loved "Life is Beautiful." You will too.

Academy Award Winning Movies - Volume I (Chicago/Frida/Life is Beautiful)

Average customer rating:

Fantastic!!
Miramax - get your facts straight!

Academy Award Winning Movies - Volume I (Chicago/Frida/Life is Beautiful)
Starring: Antonio Banderas , Lucia Bravo , Lila Downs , Valeria Golino , and Salma Hayek
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0000YTOQ2
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Description

Catch the heat of the Academy Awards(R) with 3 Oscar(R)-winning films that have earned a combined 11 Academy Awards and 26 nominations, including 2003 Best Picture winner CHICAGO! CHICAGO: Starring Academy Award(R) winner Catherine Zeta-Jones (Best Supporting Actress), Golden Globe(R) winner Renée Zellweger (Best Actress), Golden Globe(R) winner Richard Gere (Best Actor), Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, and Colm Feore. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL: Starring internationally acclaimed director, co-writer, and Academy Award(R)-winning actor Roberto Benigni (Best Actor, 1998) and Nicoletta Braschi. FRIDA: Starring Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, and Academy Award(R) winner Geoffrey Rush (1997 Best Actor, SHINE). Also starring Antonio Banderas, Ashley Judd, and Edward Norton. CLICK ON LINKS BELOW FOR INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT DETAILS.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!!.......2004-10-26

I don't know what the latter reviewer's problem is, although truely anamorphic widescreen would be great, the only version sold of Life is Beautiful is this one, so deal with it, it doesn't take away the fact that it is an amazing movie, when I saw it, my heart lifted, I felt good, extremely good, the cast esp. Roberto Benigni who gives a triumphant and hysterical role to a difficult part to play on a touchy subject is incredible. A flawless movie in every way. Chicago goes without saying, you know, it's great, 10 academy awards, if you haven't already seen it then you should deffinetley get this set. Finally Frida is also a truely remarkable film, in exploring the life of Frida Kahlo portrayed by Salma Hayek who does a great job. Of course these dvds aren't perfect what dvds are? But take it from me, at this price this collector's set is deffinetely worth it. Building a collection, or love good movies, and classics, than this set and the other II and III are for you. I am glad Miramax did this.

Miramax - get your facts straight!.......2004-03-02

All three of these volumes claim to contain versions of their respective movies that are "Enhanced for 16x9 televisions" yet upon closer examination, each of the volumes contains at least one (and in the case of Volume III, TWO) movies that are in the same crappy matted widescreen format that Miramax has been pushing for the last several years. The culprit in the this volume is Life is Beautiful. I have nothing against widescreen - just let the DVD player insert the matting and use the full resolution of the DVD for useful picture information. I suspect these box sets are a way for Miramax to dump the older (non anamorphic widescreen) versions of these movies on unsuspecting 4x3 t.v. owners - chances are they'll never know the difference until they try to watch them on a newer 16x9 t.v. - at which time it will be too late to return them.

La Vida Es Bella (Life Is Beautiful) aka (La Vita E Bella) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

Average customer rating:

La Vida Es Bella (Life Is Beautiful) aka (La Vita E Bella) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
Director: Roberto Benigni
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Average customer rating:

Awful
and more ******
a truly unforgettable film.........
Beautiful Story
Life is Beautiful is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

ASIN: B00004U420

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Awful.......2007-09-11

and more ******.......2007-09-10

a truly unforgettable film................2007-09-01

Beautiful Story.......2007-08-09

The love of a man for his wife and son is remarkably touching. This is a very well done movie. I enjoy it every time I see it!

Life is Beautiful is Beautiful.......2007-08-03

Life Is Beautiful [Non-US Format, Pal, Region2, Import]

Average customer rating:

EXTRAORDINARY...BOTH WONDROUSLY JOYOUS AND INFINITELY SAD...

Life Is Beautiful [Non-US Format, Pal, Region2, Import]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Product Features:

Region 2 encoding (Europe, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East including Egypt).
Requires multi-region DVD player in the US.

ASIN: 8389533391

Product Description

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 US 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 humour 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.

Customer Reviews:

EXTRAORDINARY...BOTH WONDROUSLY JOYOUS AND INFINITELY SAD..........2006-07-07

This is one of the best and most creative films ever made. Totally inventive in concept, the story revolves around an exuberant and romantic Italian man named Guido, who also happens to be Jewish. He sweeps the woman of his dreams,his "Principessa", off her feet. They marry and have an adorable little boy whom they dearly love. Unfortunately, this all happens during World War II in fascist Italy.

Ultimately, Guido and their son are whisked away to a concentration/work camp on their young son's birthday. Meanwhile, his wife and the boy's mother, coming home and expecting to find a birthday celebration in progress, discovers, instead, that the inevitable has occurred. She tracks them down to the train that is taking prisoners to a work camp and, after confirming that they are on board, insists upon boarding the train herself, so that she may remain close to them. They see her board the train and know that she is with them.

In order to get his son through this horror as best he can, Guido tells his son that they are involved in a real life game to win a tank, knowing that the boy had wanted a toy tank for his birthday. Talk about a reality survival game! In any case, his son is young enough to fall for it and gets with the program as only the very young can. What follows is a series of inventive scenarios which tells the viewer of the lengths that the father goes in order to keep his son quiet, obedient, entertained, and safe from harm. All along, the father has his son believing in the game and playing to win, to the point that the boy believes that they are actually in first place to win the tank.

