Oscar winning drama Cinema Paradiso is being adapted into a television series by original director Giuseppe Tornatore.
If you haven’t the had the pleasure, Cinema Paradiso is one of the most heartwarming films out there. A love letter to the movies, the Italian film follows young boy Salvatore Di Vita, who becomes enamoured with a picture house called Cinema Paradiso and, in particular, the irascible projectionist Alfredo. Animosity and aggravation soon develops into a fierce friendship, as Alfredo teaches Salvatore the tricks of the trade and, in return, Salvatore softens Alfredo’s character and is the only one who can help when a terrible accident occurs.
Produced in 1988, the film was written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and on its release won a number of awards including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and the Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix Prize.
In a surprising piece of news, Tornatore is returning to the world of Cinema Paradiso to write and direct a television series, currently titled Paradiso.
According to producer Marco Belardi, the series “will be the same story of the film, but in expanded form with various different narrative strands.” He added that Tornatore is currently writing the treatment and the pilot, with plans for the show to be shot imminently and delivered in 2023.
He also teased some of the elements that would be incorporated into the series, including “the strength of a mother, the solidarity of a friend, sex as a taboo, forced relocations, eloping, and marked social differences.”
Cinema Paradiso was recently remastered and rereleased in the UK in 4k Ultra HD Blu Ray with a slew of special features including a commentary from Tornatore and several documentaries, which can be ordered here.
—
Thank you for visiting! If you’d like to support our attempts to make a non-clickbaity movie website:
Follow Film Stories on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.
Buy our Film Stories and Film Stories Junior print magazines here.
Become a Patron here.
