November 26, 2024 • 62 mins
In this episode, Doug Wortel and Devon Irby discuss the Italian film 'Cinema Paradiso,' directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. They explore the film's themes of childhood, nostalgia, and the impact of cinema on a small community in post-World War II Italy.
In the middle of this broadcast, however, Tito From Hyde Park called in and claimed that not only did he know the writer/director (known only by his alias “Joey Tornado” at the time) but he swears the film Cinema Paradiso is specifically about his life!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
You're listening to Radio Free Reinkliffe.
Welcome to Studio Property, the cinema podcast for people like you.
My name is Doug Wartell.
And I am Devin Irby.
And this week we're discussing the Italian film Cinema Paradiso.
Who directed that movie?
(00:21):
I wanted you to do all the Italian pronunciation.
OK, now that's a lot of pressure.
It is directed and written by Giuseppe Tornatore.
I actually feel pretty good with that.
Yeah, I would have just massacred that.
And this came out in 1988, which was a great year for me.
(00:44):
saw the pixies that year, the Ritz.
So it's all sort of, yeah, sort of culminates this really important year of my ownpersonal development.
was in fourth grade, so I can't really give you much.
I'm old, you see.
I smell like mothballs and soup.
(01:04):
Anyway, Cinema Paradiso is the story of a small boy who spends his entire childhoodhanging out with some old guy in a movie theater projection booth while a Catholic priest
stops by once a week to put the kibosh on anything romantic or fun.
And somehow none of this in any way is unusual to anyone.
It's just Italian.
Delightfully Italian.
(01:26):
Apparently.
But before we get to any of that, let's hit the theme song.
All right.
You stole the devil laugh out loud when you signed away your rotten soul that studioproperty your studio property Shut your mouth
(01:58):
You notice like my face is really swollen and looks like it might be covered in snailmucin, but it's not because I'm moisturized this time.
are you looking?
No, why are you slightly a little less than gorgeous today?
Well, thank you.
Although I usually find you to be quite gorgeous, but it's slightly less than.
(02:19):
Thank you.
You know, you know how to make a girl feel good.
Well, this movie was your pick.
I had seen this movie ages ago and forgot how much it meant to me, how much I loved it,how much it hit me.
But I watched it in the beginning of the week and then right before I came up to thestudio, I watched the director's cut, which is a completely other matter.
(02:43):
So I don't know which cut you watched, but I watched two cuts and the director's cutsdrastically different than the first cut.
Specifically at the end.
I know that when I first saw it,
Okay, when I first saw it, I'm pretty sure I saw just the, whatever the American releasewas, but I know when I rewatched it for our episode, I watched the international version,
(03:08):
which has, I mean, a bit more, but I did not sit through the director's cut.
Are you all right?
I'm all right.
Yeah.
I just, it's like, I feel like I ate too much cake.
Yeah.
A little bit like, Like, wow, that was amazing.
But why did I do that?
Cake would be in this case like a whole lot of like sentiment and like, yeah, was, we'llget to it.
(03:34):
We'll get to it toward the end of the episode, but yeah, I'm still sort of, I'memotionally compromised is what I'm trying to convey.
I feel like even the standard version, you're a little verklempt by the end.
You feel in all the feels.
So I can't even imagine where you are right now.
It's another hour of that and it's all condensed toward the dear Lord.
(03:54):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Whew, okay.
So let's set the stage for this film.
The beginning of the film, we meet an old lady and her grown ass daughter.
They're making a phone call and the daughter's like, he's not going to answer.
And the old lady is like, he will, he said he would.
(04:15):
At which point she makes a phone call.
And then we see a very fancy middle-aged Italian man in his sports car, his Italian sportscar, go into his fancy ass house.
And when he gets there, he of course has a gorgeous girlfriend who's already in bedbecause it's clearly late at night.
And she says, your mother called.
It's Italian.
It's clearly Italian.
(04:36):
It's clearly Italian.
Yep.
And she says, your mother called and she said, I was supposed to tell you, Alfredo died.
At which point our handsome, fancy ass Italian middle aged man gets very, what's theItalian version of on we?
Whatever the Italian version of Van Wee is, is clearly what is happening with him.
He becomes an emotional folding chair.
(04:59):
Yes, he becomes an emotional folding chair.
In Italian.
And at which point we gently jump into a flashback and we jump into his childhood.
And that's when we learn he is Salvatore, AKA Toto, De Vida?
De Vida.
Yeah, so Salvatore De Vida, also known as Toto.
(05:22):
And we jump into his childhood when he is eight years old.
And he is an aggressively cute eight year old.
He's so flipping adorable.
I can't handle it.
His dimples have dimples.
His smile has a whole other smile.
And then he winks a lot as an eight year old and he does this adorable like eight yearold.
(05:45):
I'm not good at it, but I'm going wink at you so many times.
Yeah.
He does a lot of very aggressive Italian hand talking and he's so tiny, you're alwayslike, and then he does like a palm to the forehead a lot and then he's always like, he's
so cute.
(06:05):
So cute.
So cute.
And he lives in a town full of delightfully horrible people.
They're absolute monsters.
Yeah.
But they prank each other.
It's a small town, so this is set in like,
just a couple of years or after World War II.
Mm-hmm.
And a little Sicilian town.
(06:26):
Yeah, a little Sicilian town.
Little Sicilian town.
With all the little weirdos.
With all the local weirdos.
All the Who we're gonna get to know as this goes on.
So, but in the heart of this little tiny town is a movie theater called Cinema Paradiso.
So our little Cinema Paradiso is your classic old school one screen.
(06:48):
a little one screen theater.
And the whole town is there.
For those not geographically epped, just so you're aware, Sicily is an island off of thewestern coast of Italy.
It's not large.
I mean, there are several sizable cities there, but it's not huge.
(07:11):
And so you're on a very small town on a small island off the coast of
not necessarily a large country.
you know, honestly for me, felt very homey.
I am, I'm a midwesterner.
So a little small Midwestern town.
That's kind of what it feels like, except it's Italian and it's in Sicily.
And the architecture is almost like, I want to say like, it's almost like a town you'd seein a Western almost, right?
(07:36):
Like a...
Yes, it has a very, apparently Sicily must have a very, a similarity to,
What am I thinking?
Like New Mexico, right?
Like that sort of like Spanish, everything's a little bit Adobe.
It's got a little bit of a Western feel to it.
Yeah.
I just solved in that sentence, I just solved Sergio Leone.
(08:00):
Just then, root, like it was right there and I saw just then.
All right.
I do that correlations like.
It was a complete accident and I tripped over it and I was like, and then I picked it up.
was like, what was that?
And it was Sergio Leone.
Son of a gun.
certainly was.
Shout out to the people who going to get that joke.
(08:21):
Both of you.
What's amazing about this town is it is populated with these just insane characters.
Like you have this one guy who keeps screaming, the square is mine.
And the way he pops up, the first meet him when he pops up in the foreground of a shot.
(08:42):
like, remember that?
Like it is wild.
Like something kind of cool happens.
They walk off screen and then foreground shot, like this guy's head just pops into frameout of nowhere.
He's like, the square is mine.
And this sort of keeps playing out as the film goes on.
That's how we meet that guy.
We never learned his name though.
No, he's just the guy from the square.
(09:02):
He's the guy who owns the square.
Owns the square, yeah.
Yeah.
There's the local priest.
Yeah, so the local priest at this point in the film owns the theater.
Which let's just say as an aside is very, very weird.
No, it's not weird.
It's Italian.
All right, fair.
Okay.
As we go along, we meet the priest.
What is happening there, Okay.
(09:24):
Well, first of all, we have to say little Toto is an altar boy.
And may I just say our initial scene where we get to see him falling asleep while doinghis altar boy duties and the priest being like, that kid up again, adds to his cuteness
more than I can handle.
But after Catholic service, they go to the theater.
(09:45):
And what we discover is there's a middle-aged man by the name of Alfredo.
And Alfredo is the projectionist at the theater.
He's been the projectionist since he was a young man.
And since the priest owns the theater, he watches the first run of the film.
And may I say, when I was a younger lady, I also worked at a movie theater.
(10:09):
And that is a thing that happens.
You watch, you don't just play a film for the first time for your viewers.
It has to play at least once through so you can make sure.
everything's running correctly, sound is correct, et cetera, et So it's playing oncethrough for the priest.
And the first thing you noticed is he's got a bell.
He's got a very British upstairs, downstairs kind of, jeez, I need my tea kind of bell.
(10:38):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
So he's watching a film and truth be told, I don't actually know what film we're watchingat the beginning.
but it's something in black and white, this is post-World War II.
And there's a couple of, in the film, and what do they do?
As my husband would say, they get to smoochin'.
(10:59):
So they kiss, they get smoochy and they kiss, and our priest gets very intensely annoyedand he rings the bell.
And Alfredo, our projectionist, marks the spot in the film.
Where the kiss had taken place.
Where the kiss had taken place.
And what do we figure out by this?
Our priest does not want anybody to see any smooching.
(11:20):
No smooching, no touching.
Nope.
No fun.
He's like that bell, which looks like it would be otherwise held by like a pewter wizard.
Yes, exactly.
He's holding this bell and ringing it and just absolutely becoming the town a footloose ifit were a person.
Yes.
(11:41):
Every time somebody gets even the slightest bit romantic.
Mind you, Toto's watching all of the romantic scenes behind a little curtain.
Like he could see all of it.
He's delighted in all of it.
With his cute little cherubic face, like peeking through the curtain.
And mind you, he's not supposed to be there.
He's just looking adorable, like, And he makes the best expressions.
(12:02):
It was like, no, they kissed.
I don't know if we really expressed, although we spent five whole minutes on it, just howcute this kid is.
The only thing you compare it to is like, remember the first time you saw
Gizmo from gremlins.
That's how freaking cute this kid is Yes That is a solid description where you just go Youcan't talk all you can do is make squeaky noises because the cuteness is so intense.
(12:27):
You're like Now mind you all of the characters in this town as these you know as the runactually starts for the town They have no other entertainment.
So they all kind of pile into this theater
and you get to meet them just by their reaction to the film.
You have the loud couple, you have the couple in the back kissing, you have a guy on thebalcony for no reason, and this happens a lot in the movie, he just spits off the balcony
(12:58):
and flicks a cigarette at people from the balcony.
I don't think it's for no reason.
I think he owns some businesses, and anytime anybody in the lower gallery
gets excited about anything that's a socialist related, any like workers rights.
That's when he spits on them.
(13:20):
When they're like, yay for the working man.
And he's like, and then he spits on them.
It's very not okay.
And that's another thing important to point out as well is that like every time there's ashot of the theater, the film is always paralleling what's happening.
And we'll get more into that as we go along.
But every time they're watching a film,
(13:42):
What is supposed to be conveyed about what you're actually seeing is definitely paralleledin the film they're watching.
Yes.
May I also add my other favorite regular attendee is the guy who uses the theater to takenaps.
Yes.
And he tends to snore very loudly.
And he's, for whatever reason, he's like, I can't take naps at home.
(14:04):
I have to nap in the theater.
I love that guy.
Yeah.
And then, and the rest of them, whenever they catch him sleeping, do something horrible tohim.
Yes, they do.
At one point they pop bags at him.
Yes.
They put a, somebody catches a bug and puts it in his mouth at one point while he'ssleeping.
