Ennio Morricone’s Masterpiece

I’ll never forget the first time I watched the movie Cinema Paradiso. I was a naive 7th grader who knew nothing about film or film music. I was in awe of the gorgeous soundtrack and the heartwarming story line.  It is by far one of the most beautiful works of art ever created, and my favorite movie. Cinema Paradiso changed my life forever by sparking my obsessive interest in movies, and the music that makes each one such a unique work of art. My life was changed once again by the music of this movie when I was in high school. A few summers ago I had the amazing opportunity to perform a Cinema Paradiso medley on tour in Italy with The Philadelphia All City Orchestra. I was overwhelmed with happiness and am still so honored that I got to play one of the most inspirational pieces from my favorite movie.

*WARNING: This post does contain spoilers* 

Cinema Paradiso is an Italian film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. It follows the nostalgic journey of the main character Toto (Salvatore), a young boy who experiences friendship, love, and appreciation for film. The majority of the movie is told as flashback, from the memories of older Toto.

In my opinion, the ending scene sums up the overall beauty of the film. The music of this scene adds to the intensity of it’s visuals!  In this scene, Toto returns to his hometown after being away for 30 years. He is summoned back after hearing that Alfredo, his good friend and mentor had passed away. The ending scene and montage is a collection of all of the kissing footage Alfredo cut from the movies he showed at his theater when Toto was a kid. This footage was Alfredo’s final gift to Toto.

Many of the Youtube comment threads consist of both positive and melancholy reactions, like the ones shown above. I 100% agree with Franco Pozo’s comment that the ending is more of an experience (as is the whole movie)! Mo Rajabally’s comment is also very relevant with my relationship to the movie. I’ve seen it multiple times at different stages in my life, and each time I felt something totally new.

One of the many reasons this movie made cinematic history was because of the outstanding soundtrack. The music was written by the one and only Ennio Morricone, who is a world renowned composer. In the final scene of the movie, both the repetition of Morricone’s music and the kisses work well to create a unique emotional experience for the movie viewer. In my opinion it is the simplicity of both the music and visuals that trigger the most complex feelings. The music throughout the whole movie is phenomenal, and captures the mood of each scene perfectly. Morricone is also quite famous for his other soundtracks such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and Gabriel’s Oboe. I would highly recommend checking out any film or musical score Morricone is associated with because they are all wonderful!

If you’ve never seen Cinema Paradiso or listened to the soundtrack, I would stop what you’re doing RIGHT NOW and let yourself experience it’s world. I can guarantee you won’t regret it.  I’ll leave you with this quote from Michael Patison’s Youtube comment regarding the final scene…

“The best scene from my favorite movie of all time. Unadulterated beauty. Every aspect of the filmmaking makes it wonderful: the careful clip selection embodying old Hollywood at its best, from passion to comedy; the tremendous performance by Perrin (his impact is far, far greater than his screen time would suggest (10minutes, maybe?); the entire, faultless film that precedes it and the stunning score (my favorite ever) by Ennio Morricone that ties it all together, reminding of the film’s past simply by playing the same general theme already played several times throughout. I’m not a cryer. Never have been, never will be. Like I really don’t cry at all. But I bawl like a newborn every single time I watch this movie and this scene. I’m just 22. Imagine how bad I’ll be crying thinking of everything it represents in 50 years.”