Italian Directors - Roberto Benigni

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Italian Directors - Roberto Benigni

Life Is Beautiful Roberto Benigni Roberto Benigni's celebrated and enormously popular film boldly blends a sentimental and humorous portrait of family love with a stark Holocaust drama, while gracefully allowing the star moments to showcase his gifts for physical comedy. The film begins as a fairy tale romance, then shifts dramatically when the hero and his family are placed in a concentration camp. To get his young son through the ordeal, the father (Benigni) tries to convince him that the hardships they are enduring are all part of an elaborate game. Benigni won Best Actor honors at the Academy Awards, where the film was also honored as Best Foreign Language Film. Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1997, 116 mins. DVD $37.95

Pinocchio Roberto Benigni Italian writer-director Roberto Benigni's critically-panned adaptation of the classic fairy tale is a big budget, visual spectacle with cinematography by Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential). A strange film with Benigni himself taking on the role of the young wooden puppet who yearns to be a real boy. An American dubbed version contains voice-overs by Brekin Meyer, Glenn Close, Queen Latifah, James Belushi, John Cleese, Eric Idle and more. Contains both the Italian and English language versions; two-DVD set is letterboxed, and closed-captioned. Italy, 2002, 108 mins. DVD $44.95

The Tiger and the Snow Roberto Benigni Writer-director-actor Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful) plays Attilio de Giovanni, an Italian professor and poet drawn to Baghdad when an Iraqi colleague tells him that the love of his life has been injured amidst the American invasion. Part comedy, part tragedy, and definitely politically-charged, La Tigre e le Neve is a return to form for Benigni, now joined by Jean Reno, Nicoletta Braschi, Emilia Fox, and Tom Waits. In Italian, Arabic, and English with English subtitles. Italy, 2005, 110 mins. DVD $44.95

Berlinguer I Love You Giuseppe Bertolucci Italian comic actor Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful) debuted in this sweet and oft-overlooked gem about a hapless young man who's plagued by an Oedipal relationship with his mother. Giuseppe Bertolucci (Especially on Sunday) directs a winsome farce that was the first film to expose Benigni's clowning to the world. In Italian with English subtitles. Italy, 1977, 91 mins. DVD $37.95

Coffee and Cigarettes Jim Jarmusch Favored vices and casual conversations link the humorous vignettes that comprise indie maverick Jim Jarmusch's latest. Filmed over the course of a 17-year period, the intimate, black and white segments feature a who's who of celebrity greats, many playing themselves, waxing philosophic over java and smokes in wonderfully acted scenarios. Stars Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie Lee, Cinqu Lee, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Joe Rigano, Vinny Vella, Renee French, E. J. Rodriguez, Alex Descas, Isaach de Bankol, Cate Blanchett, Meg White and Jack White of The White Stripes, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, GZA and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, Bill Murray, Bill Rice and Taylor Mead. "...a celebration of caffeine, nicotine and the indolent pleasure of sitting around and consuming them" (A.O. Scott, The New York Times). Includes an outtake with Bill Murray, an interview with Taylor Meade, a music video, the theatrical trailer, and French and Spanish subtitles. Closed-captioned. USA, 2004, 96 mins. DVD $44.95

Down by Law Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch's third feature film continues in the deadpan vein of Stranger Than Paradise, with the wild card addition of Roberto Benigni energizing the proceedings considerably. Tom Waits and John Lurie co-star as convicts who team up with fellow inmate Benigni to escape from prison and embark on a colorful life on the lam. A funny, highly original film featuring superb black and white cinematography by the great Robby Muller. Lurie composed the soundtrack and Waits supplied some songs. The DVD is a Criterion Collection edition, letterboxed, 16x9 widescreen, and includes comments and reflections by Jim Jarmusch, outtakes, interview with Robby Muller, 1986 Cannes Film Festival press conference, isolated music track, production stills, Tom Waits music video, optional English and French subtitles, and more. In English. USA, 1986, 107 mins. DVD $59.95

Night on Earth Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch's film is structured episodically, with the narrative simultaneously unfolding in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki, and it concerns the relationship of cab drivers and their passengers. "Delirious...Much as jazz does, Night on Earth transforms the commonplace into something haunting, mysterious, and newly true" (Vincent Canby, New York Times). The ensemble cast includes Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Rosie Perez, Giancarlo Esposito, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Beatrice Dalle, Isaach de Bankole, Roberto Benigni, Matti Pellonpaa and Kari Vaananen. Tom Waits composed the music and performs two numbers. The DVD is a 2 disc Criterion Collection Edition, with newly restored high-def digital transfer, supervised and approved by the director. Includes audio commentary by director of photography Frederick Elmes and location sound mixer Drew Kunin, Q&A with Jarmusch responding to fan questions, 1992 Belgian TV interview with Jarmusch, new English subtitles, and a booklet featuring new essays by Paul Auster, Thom Anderson, Bernard Eisenschitz, Goffredo Fofi and Peter von Bagh. In English, French, Finnish and Italian with English subtitles. USA, 1991, 128 mins. DVD $59.95

Son of the Pink Panther Blake Edwards Roberto Benigni stepped into the shoes of the late Peter Sellers for this entry in Blake Edwards' slapstick franchise. Benigni plays the son of Inspector Clouseau, who is sent on a mission to find a kidnapped princess. Like his father, this new Clouseau manages to create chaos and confusion while driving Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) utterly mad. USA, 1993, 92 mins. DVD $37.95