Just delightful.
They're so mean to him.
(14:25):
And I'm like, dude, why do you keep napping?
You know, they're going to be mean to you.
It's kind of a town full of monsters and we'll get into that later on.
But yes.
But then what happens, Dev?
All right.
So we have sort of, we've got our groundwork now.
which is our priest won't let anybody watch any excitement in the films, although we knowit's their only form of entertainment in this tiny, adorable Western Sicilian town.
(14:55):
And our projectionist, Alfredo, he just deals with it.
And our little adorable eight-year-old Toto, he goes to Alfredo and he says, hey, I wantto learn how to be a projectionist.
I love the movies.
Can I help you?
And Alfredo says, no.
No, you cannot help me.
So we fast forward a tiny bit and Alfredo finds himself in a position in which he needs alittle help from our little friend Toto.
(15:23):
And what does Toto do?
That adorable eight year old says, hey, I'll help you.
I'll help you figure this out.
But you've got to let me be a projectionist.
You got to teach me how to run that projector.
And Alfredo says, OK, fine.
I will teach you how to run the projector.
And so our tiny cuteness.
learns how to run the movies.
The friendship is earned.
(15:44):
I would say that because more than once Alfredo helps him and vice versa.
The other thing we've we kind of pick up through our little montage is as Toto's father ismissing post World War II.
And we do get to a point where we learn that that his father has has died in the war.
(16:04):
So Alfredo ultimately
their goofy little dynamic is almost like a surrogate father and a son.
And so they've got this lovely little balance and it is kind of father son, but throughthe literal and figurative lens of cinema.
Now, while this little story is going on, every scene has such a wonderful color palettethat you can't take your eyes off of it.
(16:30):
And every time the town is shot, every time a close up of one of the characters is shot,
It's stunning.
It's and it's real life.
It's not like enhanced in any way.
It's just beautifully shot.
It adds to honestly the way they almost use a real simplicity and how they shoot the townand the individuals, the residents of the town is just so lovely.
(16:57):
It's so simple and it gives you this real beautiful vibe of small town Italy.
And it's just these people.
living their lives.
would say also like the camera angles in which they're shot are some of the experimentalshots like Fredo shot through a fence at some point.
And I will say like the tone of the film changes as Toto's growing up because we do get tosee Toto grow up in the film.
(17:19):
So the color palettes change with Toto.
You really feel that growth from this.
He's not fully an orphan because he has his mother, but he's got this very like post WorldWar II orphan like, you know.
He's a little on the scrawny side.
He's very petite, trying to help his mother while also causing her an extreme amount ofgrief, which we can talk about in a minute, becoming a young man and getting some sort of
(17:45):
mentorship almost from his almost his surrogate father, Alfredo.
And there's just like, like you said, there's a lovely progression, the coloring of thefilm, the way it's shot, the way they progress.
You feel all these transitions in time, because essentially that's what happened.
is happening is this very specific transition in time.
It's very breezy as you're watching it, like because of the whimsical townsfolk who comeinto the theater and again every time they're in a scene you get to know the characters
(18:14):
more and more and they're really wonderful and they sort of grow with Toto as well.
There are these lovely little shots when the townsfolk are in the theater and you get topick these
pick up these tiny little side stories.
like, there's a couple we get to see kind of fall in love.
(18:36):
And we don't even know their names.
We don't even know very specifics.
All we know is we see them younger.
We see them having a moment at the cinema.
We eventually see them together at the cinema, which is lovely.
And then later we get to see them with a child.
And you just have this lovely little like, there's this little progression.
And that's what everybody is like.
(18:56):
That's what all the characters are like, are these lovely little progressions of everydaylife and it's beautiful.
You mentioned earlier about the sort of burden that Toto puts on his mom, because he'ssort of a burden to all the adults to some extent or another, Yes, he is.
Because he sort of badgers his way into that position in the projection booth, which isgreat because it's like on the other side in the theater, it's like a porcelain lion that
(19:23):
the beam of light is coming out of.
And that's just amazing too.
And of course it's like reminiscent of the MGM lion.
Right?
So it's fantastic.
So what happens is, and this is in a moment of maybe clumsy foreshadowing, it's almostheavy handed, right?
Like he keeps bringing home little pieces of the film that gets cut out of the Catholiccut, we'll call it, right?
(19:45):
Yes.
So he has like a coffee can full of deleted scenes, right?
And Bindry's kind of snuck them from Alfredo.
Because Alfredo, because he asks Alfredo, what, well, what happens when you pull out the,when you cut those out?
And Alfredo says, well, I'm supposed to put them back in before I return the canisterfilm.
(20:07):
But then he kind of admits, but I don't always remember.
So Toto is kind of snuck an old canister and then he kind of sneaks these little clips.
It's foreshadowed twice.
Not only I think about it, because the reason he gives Toto for not giving them films oreven the reason he gives them
for his hesitation to let Toto work there in the first place is, look, this film can catchfire.
(20:30):
And I think that's something that not a lot of people realize is original film, when filmwas first invented, it was extremely flammable.
Yeah.
Extremely flammable.
So Toto goes home and he sees his sister, Kurt, and his mother throws the coffee canoutside because the film had caught fire.
(20:54):
but he had hide his father's photos in that can and they caught fire as well.
So the mother's just at her wits end and just starts flogging him in the street.
She does, I should not have laughed, but she does, she flogs him in the street and you'relike, We're in episode three, everybody knows at this point that you adore child abuse.
(21:18):
Correct, I find child abuse hilarious.
Yeah, so our poor little Toto is getting literally aggressively smacked around by hismother.
And you don't only feel for Toto the character, but you become a little disconcerted forthe little kid who's acting.
You're like, God, that kid's getting whooped.
Is he all right?
(21:39):
Is there anybody on set to make sure he's okay?
Right.
There's like some child labor laws that are being broken up left, right and sideways,right?
The way he's being like his arm is getting jerked.
out of its socket by the actress playing his mother.
It's concerning.
It's concerning and aggressive.
But what happens is Alfredo comes along on his bicycle and his like Italian, like WalterMathau face.
(22:05):
And by that, mean, it kind of looks like a pouty mastiff.
My brain just exploded.
The guy who plays Alfredo is Italian Walter Mathau.
And I don't know how to process that now because that is correct.
It is Italian Walter Mathau.
So like he like kind of like, you know, hey, maybe stop, you know, beating this boy.
(22:26):
It's my fault.
He took the film and she's like, I don't want him at that theater.
I don't want him on the, you know, in the projection booth anymore, which is it didn'treally require a fire to maybe raise a parent's concern about that.
But, here we are.
And also no offense lady, but we also know this is what immediately
(22:48):
post-World War II and your child's eight, him getting a job is not unheard of.
And whatever we may think of it, I don't know why you're putting up a fuss.
Cause we know that you want him to get a job.
If this were today, you'd put him right in the Apple factory.
You'd send him right to the Apple factory.
Yes.
You know, or he'd be making sneakers for Nike.
(23:10):
He'd be check Mark Toto.
He will be check Mark Toto.
I feel terrible now because I'm wearing a Nike shirt today, but I wasn't trying to wear aNike shirt today.
You see that but I'm specifically you know why I picked it it's because I didn't I didn'tKaiser so say that analogy No, I think because my husband my my husband has a number of
(23:35):
European football shirts and so I was like what am I gonna wear?
Well, we discussed cinema parody so and I was like, he is an Italian football shirt.
So I put on the Forelli I can read it
Yes.
Anna enter.
don't know.
Any enter whatever.
It's an Italian football shirt, but it's Nike.
(23:57):
So now I'm feeling very terrible somewhere.
closest I came was like my t-shirt for the Casa Vettys movie husbands, which, which Idon't know that there's a direct correlation to, mean, you still, mean, we've, themed it
out.
We think these things through.
Sure.
Think things things through before our discussions and that's the best we can do.
(24:19):
Yes.
anyway, Toto is at this theater constantly and what happens eventually is he grows astrong relationship with Alfredo and this becomes his job.
He learns how to be a projectionist and he gets really good at it.
But then things take a turn.
Things do take a turn.
(24:39):
And of course it hurts because things take a turn initially because of a good reason.
So
There is a film that is extremely popular.
the only thing I have to admit, did you I don't know if you looked this up, but whoeveryou up now.
OK, I'm going to what you You know what I'm going to say?
Whoever the Italian version of Buster Keaton is is.
(25:04):
I mean, that's what is happening.
So so there's this extremely popular film and everybody in the village wants to go see it.
And it stars.
It's a comedy and it stars essentially
whoever on earth was the Italian Buster Keaton, and I don't know who it is.
And a bunch of people can't get into the cinema, and the guy who owns the cinema, and ofcourse, it's not, or I shouldn't say the guy who owns the cinema, we know it's the priest
(25:30):
who owns the cinema, but there's also a guy who kind of runs it for him.
And then there's a very adorable gentleman who takes the tickets, who clearly is maybe,maybe a little, you know what, it's 2024.
whatever the 1940s version of neurodiverse is, he's gently neurodiverse and he takestickets at the cinema.
(25:53):
And so you've got these couple of guys who are like, we can't fit everybody in thetheater.
We have to tell them they can't come in.
So you've got this whole grad of people in the square of the town, which of course issetting off the, own the square guy.
And he's like, why are you in my square?
And of course they're like, cause we want to watch this movie.
(26:14):
So.
Alfredo and Toto wait before you continue before you continue I'm just gonna set this upthe film that they're watching is a film called the fireman of the VGO VGO V is V I G G I
U So Yeah, that's how it's pronounced.
(26:35):
So It stars Nino Tarento and himself and get this
a person named Toto also playing himself.
So it's like one of those like meta references that's being made within cinema paradiso.
So do we think Nino and the other Toto are Abbot and Costello?
(27:03):
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Probably the Italian version of The Italian version of Because they're like in the film,but they're kind of them as well.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
Wild.
Right.
So it was wrong.
I we opened up a hell mouth actually, just like discovering that.
We may have.
Yeah.
So whatever like the not.
So I Buster Keaton, but really it's Abbott and Costello.
So Italian Abbott and Costello.
(27:24):
So this little crowd of people.
Well, actually it's not little.
It's a sizable crowd of people are out in the plaza and we're in the square and they'reall bummed out.
So Alfredo and Toto have a very adorable conversation where Alfredo's like, should we benice to them?
And Toto's like, yeah, must be nice to them.
And that's when we learned that the way that projector or those original projectors wouldhave been set up, there is a way to kind of fiddle with things.
(27:51):
So Alfredo takes the glass that the film shoots through and he starts to angle it and heangles it enough that a reverse of the image essentially goes out the window because I
guess that's the other thing we have not shared is where the cinema, the projector boothis.
(28:11):
because it gets so hot up there, the wall opposite of where it goes into the theater isjust a big window.
So he turns a glass so that it can project out the window.
And because of the way the little square is set up, that little plaza, he projects it ontothe side of a building.
And everybody's like, my God, we can watch the movie.
(28:33):
But of course, at first they can't hear it.
And then Alfredo says to Toto, should I make him happy?
Toto's like, of course you should make them happy.
So they take an extra speaker and they pop it out back.
And then there's just this group of people out in the little square watching this adorableItalian Abbot and Costello movie off the side of a building.
And it's lovely.
