Vita è bella, La (Life is beautiful) > Reviews

Advantages: Everything - it's really thtat good
Disadvantages: Slapstick comedy can be a bit silly

title: la vita è bella (life is beautiful) year: 1997 director: roberto benigni (subtitles) intro: i've been a member of dvdsontap.com (now known as lovefilm.com) for a while now, and this has been waiting in my queue for ages. my boyfriend was a bit sceptical when i told him that it was a comedy about the holocaust (what i'd heard from a friend) but we decided to watch it anyway. i'd just like to point out that i usually wait a while ... Read review

Advantages: a beautiful side of a harsh reality
Disadvantages: using a box of kleenex at the end of it!

Turn off bright lights, get a box of kleenex + curl up with a blanket. Then press 'play'. I guarantee after the moment you have pressed play, you will be transfixed to the screen, transfixed to a captivating, beautiful story of love + sacrifice ultimately intertwined in the most beautiful of ways. I certainly was. From the first moment this film was advertised on Front Row I had little fancy for it - an Italian movie in subtitles - I thought it ... Read review

Advantages: Pleasing idea, nice performances...
Disadvantages: Not as hilarious and heart-wrenching as it should be.

Remember how Roberto Benigni livened things up at an otherwise dull Oscar ceremony? Chances are you'll fall into one of two categories; those who applauded the little Italian's disruption of the Academy's glitzy pomposity, or those who wanted to wring his neck as his milked his loveable sub-Chaplin shtick for all it was worth. If you are one of the latter, you probably won't be reading this review; if you are one of the former, there are plenty of ... Read review

Advantages: Great Story, Very well constructed etc.
Disadvantages: Holocaust

A sensitive story about an ingenious father who will do just about anything for his son, and will willingly give up his life for the love of his wife. That would be a decent summation of Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful. This is not the kind of film you will watch for entertainment, despite the fact that there is a lot of extremely good comedy in the first half of the film. The story of Guido (Roberto Benigni), a Jew caught in the horrors ... Read review

Advantages: Wonderful, charming
Disadvantages: Clash of motives?

'La Vita è bella' is indeed a truly beautiful film - but perhaps I didn't think it was quite as glorious as some have deemed it since. It's a charming story of a Jewish family ( the director playing the head of household ) and their suffering during the holocaust. Starting off as a quaint look at period life in rural Italy, it progresses to the harsh world of a concentration camp, through to the final surrender. Never is there a moment when you get ... Read review

Advantages: Moving. Set in beautiful Italy, it prompted me to learn Italian and visit the country.
Disadvantages: None

La Vita E Bella. This is an Italian movie with English subtitles. But don't let that put you off! In the beginning of the movie, the characters do have "beautiful lives," and as the story continues the beauty lies in the preservation of innocence against all odds. When the characters find themselves in dire circumstances, the viewer is spared unnecessary graphic imagery. Rather than horrific scenes, their difficulties are presented to the viewer ... Read review

Advantages: Wonderfully uplifting at times
Disadvantages: Upsetting at times

...are sooo sad. La vita is still bella! ... Read review

Advantages: Uplifting
Disadvantages: Sad

Life is beautiful (la vita è bella) Director - Roberto Benigni Italian with subtitles. DVD has option of watching dubbed version but I’d only recommend this if you struggle to read quickly. I recently borrowed The Pianist from a friend at work and on returning it, I thanked him and commented that I’d really liked the film but was it suitable to say that I’d ‘enjoyed’ a film about the holocaust? He replied that he knew exactly what I meant and ... Read review

Advantages: Fantastic original plot, great cast.
Disadvantages: The subtitles - but they really shoulsn't put you off

Considering the amount of acclaim and publicity this I was surprised that this film had very few ops about it. So lets starts with the basics - its an independent, italian, sub-titled film set during the second world war. Robert Benigni co-wrote this masterpiece as well as directing and starring in his oscar-winning role. A Jewish man, falls in love with Nicoletta Braschi (his wife in real life), and they settle down and start a life together ... Read review

Advantages: Funny, uplifting, great acting - Perfect in every way!
Disadvantages: You will go through quite a few boxes of tissues!

One of my all time favourite films!! I think I was destined to watch this film after picking it up twice in blockbusters and having complete strangers come up to me, telling me to rent it! And I was so glad I did! Don't be fooled by the happy, smiling people on the front cover though, it is a sad sad film (tissues at the ready!) but it is uplifting and funny at the same time. The film is set mostly in a concentration camp during the second world war ... Read review

Advantages: great music, great story, original
Disadvantages: don't think so

Some movies are better when you watch them together with your girlfriend. This one is better when you watch it whith your dad. The relationship between the father and the son in this movie is so realistic and so emotional that you will need your dad when the movie is over. I gave my dad a big hug when I came home (he didn't know why). I cried in the movie theatre. That is something that I don't do a lot. This movie does the impossible: it's funny ... Read review

Advantages: It's a most beautiful film
Disadvantages: I don't speak english.

...attore comico, ma con "La vita è bella" al di là di ogni premio, credo abbia fatto il passo più lungo della gamba. Non a caso ha ricevuto tre statuette. ... Read review