While this may sound like an odd venue in which to find oneself laughing, that is exactly what the viewer does. At the same time, the film is achingly poignant, and the end is infinitely sad. Guido is played to perfection by comedic star and filmmaker Roberto Benigni, who also directed this masterpiece. His on screen wife and comedic foil is played by his real life main squeeze, Nicoletta Braschi. The son is played with wondrous innocence by the totally adorable Giorgio Cantarini. This is an award caliber film that saw Benigni deservedly capture Oscars for Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film.

All in all, this film will leave the viewer both laughing and crying. It is simply a great movie. Bravo!

Average customer rating:

Awful
and more ******
a truly unforgettable film.........
Beautiful Story
Life is Beautiful is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004D0DU

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Awful.......2007-09-11

and more ******.......2007-09-10

a truly unforgettable film................2007-09-01

Beautiful Story.......2007-08-09

The love of a man for his wife and son is remarkably touching. This is a very well done movie. I enjoy it every time I see it!

Life is Beautiful is Beautiful.......2007-08-03

Average customer rating:

Life Is Beautiful [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VYBU

Average customer rating:

Life Is Beautiful [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VYBJ

Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è bella) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]

Average customer rating:

EXTRAORDINARY...BOTH WONDERFULLY JOTOUS AND INFINITELY SAD...

Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è bella) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]
Director: Roberto Benigni
Manufacturer: Buena Vista
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Life Is Beautiful

ASIN: B000FT933G

Product Description

Sweden released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Danish (Subtitles), English (Subtitles), Finnish (Subtitles), Norwegian (Subtitles), Swedish (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN, SYNOPSIS: In this WW II tragicomedy, famed Italian funnyman Roberto Benigni (The Monster) portrays Guido, who moves during the '30s from the country to a Tuscan town, where he is entranced by schoolteacher Dora (Nicoletta Braschi, Benigni's real-life wife). Dora likes Guido, but she remains faithful to her pompous fiancé, so Guido has an uphill struggle. Meanwhile, anti-Semitic attitudes lead to attacks against Guido's Jewish uncle (Giustino Durano). Leaping ahead to five years later, during WW II, Guido and Dora are married and have a son Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). After they are imprisoned in a concentration camp, Guido goes to elaborate lengths to keep his son from understanding the truth of their situation. He tells the boy that they are competing with others to win an armored tank -- so everything from food shortages to tattoos is explained as necessary for participation in the contest.

Customer Reviews:

EXTRAORDINARY...BOTH WONDERFULLY JOTOUS AND INFINITELY SAD..........2006-08-07

This is one of the best and most creative films ever made. Totally inventive in concept, the story revolves around an exuberant and romantic Italian man named Guido, who also happens to be Jewish. He sweeps the woman of his dreams, his "Principessa", off her feet. They marry and have an adorable little boy whom they dearly love. Unfortunately, this all happens during World War II in fascist Italy.

Ultimately, Guido and their son are whisked away to a concentration/work camp on their young son's birthday. Meanwhile, his wife and the boy's mother, coming home and expecting to find a birthday celebration in progress, discovers, instead, that the inevitable has occurred. She tracks them down to the train that is taking prisoners to a work camp and, after confirming that they are on board, insists upon boarding the train herself, so that she may remain close to them. They see her board the train and know that she is with them.

In order to get his son through this horror as best he can, Guido tells his son that they are involved in a real life game to win a tank, knowing that the boy had wanted a toy tank for his birthday. Talk about a reality survival game! In any case, his son is young enough to fall for it and gets with the program as only the very young can. What follows is a series of inventive scenarios which tells the viewer of the lengths that the father goes in order to keep his son quiet, obedient, entertained, and safe from harm. All along, the father has his son believing in the game and playing to win, to the point that the boy believes that they are actually in first place to win the tank.

While this may sound like an odd venue in which to find oneself laughing, that is exactly what the viewer does. At the same time, the film is achingly poignant, and the end is infinitely sad. Guido is played to perfection by comedic star and filmmaker Roberto Benigni, who also directed this masterpiece. His on screen wife and comedic foil is played by his real life main squeeze, Nicoletta Braschi. The son is played with wondrous innocence by the totally adorable Giorgio Cantarini. This is an award caliber film that saw Benigni deservedly capture Oscars for Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film.

All in all, this film will leave the viewer both laughing and crying. It is simply a great movie. Bravo!

Charlie Rose with David Maraniss; Bill Bradley; Roberto Benigni (October 20, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with David Maraniss; Bill Bradley; Roberto Benigni (October 20, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, David Maraniss discusses his biography of Bill Clinton, First in His Class, and his new book, The Clinton Enigma, which dissects Clinton's speech in which he admitted to an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Then, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley (D-NY) discusses his new book, Values of the Game, in which he relates the lessons he learned while he was in the NBA in his post-college years. He says he is reluctant to run for president. Finally, Italian actor Roberto Benigni discusses his new film, Life is Beautiful, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and involves a comedic tale set during the Holocaust.

DVD:

DVD

DVD