(28:53):
Meanwhile, ticket collector discovers what has happened and runs out and tries to collectmoney from everyone in the town.
And they're just like, off.
like, yeah.
He's like, price.
I mean, you are outside, half price.
And they're like, nope, nothing.
But what ends up happening is the film catches fire.
Right.
And then the projection booth catches fire and burns Alfredo very, badly.
(29:17):
While this is all going on before the fire starts, Toto has run outside.
So Alfredo sends him out to kind of check on the crowd.
So Toto's not in the projection booth when the fire starts, but the film catches fire.
This immense fire starts and Alfredo is in bad shape.
And it's very horrible.
So Toto runs back in and
(29:38):
gets Alfredo down this spiral staircase, which just by scale, I don't know how this littlechild pulled.
I'm going with it, right?
But like he's pulling this grown older man down this steel spiral staircase and somehowgets him to safety.
(30:01):
Gets him far enough down the stairs to get him out of the fire.
Every time I watch that, can't handle it because I'm like, how is he doing it?
Fredo is not going to make it.
But what ends up happening is Alfredo gets burned very, very badly and is blind.
Mm hmm.
Meanwhile, the cinema Paradiso itself is permanently damaged.
(30:24):
It's burned down.
Now it's destroyed.
What we didn't mention was one of the townsfolk who I know his name isn't Soconi, but it'sclose enough.
to be Madonna's last name that I'm just going to go ahead and say, Saccone won a lottery.
You are so close.
It's Saccone.
(30:47):
Spaccafico.
I'm not going to try to say that.
No, but I get why you were like Saccone, why it was so close.
It's Saccone.
Spaccafico.
What she said.
So what happens is he ends up buying the building.
Yeah.
Now it's Nuevo Cinema Paradiso.
(31:10):
And it's beautiful.
that also means is the sentient town from Footloose can no longer censor the films.
Yes.
And what we immediately get is a montage because the man immediately hires our Toto.
And what we get is a montage of Bedlam because now it's bigger and more popular.
(31:34):
and it becomes a thing that town does together every night.
But we have to talk about this montage.
The montage.
Because this happens under the new rain, but it's also the Toto administration.
So the Toto administration.
All of these all of these uncensored films inspire unique reactions in everyone.
(32:00):
Right.
So everyone's whistling.
And howling, there is a row of young boys.
How do we say this in a radio friendly way?
She bopping, right?
But it would be he bopping, right?
He bopping.
You're right.
Next to each other, mind you.
They get caught.
(32:21):
And the grown man who catches them is like, hey, stop that.
Look, it's a move.
Just watch the movie.
Face front.
Like it's not even a thing.
Like, of course you're doing that, but stop.
Please stop doing that.
And it's an entire row of boys he bopping next to each other.
In the same montage, there is a prostitute.
(32:45):
Yes, the prostitute.
Another row of eight year olds smoking cigarettes and a murder.
There was a whole ass murder.
There was a mob hit during a mob movie.
because they use a gun firing from the mob film to cover them firing a gun.
(33:10):
It's insane.
There's a hit man shooting a guy in the back.
And the way this is communicated where the town is concerned is because it's a montage.
First he gets killed during the film gunshot and then it fades into his seat now justfilled with flowers.
(33:31):
Yes, it does.
is one of most incredible scenes I think I've ever seen in my...
wait, Dev.
What?
phone is ringing.
phone is ringing.
Answer, answer.
I've been practicing this.
on a minute.
Hello, Radio Free Ryan Cliff.
Hello.
Yeah, yeah.
(33:51):
I'm calling because you're talking about my movie.
You're talking about Cinema Paradiso.
You're talking about the movie?
Did you have something to do with the movie?
Wait, is this?
Caller, what's your name?
It's Tito.
Tito from Hyde Park.
Hyde Park, New York?
(34:12):
Yes, yes.
That's just one town over from us.
So this is an Italian film that we're talking about.
That's how I can hear you.
Listen, I'm telling you the truth.
in 1982, I was working in the Hyde Park drive-in.
Now listen to me.
I've there.
That's a great win.
I've been there.
This isn't my favorite movie.
(34:34):
I'm saying this is my movie.
This movie is about me.
This is My Name is T.O.
What?
Listen, listen, listen.
So I, in 82, 83, the summers of 82, 83, because you don't run the drive in in thewintertime, I'm working in the summers in Hyde Park.
(34:54):
And I'm just honestly, honest to God, I was like 15 years old.
had, I had just started there, but I was working with this guy and now that he changed hisname, right?
He changed his name when he wrote and directed the movie.
He changed it to like Giuseppe Tornatore.
This is the guy I work with this guy.
(35:14):
His name is Joey Tornado.
We call him Joey Tornado.
listen, he's a, a, made this all up.
He changed everything to sound Italian because
It didn't really play like the whole idea of an American drive-in movie where all of thiswas happening because this was happening.
He changed it all to be Italian.
I'm that kid.
(35:35):
I'm that kid now.
Wait, you work with this old man at the movie theater like you were in the projectionbooth?
Yeah.
Well, he made me into what he called Tito.
He called me Tito and he called Fred Alfredo.
So it was me and Fred.
We're working in the drive-in and we were in the projection room and this guy, JoeyTornado, he would come in.
(35:59):
He was a teenager.
He was a little bit older than me, but he had dreams of writing movies.
And he said, I'm going to write this whole thing.
This whole story is great.
And it's true.
It's really true.
You remember the movie, Private Lessons?
Cause there's, there's a- I'm aware of the movie.
Yeah, I'm aware of the movie.
Yeah.
So as a boy, showed that at the drive-in.
Now people could just drive by and see.
(36:22):
A lot of those scenes and honest to God, listen, there were boys out there who would be inthe bushes at the back of the, just before you get to the road, there were people out
there and they'd be w**** off in the bushes.
What?
Because of the scene.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We'd have to go out with the flashlights, but I don't want to, but I was, I was 16, 15, 16years old.
I didn't want to see any of this, but, but.
(36:43):
Nobody wants to see any of that.
And these are the true parts that were kept in the Italian version.
This guy Joey Tornado.
No, I don't think that's his real name because I think that it was something.
It was something and maybe it really was this Tornadori, Tornadori, whatever he calledhim.
was Fred much older than you like in the film?
Fred's an old man.
(37:03):
He's dead now.
Was he like a father figure to you like in the film?
Who?
Fred?
Fred, yeah.
No, Fred.
No, no, no, no.
Fred made us cut out all the dirty parts of the movies.
All the everything.
I mean, it wasn't as bad as cutting out all the kisses.
There was some kissing.
But listen, we had a lot of movies that were there and Fred would have us cut him out, butmostly just so he could splice them together and play the most dirty stuff at home at his
(37:27):
own home.
I don't know what he'd do, but I think it was a lot like what those kids were doing in thebushes at the back of the drive in.
what do you think?
What is it about your story that you think inspired Mr.
Tornado to make this beautiful story about your life?
I think Joey told the story, but I think somebody else came along and made it into apretty story because Joey was a scumbag.
(37:51):
I don't think that I don't think that he really had it in him to make this movie,Paradiso, that I saw.
I went, geez, this is like my life is on the screen.
OK, except here I'm a little kid.
OK, so wait a minute, But OK, I guess what I'm not understanding is you're saying thatJoey Tornado was a scumbag, but this movie is beautiful.
(38:12):
So.
How do we think Joey Tornado got your story basically cocooned this caterpillar of JoeyTornado into this beautiful coming of age, nostalgic masterpiece, Cinema Paradiso?
This is it.
First of all, the guys who backed this, and I think that's why it's so beautiful, were themob.
And you hear a lot about how the mob backed a lot of films.
(38:35):
Wait, are you sure you're not just stereotyping?
See, I don't know if I can let that air, because that sounds like you're stereotyping.
If you ever heard about the mob was behind Texas Chainsaw Massacre, big, big film.
Great horror film.
I think it was better because the mob backed it.
And then you hear about a lot of other films that the mob backed.
(38:56):
And I'm telling you, think this one, think think Joey gave him the script and they lookedat it they go, you know, this could be lovely.
And they were the ones who made it really pretty.
think, I don't think Joey had anything to do with the pretty part.
You really think the mob made this movie pretty?
You know, think about it.
What I'm wondering is what parts of your story do you think directly translate into thefinal product?
(39:19):
Like, did you fall in love with a young girl like our Elena character that we eventuallymeet?
All of that.
There was a girl named Chrissy, and I'm pretty sure Chrissy was the girl.
She worked at the snack counter and she would kind of come in, you know, when people werewatching, she would kind of sneak in and give me some snacks and some stuff like that.
We started making out fooling around and stuff, you know, just over the sweat and stuff.
(39:42):
But what I'm wondering also, what other shows do you like on Radio Free?
Ryan Cliffe?
You want me to list them right now?
Yeah.
What's your, what's your favorite?
What's your favorite of all, of all the show?
This one, this one's been good.
You've only been on, I know you've only been on a couple of weeks and that's why I feltlike it was okay if I called in.
I don't want to call into any of the other ones.
you know, the, the norm guy, the, I'm trying to remember the name of that.
(40:05):
It's funny.
Sometimes you can't think of the name of something when you were just thinking about it.
Do you listen to Random Acts of Comics?
Yeah, I do listen to that.
I do like comic books and I like all the people he talks to.
That's a good show.
listen to that.
I listen to...
What's the other one about the comic books?
(40:25):
I think that's just Random Acts of Comics.
Isn't that the one we were just talking about?
yeah.
is that what we just said?
Yeah, that's the one.
I like it.
He's got something going on.
That's good stuff.
Thank you so much for calling in Tito and I hope you I hope we hear from you again.
Yes, please call us back.
Okay, if you don't think I'm gonna be wasting your time, I'll that'll be good.
(40:48):
See you later.
So where were we Devin before Tito called in?
Before Tito called in, we had just hit the big penultimate point of the movie when there'sthe big fire at the cinema and Alfredo has been burned and then our friend
crud.
What is his name?
(41:09):
Our friend, the guy who won the football.
Saccone.
that's right.
Kechio, whatever.
Whatever.
Our friend who has won the lottery has reopened a theater.
It is beautiful.
And we've had our first film and none of the naughty bits were were cut out.
(41:29):
Cut out.
Yes.
Turn it into bedlam.
Shenanigans are happening.
But because of this, we have also
found a flow with the theater and delightfully, little Toto, because Alfredo has had, wasblinded by the fire, little Toto is officially the projectionist.
So our teeny tiny Toto is he's, he's got his little stool and he's the one who's runningthat projection booth.
(41:56):
And then it gives us- then the montage, it brings him now to his teenage years.
So now we, we jump ahead probably a good eight years.
He becomes a teenager.
It's very,
It's very delightful.
But through this time, we know his relationship with Alfredo is just getting stronger,right?
They're pals.
Alfredo still shows up even though he can't see.
(42:17):
Right.
He's definitely a father figure for Toto.
Yes.
So we now have a teenage Toto.
he's armed with a camera.
He's armed with a camera because he's gotten so into film and cinema that he has decidedhe's going to start
doing some filming himself.
(42:38):
as he's filming one day, a young lady turns the corner and immediately Toto falls in lovewith her.
He's just infatuated with her.
Instantaneous.
And she smiles at him while he captures her on film.
And it's a very beautiful little scene.
