Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #530 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-01-22
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Italian
• Subtitled in: Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 122 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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. --Sean Axmaker

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
Conjuring keys and hats out of thin air, Guido (Roberto Benigni), a clever Jewish-Italian waiter, successfully courts Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a beautiful local woman, in Fascist pre-WWII Italy. His life, however, is turned upside down a few years later when he, Dora, and their young son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini), are sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Refusing to give up hope, Guido tries to protect his son's innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is just an elaborate game, with the grand prize being a tank.
For years the box-office champ in Italy and the country's most beloved slapstick comic, the Chaplinesque Benigni took a huge risk with LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL. Many people worried that the film would be as offensive as plopping a cartoon character in Auschwitz. (A similar work--THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, a Jerry Lewis film about a comedian in a concentration camp--turned out to be a disaster two decades earlier.) Although LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL did provoke some controversy, many people found the film to be a poignant, tragicomic story that profoundly reaffirmed the humanity of concentration camp victims. The film became the highest grossing foreign language film in the U.S. and established Benigni as an international star.

Customer Reviews

a wonderful look at a terrible event
Although i understand the viewpoints of those people who have only rated this as a 1 star, i would have to disagree. the common dislike seems to be that it is inappropriate to make a 'comedy' with the central theme being the holocaust. i however do not think that that is what this film is supposed to be. The comic beginning of the film is intended to make the viewer find the irrepressible main character impossible not to love. this in turn serves only to heighten the incredible sadness and feelings of loss that the rest of the film conveys. it is a dark, beautiful and moving film. The use of comedy, in my opinion is that which makes the holocaust theme hit home more than any amount of pathos ever could. I can't help but find this to be one of the most moving films i have ever seen. i entirely recommend it, so long as you are not looking for a comedy, but rather a unique look at the terrible happenings of this period of history.

Boring
I found this film boring. I entirely disagree with the reviews objecting to the film in terms of 'comedy about the holocaust' - comedy can be one of the most profoundly tragic forms of communication. Unfortunately this film had nothing of the profound or the tragic. It was just so trivial and I couldn't care less about the characters.
Bring on a comedy about the holocaust - make it shocking, make it black, make it make me laugh through the tears. Don't make another sentimental, mediocre, light-comedy.

absolute cinematic genius
I can't believe I only just saw this movie. It is honestly the greatest piece of cinema I have ever seen
I laughed hysterically, then cried, then got absolutely furious...and then cried some more
Amazing!