And one day they end up at the, you know, a church and she goes into the confession booth.
(43:05):
And little Toto asks Alfredo for a favor.
Like, can you distract the priest?
This is a really cute scene.
Yes, it is.
It's so cute.
And Alfredo's like telling the priest like, I don't really believe the whole loaves andstory.
I don't understand.
The loaves and the fishes, please explain.
(43:28):
And the poor priest is like, no, what do mean you don't believe it?
And they get into a very in-depth conversation.
That teeters on blasphemy.
That teeters on blasphemy.
But while they're having their crazy near blasphemous conversation, Toto has snuck intothe confession booth.
And while there, he's talking to the object of his affection, Elena.
(43:51):
He professes his feelings and it's very, very sweet scene.
And he makes her laugh because the woman comes on the other side.
of the confession booth and he's immediately like, you're forgiven and then closes thewindow and it makes her laugh.
It sort of endears him to her.
It's a really cute scene.
But as you say, he tells her flat out, I am in love with you.
And she says, I like you, you're fun, but I'm not in love with you.
(44:15):
And he says, I'll wait.
I'll wait for you to fall in love with me.
And he waits night after night in front of her window.
And that's a little, that's a montage.
It's a little much, but.
Eventually they do fall in love and they're very lovely couple and then the fatherdisapproves and Elena disappears.
I feel like it's right about here I need to tell you about the director's cut.
(44:37):
okay, I'm ready.
In the theatrical, the Italian theatrical and the international cut.
So what happens in all three of the films, but first two cuts take a detour this way is
He goes on some military sabbatical for a little while or some mandatory military service.
(44:59):
I think it's a mandatory military service.
I think we are in a time in which Italy is still requiring mandatory military service fromits young men.
And he comes back.
So even then he loses like a year or so and he comes back and Alfredo still there.
And he's like, you know, the town has grown up a little bit and I barely recognize it.
(45:21):
It's right about here.
He decides that what he's going to do.
And it's always said like vaguely, but what you gather is he becomes a film director, butAlfredo parts him with this message.
Don't ever come back here.
Go to the city and by the city, they mean Rome, right?
Go to the city and don't look back.
Don't come back here.
(45:41):
And even tells Toto don't write to me.
Don't ever get lost in nostalgia.
Don't come back here for any reason.
And because he knows that he has a, wants him to pursue what, what Alfredo feels is hisdestiny.
Right.
Which is to be a director, but even go so far as to say, if you try to write me or if youtry to come see me, I will not see you.
(46:04):
I won't respond because I need to know you're doing the thing you're supposed to be doing.
And he gives him a hug that like is heartbreaking.
I'm trying, I'm rushing through this part because it's very emotional.
I don't want to re-experience it because I already, I've lived through it twice.
You, the listener at home.
If you've never seen this movie, you go do this.
I've done it twice now and it's beautiful.
(46:25):
It's an incredible scene.
It's very sweet.
So this is where Toto leaves, which brings us back full circle to the beginning of thefilm.
And you again, you've now pieced together.
He has not been back to that town in 30 years.
He's talked to his mom, but he's not seen her face to face or his sister.
(46:48):
in 30 years.
Which is pretty crazy.
Yeah.
I would never get away with that.
And she's Italian, so I can't even imagine.
That's probably the most far fetched part of the whole movie.
Right?
I feel like he would get his ass kicked as an adult.
She would flog him in the street again.
Just like looking at He gets off the plane, she just starts beating him like he's stilltwo feet tall.
(47:15):
Now adult.
Grey hair Toto is around all the town folks that you have seen in the film, throughout thefilm, in montage form, and it just breaks you because you're like, I remember you.
You have sort of have the same sort of feelings he's conveying.
(47:37):
So again, I'm giving you the play by play of the original Italian theatrical, as well asthe international.
which I think is only like nine, 10 minutes shorter, right?
Okay.
So it's the version that most people have seen, right?
So he goes into the old cinema and he starts digging around there, you know, it's inshambles, right?
(48:01):
And the owner tells them, yeah, we closed, it's closed like a bunch of years.
It's not going to be a parking lot, you know, because with the now with the advent oftelevision.
TV, et cetera, et cetera.
We closed a few years back.
there's no reason to really keep it open.
But you know, he sort of has like a reunion with all of his friends and then, you know, hesees his mom and that's a lovely scene.
(48:25):
He finds his old films and sort of watches them with the audience again and that's allvery, I mean, tugs at your heartstrings doesn't quite really do it justice.
Like it yanks on them like a bow and arrow, really.
Well, and it is a little bit too, you are feeling the fact that
He's been away for 30 years, but he's come back specifically because of Alfredo's funeral,right?
(48:48):
So Alfredo is an old man, he's passed away, he's back for the funeral.
And so now he's like, my goodness, I'm seeing all these people that I knew who had such animpact on me.
Yeah, so like you said, very, hmm.
Yeah, and Alfredo's given him like this entire beautiful speech about nostalgia and howdangerous it is.
(49:12):
Yes.
So he ends up being one of the pallbearers and he gets through the funeral and he ends uptalking to Alfredo's widow and Alfredo's widow is of course like, know what, he never
stopped talking about you, not even up until the end.
He loved you so much.
(49:35):
And again, I don't want to...
I'm gonna cry.
yeah, I mean, it's a lot.
It's a tough scene.
Yeah, it's a lot.
It's a tough scene, yeah.
But he left you a couple things.
And one of the things is the stool he stood on, I can't even.
Yeah.
And then, and a reel of film.
(49:55):
And Devin, what happens next?
Okay.
So, Toto heads back to Rome.
And of course he is a fancy,
big cinema filmmaker director.
And so he goes into a viewing room and says, hey, I'm going to have you play this realfilm for me.
(50:15):
Just, just go ahead and get it going.
And he's in the room by himself and it starts and immediately you as the viewer knows whatit is.
He's literally put all the little pieces of film that he had to cut out from the priestinto one film.
And it is truly one of the most beautiful
(50:36):
love letters to cinema I myself have ever sat through.
Because it's not, it's romantic, but it's not necessarily dirty, even those are a couplelittle parts.
So it's literally just cuts of these old black and white films of people kissing.
It's literally like the romantic scenes and they're just smooching.
(50:57):
And of course it's, you know, the thirties and forties.
So it's not modern smooching.
It's not gratuitous at all.
And then you get a couple little things because there's also, there's a couple like mildnudity kind of moments and you're like, there's a little nudity there, but it's mostly
just pure love and romance.
(51:19):
The point of it is, like, this was from the original cinema parody.
So these were the films you were trying to get in the first place when you were a littleboy, these were the films you wanted to take home and I wouldn't let you.
Yes.
So at this point, you're sobbing.
And Toto's sitting there by himself and he's going through all the emotions.
(51:41):
At first, he's just like, my God, he did not do this.
So there's a little bit of shock.
And then it kind of devolves into like him being choked up.
Like, it's beautiful and he loves it and he's getting overwhelmed.
And then it's just, he gets to place of just pure joy where he just knows this person wholoved him that much.
(52:03):
this surrogate father, although they never said it, did this thing that was the kindestthing he could have done.
Like you said, was all the movies you wanted to see and you couldn't get into see.
And these were all the little clips that you were talking about.
And I made a thing for you.
And it's stunningly beautiful.
Yeah.
(52:23):
And again, we can't underscore enough just the cinematography in this film.
How beautiful.
Every shot is, and of course this one is just incredible.
You know, of course at that moment credits roll.
Right.
And that's the end of our film.
I just have to say before you go into the long cut, the first time I saw this, it remindedme of why I love movies, right?
(52:50):
Because movies are storytelling.
I also love reading and I love books.
I love stories.
Any version of a story.
And the fact that a story is meant to give you an outlet for emotion, give you knowledge,teach you a lesson.
There are all these things that stories do for us.
(53:10):
And this was just a perfect, perfect representation of that.
It's gorgeous.
remember the first time I had seen it, I was in a much different place in my life, right?
But I loved it.
I remember thinking it was wonderful.
But I remember the awards it won and what a big deal this film was because it had
put Italian cinema back on the map again.
(53:31):
It was the first time since like Fellini, allegedly, that they were back.
And you remember, I believe it's like not too long after is like you get Il Pestino,right?
this was a really important film to the entire country, right?
Yes, it was.
It absolutely was.
And it's still to this day, one of the most precious films ever made.
(53:53):
But I'm gonna get into the director's cut.
because the director's cut from that point in time that I told you about at the funeral.
There's another hour, nearly an hour.
It's at least another 40 minutes, right?
And it's, I'll just give you the gist of it.
He's walking down the road while he's still in town and he sees a little girl that looksexactly like Elena.
(54:17):
So much so that he follows her, not in no weird way, just like, this is uncanny.
And sure as hell, like,
She walks into the house and out comes the adult Elena and she's married to one of hisclassmates who we had met earlier in the film.
And he's sort of like a politician or something in that town.
(54:38):
And they see each other and he runs off and she knows exactly where he is.
Cause it was the place in this one gorgeous scene earlier where they had met up and sheknew where he was going to be.
So she meets up with him and.
He tells her he loves her and like, you he never stopped loving her and all this otherstuff.
(55:00):
they end up, exchanging, body heat in the car.
Yeah.
They do that.
Yeah.
I mean, it's not, wasn't a model T wasn't like foggy glass, right.
But, but it was that, right.
Okay.
But he gets, but he's like, you know, I know I haven't been here in a minute, but like,you didn't even give me a forwarding address.
(55:24):
And.
Like you just vanished.
know, whatever happened to you.
Like you didn't try to find me.
And she said, I did try to find you, but Alfredo told me to stay away from you.
If I really loved you.
Yeah.
What?
Yeah.
Like if I really loved you, I would let you do what you're supposed to be doing and notget caught up in all this emotional mess.
(55:48):
But, and you'll remember this because this part sticks into the cut, but means somethingdifferent.
in the original cut, he goes looking, remember he goes looking through that theater and hepicks up a piece of paper?
Yeah.
On the back of that piece of paper is the note she left him.
I love you.
Please find me.
(56:09):
What?
Yeah.
And what happened, what ends up happening is, is she's like, I, you know, I'm not leavingmy family.
I'm not doing this.
Like, but you could tell as the viewer that she wants to.
but like, yeah, but they just don't.
So when he goes home, I mean, when he goes back now to Rome and watches that film, it haslike a few different connotations, right?
(56:36):
but maybe too much, right?
it's like, when you watch it all together, like I could see why they made the cut becauseyou're like, okay, look, this is too much.
Got it.
And it's almost a soap opera for a second.
So the streamlined version is the definitive version.
I think it's a better film.
It's definitely a better movie, but it is really cool to go see the director's cut andthen see it's almost like, but what really happened, you know what I mean?
(57:06):
But as a film, it's not a better film for having left that in there.
You know what I mean?
man.
So I got to tell you, like that put a 10 pound weight on what were already sappy emotionsto begin with.
So but I went but I went through it because I was like, what did I miss if there's likeanother 40 minutes to be had?
(57:27):
And I'm thinking it's going to be like Blade Runner, right?
Like where he's going to like just find like an origami unicorn.
You know what I mean?
Like it was a director's cut.
I just figured it'd be like something like that.
Like some slight difference like that.
I know it was gonna get like an entire subplot.
As soon as you started telling that storyline, my brain kind of imploded because in myhead in the original film, well, whether it's the, you know, like the international, the
(57:54):
Italian version, but you know, there's only like a 10 minute difference between those.
Right.
It's just a very sweet next phase.
in him growing up, right?
It's a little like, my first love.
That's all that it is.
So it's lovely and it's sweet, but it's not the end of the world, right?
Right.
And then he's coming back and causing like, you know, like lawyers might have to getinvolved.
(58:20):
Right.
know, like, it's wild.
So I could see why he was like, yeah, I know we spent probably another month filming thiswhole thing.
Maybe two months, but we can't use any of this because it makes the end too heavy.
Of course now also just cause you know me, I'm going to have to.
(58:40):
Yeah.
I'm going to have to fricking watch that version, but now I'm to have to watch it knowing,which I feel like means I'll be like extra the whole time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like, Abby.
Yeah.
You'll lose like four pounds in tears.
Like, yeah.
Yeah, I was, not gonna lie.
was sobbing.
I was like, this is beautiful.
(59:02):
But even knowing it was like too much, even like, you're like, even my critical eye wasn'tlike, well, I wasn't trying to be critical in that moment.
I was just like, this is, here's a life weird.
My God.
I honestly did not.
sorry.
Sorry.
Radio free Reinglif.
I just work, but I don't think I, did not think I could get any more.
(59:28):
emotional than I was when I this this movie gets me every time this movie gets me everytime yeah and now there's a director's cut it's like a boomerang right crap crap well I
think we went kind of long we don't have to do and you know an upon reflection segment Idon't think you know I we pointed out the child abuse and again I know it's Devon's
(59:50):
favorite part of the movie it is it makes her the happiest but you know
the little Toto getting slapped.
Had the cut been different?
Like had the beatings taking place after the ending?
It would have been a much better movie for her.
Would have been very different.
Yeah.
I would have been much, happier.
It would have been your favorite feel good comedy, really.
It would have.
(01:00:10):
It really would have.
But I hope Tito calls back.
I Tito calls back and I hope we hear more about Chrissy from the snack counter.
Just I'm in it now.
So what are we watching next week?
We can tell.
I'm so excited, yes.
Because we don't waver in our decision making.
We do not waver in our decision making.
We are watching Gaslight.
(01:00:32):
And there are a couple reasons I'm super stoked.
One, neither of us have actually watched it before.
No.
So this is going to be fun for both of us.
We're both coming at it completely new.
But also, from a pop cultural standpoint, it is a term.
It is a term we use because of this film.
But hardly anybody
(01:00:53):
our age or younger have actually sat through this film.
But we all know the term and we all know what it means.
So I think we're both really stoked about this.
And I hear Angela Lansbury is amazing in her meadness in this film.
I believe she actually, this is actually her very first film.
(01:01:17):
goodness.
Right?
Well, join us next week for that.
That's going to be amazing.
And remember,
We're your Studio Property.
I'm Doug.
I'm Devin.
And we will see you next week.
Bye everyone.
Studio Property is mixed at Spillway Street Content in Red Hook, New York and syndicatedon Radio Free Reinklip.
Theme song by The Corner Bodega.
(01:01:38):
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and follow us on Instagram at Studio Property Show.
Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next week.
Spillway Street!
You're listening to Radio Free Reinkliffe.
Welcome to Studio Property, the cinema podcast for people like you.
My name is Doug Wartell.
And I am Devin Irby.
And this week we're discussing the Italian film Cinema Paradiso.
Who directed that movie?
(00:21):
I wanted you to do all the Italian pronunciation.
OK, now that's a lot of pressure.
It is directed and written by Giuseppe Tornatore.
I actually feel pretty good with that.
Yeah, I would have just massacred that.
And this came out in 1988, which was a great year for me.
(00:44):
saw the pixies that year, the Ritz.
So it's all sort of, yeah, sort of culminates this really important year of my ownpersonal development.
was in fourth grade, so I can't really give you much.
I'm old, you see.
I smell like mothballs and soup.
(01:04):
Anyway, Cinema Paradiso is the story of a small boy who spends his entire childhoodhanging out with some old guy in a movie theater projection booth while a Catholic priest
stops by once a week to put the kibosh on anything romantic or fun.
And somehow none of this in any way is unusual to anyone.
It's just Italian.
Delightfully Italian.
(01:26):
Apparently.
But before we get to any of that, let's hit the theme song.
All right.
You stole the devil laugh out loud when you signed away your rotten soul that studioproperty your studio property Shut your mouth
(01:58):
You notice like my face is really swollen and looks like it might be covered in snailmucin, but it's not because I'm moisturized this time.
are you looking?
No, why are you slightly a little less than gorgeous today?
Well, thank you.
Although I usually find you to be quite gorgeous, but it's slightly less than.
(02:19):
Thank you.
You know, you know how to make a girl feel good.
Well, this movie was your pick.
I had seen this movie ages ago and forgot how much it meant to me, how much I loved it,how much it hit me.
But I watched it in the beginning of the week and then right before I came up to thestudio, I watched the director's cut, which is a completely other matter.
(02:43):
So I don't know which cut you watched, but I watched two cuts and the director's cutsdrastically different than the first cut.
Specifically at the end.
I know that when I first saw it,
Okay, when I first saw it, I'm pretty sure I saw just the, whatever the American releasewas, but I know when I rewatched it for our episode, I watched the international version,
(03:08):
which has, I mean, a bit more, but I did not sit through the director's cut.
Are you all right?
I'm all right.
Yeah.
I just, it's like, I feel like I ate too much cake.
Yeah.
A little bit like, Like, wow, that was amazing.
But why did I do that?
Cake would be in this case like a whole lot of like sentiment and like, yeah, was, we'llget to it.
(03:34):
We'll get to it toward the end of the episode, but yeah, I'm still sort of, I'memotionally compromised is what I'm trying to convey.
I feel like even the standard version, you're a little verklempt by the end.
You feel in all the feels.
So I can't even imagine where you are right now.
It's another hour of that and it's all condensed toward the dear Lord.
(03:54):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Whew, okay.
So let's set the stage for this film.
The beginning of the film, we meet an old lady and her grown ass daughter.
They're making a phone call and the daughter's like, he's not going to answer.
And the old lady is like, he will, he said he would.
(04:15):
At which point she makes a phone call.
And then we see a very fancy middle-aged Italian man in his sports car, his Italian sportscar, go into his fancy ass house.
And when he gets there, he of course has a gorgeous girlfriend who's already in bedbecause it's clearly late at night.
And she says, your mother called.
It's Italian.
It's clearly Italian.
(04:36):
It's clearly Italian.
Yep.
And she says, your mother called and she said, I was supposed to tell you, Alfredo died.
At which point our handsome, fancy ass Italian middle aged man gets very, what's theItalian version of on we?
Whatever the Italian version of Van Wee is, is clearly what is happening with him.
He becomes an emotional folding chair.
(04:59):
Yes, he becomes an emotional folding chair.
In Italian.
And at which point we gently jump into a flashback and we jump into his childhood.
And that's when we learn he is Salvatore, AKA Toto, De Vida?
De Vida.
Yeah, so Salvatore De Vida, also known as Toto.
(05:22):
And we jump into his childhood when he is eight years old.
And he is an aggressively cute eight year old.
He's so flipping adorable.
I can't handle it.
His dimples have dimples.
His smile has a whole other smile.
And then he winks a lot as an eight year old and he does this adorable like eight yearold.
(05:45):
I'm not good at it, but I'm going wink at you so many times.
Yeah.
He does a lot of very aggressive Italian hand talking and he's so tiny, you're alwayslike, and then he does like a palm to the forehead a lot and then he's always like, he's
so cute.
(06:05):
So cute.
So cute.
And he lives in a town full of delightfully horrible people.
They're absolute monsters.
Yeah.
But they prank each other.
It's a small town, so this is set in like,
just a couple of years or after World War II.
Mm-hmm.
And a little Sicilian town.
(06:26):
Yeah, a little Sicilian town.
Little Sicilian town.
With all the little weirdos.
With all the local weirdos.
All the Who we're gonna get to know as this goes on.
So, but in the heart of this little tiny town is a movie theater called Cinema Paradiso.
So our little Cinema Paradiso is your classic old school one screen.
(06:48):
a little one screen theater.
And the whole town is there.
For those not geographically epped, just so you're aware, Sicily is an island off of thewestern coast of Italy.
It's not large.
I mean, there are several sizable cities there, but it's not huge.
(07:11):
And so you're on a very small town on a small island off the coast of
not necessarily a large country.
you know, honestly for me, felt very homey.
I am, I'm a midwesterner.
So a little small Midwestern town.
That's kind of what it feels like, except it's Italian and it's in Sicily.
And the architecture is almost like, I want to say like, it's almost like a town you'd seein a Western almost, right?
(07:36):
Like a...
Yes, it has a very, apparently Sicily must have a very, a similarity to,
What am I thinking?
Like New Mexico, right?
Like that sort of like Spanish, everything's a little bit Adobe.
It's got a little bit of a Western feel to it.
Yeah.
I just solved in that sentence, I just solved Sergio Leone.
(08:00):
Just then, root, like it was right there and I saw just then.
All right.
I do that correlations like.
It was a complete accident and I tripped over it and I was like, and then I picked it up.
was like, what was that?
And it was Sergio Leone.
Son of a gun.
certainly was.
Shout out to the people who going to get that joke.
(08:21):
Both of you.
What's amazing about this town is it is populated with these just insane characters.
Like you have this one guy who keeps screaming, the square is mine.
And the way he pops up, the first meet him when he pops up in the foreground of a shot.
(08:42):
like, remember that?
Like it is wild.
Like something kind of cool happens.
They walk off screen and then foreground shot, like this guy's head just pops into frameout of nowhere.
He's like, the square is mine.
And this sort of keeps playing out as the film goes on.
That's how we meet that guy.
We never learned his name though.
No, he's just the guy from the square.
(09:02):
He's the guy who owns the square.
Owns the square, yeah.
Yeah.
There's the local priest.
Yeah, so the local priest at this point in the film owns the theater.
Which let's just say as an aside is very, very weird.
No, it's not weird.
It's Italian.
All right, fair.
Okay.
As we go along, we meet the priest.
What is happening there, Okay.
(09:24):
Well, first of all, we have to say little Toto is an altar boy.
And may I just say our initial scene where we get to see him falling asleep while doinghis altar boy duties and the priest being like, that kid up again, adds to his cuteness
more than I can handle.
But after Catholic service, they go to the theater.
(09:45):
And what we discover is there's a middle-aged man by the name of Alfredo.
And Alfredo is the projectionist at the theater.
He's been the projectionist since he was a young man.
And since the priest owns the theater, he watches the first run of the film.
And may I say, when I was a younger lady, I also worked at a movie theater.
(10:09):
And that is a thing that happens.
You watch, you don't just play a film for the first time for your viewers.
It has to play at least once through so you can make sure.
everything's running correctly, sound is correct, et cetera, et So it's playing oncethrough for the priest.
And the first thing you noticed is he's got a bell.
He's got a very British upstairs, downstairs kind of, jeez, I need my tea kind of bell.
(10:38):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
So he's watching a film and truth be told, I don't actually know what film we're watchingat the beginning.
but it's something in black and white, this is post-World War II.
And there's a couple of, in the film, and what do they do?
As my husband would say, they get to smoochin'.
(10:59):
So they kiss, they get smoochy and they kiss, and our priest gets very intensely annoyedand he rings the bell.
And Alfredo, our projectionist, marks the spot in the film.
Where the kiss had taken place.
Where the kiss had taken place.
And what do we figure out by this?
Our priest does not want anybody to see any smooching.
(11:20):
No smooching, no touching.
Nope.
No fun.
He's like that bell, which looks like it would be otherwise held by like a pewter wizard.
Yes, exactly.
He's holding this bell and ringing it and just absolutely becoming the town a footloose ifit were a person.
Yes.
(11:41):
Every time somebody gets even the slightest bit romantic.
Mind you, Toto's watching all of the romantic scenes behind a little curtain.
Like he could see all of it.
He's delighted in all of it.
With his cute little cherubic face, like peeking through the curtain.
And mind you, he's not supposed to be there.
He's just looking adorable, like, And he makes the best expressions.
(12:02):
It was like, no, they kissed.
I don't know if we really expressed, although we spent five whole minutes on it, just howcute this kid is.
The only thing you compare it to is like, remember the first time you saw
Gizmo from gremlins.
That's how freaking cute this kid is Yes That is a solid description where you just go Youcan't talk all you can do is make squeaky noises because the cuteness is so intense.
(12:27):
You're like Now mind you all of the characters in this town as these you know as the runactually starts for the town They have no other entertainment.
So they all kind of pile into this theater
and you get to meet them just by their reaction to the film.
You have the loud couple, you have the couple in the back kissing, you have a guy on thebalcony for no reason, and this happens a lot in the movie, he just spits off the balcony
(12:58):
and flicks a cigarette at people from the balcony.
I don't think it's for no reason.
I think he owns some businesses, and anytime anybody in the lower gallery
gets excited about anything that's a socialist related, any like workers rights.
That's when he spits on them.
(13:20):
When they're like, yay for the working man.
And he's like, and then he spits on them.
It's very not okay.
And that's another thing important to point out as well is that like every time there's ashot of the theater, the film is always paralleling what's happening.
And we'll get more into that as we go along.
But every time they're watching a film,
(13:42):
What is supposed to be conveyed about what you're actually seeing is definitely paralleledin the film they're watching.
Yes.
May I also add my other favorite regular attendee is the guy who uses the theater to takenaps.
Yes.
And he tends to snore very loudly.
And he's, for whatever reason, he's like, I can't take naps at home.
(14:04):
I have to nap in the theater.
I love that guy.
Yeah.
And then, and the rest of them, whenever they catch him sleeping, do something horrible tohim.
Yes, they do.
At one point they pop bags at him.
Yes.
They put a, somebody catches a bug and puts it in his mouth at one point while he'ssleeping.
Just delightful.
They're so mean to him.
(14:25):
And I'm like, dude, why do you keep napping?
You know, they're going to be mean to you.
It's kind of a town full of monsters and we'll get into that later on.
But yes.
But then what happens, Dev?
All right.
So we have sort of, we've got our groundwork now.
which is our priest won't let anybody watch any excitement in the films, although we knowit's their only form of entertainment in this tiny, adorable Western Sicilian town.
(14:55):
And our projectionist, Alfredo, he just deals with it.
And our little adorable eight-year-old Toto, he goes to Alfredo and he says, hey, I wantto learn how to be a projectionist.
I love the movies.
Can I help you?
And Alfredo says, no.
No, you cannot help me.
So we fast forward a tiny bit and Alfredo finds himself in a position in which he needs alittle help from our little friend Toto.
(15:23):
And what does Toto do?
That adorable eight year old says, hey, I'll help you.
I'll help you figure this out.
But you've got to let me be a projectionist.
You got to teach me how to run that projector.
And Alfredo says, OK, fine.
I will teach you how to run the projector.
And so our tiny cuteness.
learns how to run the movies.
The friendship is earned.
(15:44):
I would say that because more than once Alfredo helps him and vice versa.
The other thing we've we kind of pick up through our little montage is as Toto's father ismissing post World War II.
And we do get to a point where we learn that that his father has has died in the war.
(16:04):
So Alfredo ultimately
their goofy little dynamic is almost like a surrogate father and a son.
And so they've got this lovely little balance and it is kind of father son, but throughthe literal and figurative lens of cinema.
Now, while this little story is going on, every scene has such a wonderful color palettethat you can't take your eyes off of it.
(16:30):
And every time the town is shot, every time a close up of one of the characters is shot,
It's stunning.
It's and it's real life.
It's not like enhanced in any way.
It's just beautifully shot.
It adds to honestly the way they almost use a real simplicity and how they shoot the townand the individuals, the residents of the town is just so lovely.
(16:57):
It's so simple and it gives you this real beautiful vibe of small town Italy.
And it's just these people.
living their lives.
would say also like the camera angles in which they're shot are some of the experimentalshots like Fredo shot through a fence at some point.
And I will say like the tone of the film changes as Toto's growing up because we do get tosee Toto grow up in the film.
(17:19):
So the color palettes change with Toto.
You really feel that growth from this.
He's not fully an orphan because he has his mother, but he's got this very like post WorldWar II orphan like, you know.
He's a little on the scrawny side.
He's very petite, trying to help his mother while also causing her an extreme amount ofgrief, which we can talk about in a minute, becoming a young man and getting some sort of
(17:45):
mentorship almost from his almost his surrogate father, Alfredo.
And there's just like, like you said, there's a lovely progression, the coloring of thefilm, the way it's shot, the way they progress.
You feel all these transitions in time, because essentially that's what happened.
is happening is this very specific transition in time.
It's very breezy as you're watching it, like because of the whimsical townsfolk who comeinto the theater and again every time they're in a scene you get to know the characters
(18:14):
more and more and they're really wonderful and they sort of grow with Toto as well.
There are these lovely little shots when the townsfolk are in the theater and you get topick these
pick up these tiny little side stories.
like, there's a couple we get to see kind of fall in love.
(18:36):
And we don't even know their names.
We don't even know very specifics.
All we know is we see them younger.
We see them having a moment at the cinema.
We eventually see them together at the cinema, which is lovely.
And then later we get to see them with a child.
And you just have this lovely little like, there's this little progression.
And that's what everybody is like.
(18:56):
That's what all the characters are like, are these lovely little progressions of everydaylife and it's beautiful.
You mentioned earlier about the sort of burden that Toto puts on his mom, because he'ssort of a burden to all the adults to some extent or another, Yes, he is.
Because he sort of badgers his way into that position in the projection booth, which isgreat because it's like on the other side in the theater, it's like a porcelain lion that
(19:23):
the beam of light is coming out of.
And that's just amazing too.
And of course it's like reminiscent of the MGM lion.
Right?
So it's fantastic.
So what happens is, and this is in a moment of maybe clumsy foreshadowing, it's almostheavy handed, right?
Like he keeps bringing home little pieces of the film that gets cut out of the Catholiccut, we'll call it, right?
(19:45):
Yes.
So he has like a coffee can full of deleted scenes, right?
And Bindry's kind of snuck them from Alfredo.
Because Alfredo, because he asks Alfredo, what, well, what happens when you pull out the,when you cut those out?
And Alfredo says, well, I'm supposed to put them back in before I return the canisterfilm.
(20:07):
But then he kind of admits, but I don't always remember.
So Toto is kind of snuck an old canister and then he kind of sneaks these little clips.
It's foreshadowed twice.
Not only I think about it, because the reason he gives Toto for not giving them films oreven the reason he gives them
for his hesitation to let Toto work there in the first place is, look, this film can catchfire.
(20:30):
And I think that's something that not a lot of people realize is original film, when filmwas first invented, it was extremely flammable.
Yeah.
Extremely flammable.
So Toto goes home and he sees his sister, Kurt, and his mother throws the coffee canoutside because the film had caught fire.
(20:54):
but he had hide his father's photos in that can and they caught fire as well.
So the mother's just at her wits end and just starts flogging him in the street.
She does, I should not have laughed, but she does, she flogs him in the street and you'relike, We're in episode three, everybody knows at this point that you adore child abuse.
(21:18):
Correct, I find child abuse hilarious.
Yeah, so our poor little Toto is getting literally aggressively smacked around by hismother.
And you don't only feel for Toto the character, but you become a little disconcerted forthe little kid who's acting.
You're like, God, that kid's getting whooped.
Is he all right?
(21:39):
Is there anybody on set to make sure he's okay?
Right.
There's like some child labor laws that are being broken up left, right and sideways,right?
The way he's being like his arm is getting jerked.
out of its socket by the actress playing his mother.
It's concerning.
It's concerning and aggressive.
But what happens is Alfredo comes along on his bicycle and his like Italian, like WalterMathau face.
(22:05):
And by that, mean, it kind of looks like a pouty mastiff.
My brain just exploded.
The guy who plays Alfredo is Italian Walter Mathau.
And I don't know how to process that now because that is correct.
It is Italian Walter Mathau.
So like he like kind of like, you know, hey, maybe stop, you know, beating this boy.
(22:26):
It's my fault.
He took the film and she's like, I don't want him at that theater.
I don't want him on the, you know, in the projection booth anymore, which is it didn'treally require a fire to maybe raise a parent's concern about that.
But, here we are.
And also no offense lady, but we also know this is what immediately
(22:48):
post-World War II and your child's eight, him getting a job is not unheard of.
And whatever we may think of it, I don't know why you're putting up a fuss.
Cause we know that you want him to get a job.
If this were today, you'd put him right in the Apple factory.
You'd send him right to the Apple factory.
Yes.
You know, or he'd be making sneakers for Nike.
(23:10):
He'd be check Mark Toto.
He will be check Mark Toto.
I feel terrible now because I'm wearing a Nike shirt today, but I wasn't trying to wear aNike shirt today.
You see that but I'm specifically you know why I picked it it's because I didn't I didn'tKaiser so say that analogy No, I think because my husband my my husband has a number of
(23:35):
European football shirts and so I was like what am I gonna wear?
Well, we discussed cinema parody so and I was like, he is an Italian football shirt.
So I put on the Forelli I can read it
Yes.
Anna enter.
don't know.
Any enter whatever.
It's an Italian football shirt, but it's Nike.
(23:57):
So now I'm feeling very terrible somewhere.
closest I came was like my t-shirt for the Casa Vettys movie husbands, which, which Idon't know that there's a direct correlation to, mean, you still, mean, we've, themed it
out.
We think these things through.
Sure.
Think things things through before our discussions and that's the best we can do.
(24:19):
Yes.
anyway, Toto is at this theater constantly and what happens eventually is he grows astrong relationship with Alfredo and this becomes his job.
He learns how to be a projectionist and he gets really good at it.
But then things take a turn.
Things do take a turn.
(24:39):
And of course it hurts because things take a turn initially because of a good reason.
So
There is a film that is extremely popular.
the only thing I have to admit, did you I don't know if you looked this up, but whoeveryou up now.
OK, I'm going to what you You know what I'm going to say?
Whoever the Italian version of Buster Keaton is is.
(25:04):
I mean, that's what is happening.
So so there's this extremely popular film and everybody in the village wants to go see it.
And it stars.
It's a comedy and it stars essentially
whoever on earth was the Italian Buster Keaton, and I don't know who it is.
And a bunch of people can't get into the cinema, and the guy who owns the cinema, and ofcourse, it's not, or I shouldn't say the guy who owns the cinema, we know it's the priest
(25:30):
who owns the cinema, but there's also a guy who kind of runs it for him.
And then there's a very adorable gentleman who takes the tickets, who clearly is maybe,maybe a little, you know what, it's 2024.
whatever the 1940s version of neurodiverse is, he's gently neurodiverse and he takestickets at the cinema.
(25:53):
And so you've got these couple of guys who are like, we can't fit everybody in thetheater.
We have to tell them they can't come in.
So you've got this whole grad of people in the square of the town, which of course issetting off the, own the square guy.
And he's like, why are you in my square?
And of course they're like, cause we want to watch this movie.
(26:14):
So.
Alfredo and Toto wait before you continue before you continue I'm just gonna set this upthe film that they're watching is a film called the fireman of the VGO VGO V is V I G G I
U So Yeah, that's how it's pronounced.
(26:35):
So It stars Nino Tarento and himself and get this
a person named Toto also playing himself.
So it's like one of those like meta references that's being made within cinema paradiso.
So do we think Nino and the other Toto are Abbot and Costello?
(27:03):
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
Probably the Italian version of The Italian version of Because they're like in the film,but they're kind of them as well.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
Wild.
Right.
So it was wrong.
I we opened up a hell mouth actually, just like discovering that.
We may have.
Yeah.
So whatever like the not.
So I Buster Keaton, but really it's Abbott and Costello.
So Italian Abbott and Costello.
(27:24):
So this little crowd of people.
Well, actually it's not little.
It's a sizable crowd of people are out in the plaza and we're in the square and they'reall bummed out.
So Alfredo and Toto have a very adorable conversation where Alfredo's like, should we benice to them?
And Toto's like, yeah, must be nice to them.
And that's when we learned that the way that projector or those original projectors wouldhave been set up, there is a way to kind of fiddle with things.
(27:51):
So Alfredo takes the glass that the film shoots through and he starts to angle it and heangles it enough that a reverse of the image essentially goes out the window because I
guess that's the other thing we have not shared is where the cinema, the projector boothis.
(28:11):
because it gets so hot up there, the wall opposite of where it goes into the theater isjust a big window.
So he turns a glass so that it can project out the window.
And because of the way the little square is set up, that little plaza, he projects it ontothe side of a building.
And everybody's like, my God, we can watch the movie.
(28:33):
But of course, at first they can't hear it.
And then Alfredo says to Toto, should I make him happy?
Toto's like, of course you should make them happy.
So they take an extra speaker and they pop it out back.
And then there's just this group of people out in the little square watching this adorableItalian Abbot and Costello movie off the side of a building.
And it's lovely.
(28:53):
Meanwhile, ticket collector discovers what has happened and runs out and tries to collectmoney from everyone in the town.
And they're just like, off.
like, yeah.
He's like, price.
I mean, you are outside, half price.
And they're like, nope, nothing.
But what ends up happening is the film catches fire.
Right.
And then the projection booth catches fire and burns Alfredo very, badly.
(29:17):
While this is all going on before the fire starts, Toto has run outside.
So Alfredo sends him out to kind of check on the crowd.
So Toto's not in the projection booth when the fire starts, but the film catches fire.
This immense fire starts and Alfredo is in bad shape.
And it's very horrible.
So Toto runs back in and
(29:38):
gets Alfredo down this spiral staircase, which just by scale, I don't know how this littlechild pulled.
I'm going with it, right?
But like he's pulling this grown older man down this steel spiral staircase and somehowgets him to safety.
(30:01):
Gets him far enough down the stairs to get him out of the fire.
Every time I watch that, can't handle it because I'm like, how is he doing it?
Fredo is not going to make it.
But what ends up happening is Alfredo gets burned very, very badly and is blind.
Mm hmm.
Meanwhile, the cinema Paradiso itself is permanently damaged.
(30:24):
It's burned down.
Now it's destroyed.
What we didn't mention was one of the townsfolk who I know his name isn't Soconi, but it'sclose enough.
to be Madonna's last name that I'm just going to go ahead and say, Saccone won a lottery.
You are so close.
It's Saccone.
(30:47):
Spaccafico.
I'm not going to try to say that.
No, but I get why you were like Saccone, why it was so close.
It's Saccone.
Spaccafico.
What she said.
So what happens is he ends up buying the building.
Yeah.
Now it's Nuevo Cinema Paradiso.
(31:10):
And it's beautiful.
that also means is the sentient town from Footloose can no longer censor the films.
Yes.
And what we immediately get is a montage because the man immediately hires our Toto.
And what we get is a montage of Bedlam because now it's bigger and more popular.
(31:34):
and it becomes a thing that town does together every night.
But we have to talk about this montage.
The montage.
Because this happens under the new rain, but it's also the Toto administration.
So the Toto administration.
All of these all of these uncensored films inspire unique reactions in everyone.
(32:00):
Right.
So everyone's whistling.
And howling, there is a row of young boys.
How do we say this in a radio friendly way?
She bopping, right?
But it would be he bopping, right?
He bopping.
You're right.
Next to each other, mind you.
They get caught.
(32:21):
And the grown man who catches them is like, hey, stop that.
Look, it's a move.
Just watch the movie.
Face front.
Like it's not even a thing.
Like, of course you're doing that, but stop.
Please stop doing that.
And it's an entire row of boys he bopping next to each other.
In the same montage, there is a prostitute.
(32:45):
Yes, the prostitute.
Another row of eight year olds smoking cigarettes and a murder.
There was a whole ass murder.
There was a mob hit during a mob movie.
because they use a gun firing from the mob film to cover them firing a gun.
(33:10):
It's insane.
There's a hit man shooting a guy in the back.
And the way this is communicated where the town is concerned is because it's a montage.
First he gets killed during the film gunshot and then it fades into his seat now justfilled with flowers.
(33:31):
Yes, it does.
is one of most incredible scenes I think I've ever seen in my...
wait, Dev.
What?
phone is ringing.
phone is ringing.
Answer, answer.
I've been practicing this.
on a minute.
Hello, Radio Free Ryan Cliff.
Hello.
Yeah, yeah.
(33:51):
I'm calling because you're talking about my movie.
You're talking about Cinema Paradiso.
You're talking about the movie?
Did you have something to do with the movie?
Wait, is this?
Caller, what's your name?
It's Tito.
Tito from Hyde Park.
Hyde Park, New York?
(34:12):
Yes, yes.
That's just one town over from us.
So this is an Italian film that we're talking about.
That's how I can hear you.
Listen, I'm telling you the truth.
in 1982, I was working in the Hyde Park drive-in.
Now listen to me.
I've there.
That's a great win.
I've been there.
This isn't my favorite movie.
(34:34):
I'm saying this is my movie.
This movie is about me.
This is My Name is T.O.
What?
Listen, listen, listen.
So I, in 82, 83, the summers of 82, 83, because you don't run the drive in in thewintertime, I'm working in the summers in Hyde Park.
(34:54):
And I'm just honestly, honest to God, I was like 15 years old.
had, I had just started there, but I was working with this guy and now that he changed hisname, right?
He changed his name when he wrote and directed the movie.
He changed it to like Giuseppe Tornatore.
This is the guy I work with this guy.
(35:14):
His name is Joey Tornado.
We call him Joey Tornado.
listen, he's a, a, made this all up.
He changed everything to sound Italian because
It didn't really play like the whole idea of an American drive-in movie where all of thiswas happening because this was happening.
He changed it all to be Italian.
I'm that kid.
(35:35):
I'm that kid now.
Wait, you work with this old man at the movie theater like you were in the projectionbooth?
Yeah.
Well, he made me into what he called Tito.
He called me Tito and he called Fred Alfredo.
So it was me and Fred.
We're working in the drive-in and we were in the projection room and this guy, JoeyTornado, he would come in.
(35:59):
He was a teenager.
He was a little bit older than me, but he had dreams of writing movies.
And he said, I'm going to write this whole thing.
This whole story is great.
And it's true.
It's really true.
You remember the movie, Private Lessons?
Cause there's, there's a- I'm aware of the movie.
Yeah, I'm aware of the movie.
Yeah.
So as a boy, showed that at the drive-in.
Now people could just drive by and see.
(36:22):
A lot of those scenes and honest to God, listen, there were boys out there who would be inthe bushes at the back of the, just before you get to the road, there were people out
there and they'd be w**** off in the bushes.
What?
Because of the scene.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We'd have to go out with the flashlights, but I don't want to, but I was, I was 16, 15, 16years old.
I didn't want to see any of this, but, but.
(36:43):
Nobody wants to see any of that.
And these are the true parts that were kept in the Italian version.
This guy Joey Tornado.
No, I don't think that's his real name because I think that it was something.
It was something and maybe it really was this Tornadori, Tornadori, whatever he calledhim.
was Fred much older than you like in the film?
Fred's an old man.
(37:03):
He's dead now.
Was he like a father figure to you like in the film?
Who?
Fred?
Fred, yeah.
No, Fred.
No, no, no, no.
Fred made us cut out all the dirty parts of the movies.
All the everything.
I mean, it wasn't as bad as cutting out all the kisses.
There was some kissing.
But listen, we had a lot of movies that were there and Fred would have us cut him out, butmostly just so he could splice them together and play the most dirty stuff at home at his
(37:27):
own home.
I don't know what he'd do, but I think it was a lot like what those kids were doing in thebushes at the back of the drive in.
what do you think?
What is it about your story that you think inspired Mr.
Tornado to make this beautiful story about your life?
I think Joey told the story, but I think somebody else came along and made it into apretty story because Joey was a scumbag.
(37:51):
I don't think that I don't think that he really had it in him to make this movie,Paradiso, that I saw.
I went, geez, this is like my life is on the screen.
OK, except here I'm a little kid.
OK, so wait a minute, But OK, I guess what I'm not understanding is you're saying thatJoey Tornado was a scumbag, but this movie is beautiful.
(38:12):
So.
How do we think Joey Tornado got your story basically cocooned this caterpillar of JoeyTornado into this beautiful coming of age, nostalgic masterpiece, Cinema Paradiso?
This is it.
First of all, the guys who backed this, and I think that's why it's so beautiful, were themob.
And you hear a lot about how the mob backed a lot of films.
(38:35):
Wait, are you sure you're not just stereotyping?
See, I don't know if I can let that air, because that sounds like you're stereotyping.
If you ever heard about the mob was behind Texas Chainsaw Massacre, big, big film.
Great horror film.
I think it was better because the mob backed it.
And then you hear about a lot of other films that the mob backed.
(38:56):
And I'm telling you, think this one, think think Joey gave him the script and they lookedat it they go, you know, this could be lovely.
And they were the ones who made it really pretty.
think, I don't think Joey had anything to do with the pretty part.
You really think the mob made this movie pretty?
You know, think about it.
What I'm wondering is what parts of your story do you think directly translate into thefinal product?
(39:19):
Like, did you fall in love with a young girl like our Elena character that we eventuallymeet?
All of that.
There was a girl named Chrissy, and I'm pretty sure Chrissy was the girl.
She worked at the snack counter and she would kind of come in, you know, when people werewatching, she would kind of sneak in and give me some snacks and some stuff like that.
We started making out fooling around and stuff, you know, just over the sweat and stuff.
(39:42):
But what I'm wondering also, what other shows do you like on Radio Free?
Ryan Cliffe?
You want me to list them right now?
Yeah.
What's your, what's your favorite?
What's your favorite of all, of all the show?
This one, this one's been good.
You've only been on, I know you've only been on a couple of weeks and that's why I feltlike it was okay if I called in.
I don't want to call into any of the other ones.
you know, the, the norm guy, the, I'm trying to remember the name of that.
(40:05):
It's funny.
Sometimes you can't think of the name of something when you were just thinking about it.
Do you listen to Random Acts of Comics?
Yeah, I do listen to that.
I do like comic books and I like all the people he talks to.
That's a good show.
listen to that.
I listen to...
What's the other one about the comic books?
(40:25):
I think that's just Random Acts of Comics.
Isn't that the one we were just talking about?
yeah.
is that what we just said?
Yeah, that's the one.
I like it.
He's got something going on.
That's good stuff.
Thank you so much for calling in Tito and I hope you I hope we hear from you again.
Yes, please call us back.
Okay, if you don't think I'm gonna be wasting your time, I'll that'll be good.
(40:48):
See you later.
So where were we Devin before Tito called in?
Before Tito called in, we had just hit the big penultimate point of the movie when there'sthe big fire at the cinema and Alfredo has been burned and then our friend
crud.
What is his name?
(41:09):
Our friend, the guy who won the football.
Saccone.
that's right.
Kechio, whatever.
Whatever.
Our friend who has won the lottery has reopened a theater.
It is beautiful.
And we've had our first film and none of the naughty bits were were cut out.
(41:29):
Cut out.
Yes.
Turn it into bedlam.
Shenanigans are happening.
But because of this, we have also
found a flow with the theater and delightfully, little Toto, because Alfredo has had, wasblinded by the fire, little Toto is officially the projectionist.
So our teeny tiny Toto is he's, he's got his little stool and he's the one who's runningthat projection booth.
(41:56):
And then it gives us- then the montage, it brings him now to his teenage years.
So now we, we jump ahead probably a good eight years.
He becomes a teenager.
It's very,
It's very delightful.
But through this time, we know his relationship with Alfredo is just getting stronger,right?
They're pals.
Alfredo still shows up even though he can't see.
(42:17):
Right.
He's definitely a father figure for Toto.
Yes.
So we now have a teenage Toto.
he's armed with a camera.
He's armed with a camera because he's gotten so into film and cinema that he has decidedhe's going to start
doing some filming himself.
(42:38):
as he's filming one day, a young lady turns the corner and immediately Toto falls in lovewith her.
He's just infatuated with her.
Instantaneous.
And she smiles at him while he captures her on film.
And it's a very beautiful little scene.
And one day they end up at the, you know, a church and she goes into the confession booth.
(43:05):
And little Toto asks Alfredo for a favor.
Like, can you distract the priest?
This is a really cute scene.
Yes, it is.
It's so cute.
And Alfredo's like telling the priest like, I don't really believe the whole loaves andstory.
I don't understand.
The loaves and the fishes, please explain.
(43:28):
And the poor priest is like, no, what do mean you don't believe it?
And they get into a very in-depth conversation.
That teeters on blasphemy.
That teeters on blasphemy.
But while they're having their crazy near blasphemous conversation, Toto has snuck intothe confession booth.
And while there, he's talking to the object of his affection, Elena.
(43:51):
He professes his feelings and it's very, very sweet scene.
And he makes her laugh because the woman comes on the other side.
of the confession booth and he's immediately like, you're forgiven and then closes thewindow and it makes her laugh.
It sort of endears him to her.
It's a really cute scene.
But as you say, he tells her flat out, I am in love with you.
And she says, I like you, you're fun, but I'm not in love with you.
(44:15):
And he says, I'll wait.
I'll wait for you to fall in love with me.
And he waits night after night in front of her window.
And that's a little, that's a montage.
It's a little much, but.
Eventually they do fall in love and they're very lovely couple and then the fatherdisapproves and Elena disappears.
I feel like it's right about here I need to tell you about the director's cut.
(44:37):
okay, I'm ready.
In the theatrical, the Italian theatrical and the international cut.
So what happens in all three of the films, but first two cuts take a detour this way is
He goes on some military sabbatical for a little while or some mandatory military service.
(44:59):
I think it's a mandatory military service.
I think we are in a time in which Italy is still requiring mandatory military service fromits young men.
And he comes back.
So even then he loses like a year or so and he comes back and Alfredo still there.
And he's like, you know, the town has grown up a little bit and I barely recognize it.
(45:21):
It's right about here.
He decides that what he's going to do.
And it's always said like vaguely, but what you gather is he becomes a film director, butAlfredo parts him with this message.
Don't ever come back here.
Go to the city and by the city, they mean Rome, right?
Go to the city and don't look back.
Don't come back here.
(45:41):
And even tells Toto don't write to me.
Don't ever get lost in nostalgia.
Don't come back here for any reason.
And because he knows that he has a, wants him to pursue what, what Alfredo feels is hisdestiny.
Right.
Which is to be a director, but even go so far as to say, if you try to write me or if youtry to come see me, I will not see you.
(46:04):
I won't respond because I need to know you're doing the thing you're supposed to be doing.
And he gives him a hug that like is heartbreaking.
I'm trying, I'm rushing through this part because it's very emotional.
I don't want to re-experience it because I already, I've lived through it twice.
You, the listener at home.
If you've never seen this movie, you go do this.
I've done it twice now and it's beautiful.
(46:25):
It's an incredible scene.
It's very sweet.
So this is where Toto leaves, which brings us back full circle to the beginning of thefilm.
And you again, you've now pieced together.
He has not been back to that town in 30 years.
He's talked to his mom, but he's not seen her face to face or his sister.
(46:48):
in 30 years.
Which is pretty crazy.
Yeah.
I would never get away with that.
And she's Italian, so I can't even imagine.
That's probably the most far fetched part of the whole movie.
Right?
I feel like he would get his ass kicked as an adult.
She would flog him in the street again.
Just like looking at He gets off the plane, she just starts beating him like he's stilltwo feet tall.
(47:15):
Now adult.
Grey hair Toto is around all the town folks that you have seen in the film, throughout thefilm, in montage form, and it just breaks you because you're like, I remember you.
You have sort of have the same sort of feelings he's conveying.
(47:37):
So again, I'm giving you the play by play of the original Italian theatrical, as well asthe international.
which I think is only like nine, 10 minutes shorter, right?
Okay.
So it's the version that most people have seen, right?
So he goes into the old cinema and he starts digging around there, you know, it's inshambles, right?
(48:01):
And the owner tells them, yeah, we closed, it's closed like a bunch of years.
It's not going to be a parking lot, you know, because with the now with the advent oftelevision.
TV, et cetera, et cetera.
We closed a few years back.
there's no reason to really keep it open.
But you know, he sort of has like a reunion with all of his friends and then, you know, hesees his mom and that's a lovely scene.
(48:25):
He finds his old films and sort of watches them with the audience again and that's allvery, I mean, tugs at your heartstrings doesn't quite really do it justice.
Like it yanks on them like a bow and arrow, really.
Well, and it is a little bit too, you are feeling the fact that
He's been away for 30 years, but he's come back specifically because of Alfredo's funeral,right?
(48:48):
So Alfredo is an old man, he's passed away, he's back for the funeral.
And so now he's like, my goodness, I'm seeing all these people that I knew who had such animpact on me.
Yeah, so like you said, very, hmm.
Yeah, and Alfredo's given him like this entire beautiful speech about nostalgia and howdangerous it is.
(49:12):
Yes.
So he ends up being one of the pallbearers and he gets through the funeral and he ends uptalking to Alfredo's widow and Alfredo's widow is of course like, know what, he never
stopped talking about you, not even up until the end.
He loved you so much.
(49:35):
And again, I don't want to...
I'm gonna cry.
yeah, I mean, it's a lot.
It's a tough scene.
Yeah, it's a lot.
It's a tough scene, yeah.
But he left you a couple things.
And one of the things is the stool he stood on, I can't even.
Yeah.
And then, and a reel of film.
(49:55):
And Devin, what happens next?
Okay.
So, Toto heads back to Rome.
And of course he is a fancy,
big cinema filmmaker director.
And so he goes into a viewing room and says, hey, I'm going to have you play this realfilm for me.
(50:15):
Just, just go ahead and get it going.
And he's in the room by himself and it starts and immediately you as the viewer knows whatit is.
He's literally put all the little pieces of film that he had to cut out from the priestinto one film.
And it is truly one of the most beautiful
(50:36):
love letters to cinema I myself have ever sat through.
Because it's not, it's romantic, but it's not necessarily dirty, even those are a couplelittle parts.
So it's literally just cuts of these old black and white films of people kissing.
It's literally like the romantic scenes and they're just smooching.
(50:57):
And of course it's, you know, the thirties and forties.
So it's not modern smooching.
It's not gratuitous at all.
And then you get a couple little things because there's also, there's a couple like mildnudity kind of moments and you're like, there's a little nudity there, but it's mostly
just pure love and romance.
(51:19):
The point of it is, like, this was from the original cinema parody.
So these were the films you were trying to get in the first place when you were a littleboy, these were the films you wanted to take home and I wouldn't let you.
Yes.
So at this point, you're sobbing.
And Toto's sitting there by himself and he's going through all the emotions.
(51:41):
At first, he's just like, my God, he did not do this.
So there's a little bit of shock.
And then it kind of devolves into like him being choked up.
Like, it's beautiful and he loves it and he's getting overwhelmed.
And then it's just, he gets to place of just pure joy where he just knows this person wholoved him that much.
(52:03):
this surrogate father, although they never said it, did this thing that was the kindestthing he could have done.
Like you said, was all the movies you wanted to see and you couldn't get into see.
And these were all the little clips that you were talking about.
And I made a thing for you.
And it's stunningly beautiful.
Yeah.
(52:23):
And again, we can't underscore enough just the cinematography in this film.
How beautiful.
Every shot is, and of course this one is just incredible.
You know, of course at that moment credits roll.
Right.
And that's the end of our film.
I just have to say before you go into the long cut, the first time I saw this, it remindedme of why I love movies, right?
(52:50):
Because movies are storytelling.
I also love reading and I love books.
I love stories.
Any version of a story.
And the fact that a story is meant to give you an outlet for emotion, give you knowledge,teach you a lesson.
There are all these things that stories do for us.
(53:10):
And this was just a perfect, perfect representation of that.
It's gorgeous.
remember the first time I had seen it, I was in a much different place in my life, right?
But I loved it.
I remember thinking it was wonderful.
But I remember the awards it won and what a big deal this film was because it had
put Italian cinema back on the map again.
(53:31):
It was the first time since like Fellini, allegedly, that they were back.
And you remember, I believe it's like not too long after is like you get Il Pestino,right?
this was a really important film to the entire country, right?
Yes, it was.
It absolutely was.
And it's still to this day, one of the most precious films ever made.
(53:53):
But I'm gonna get into the director's cut.
because the director's cut from that point in time that I told you about at the funeral.
There's another hour, nearly an hour.
It's at least another 40 minutes, right?
And it's, I'll just give you the gist of it.
He's walking down the road while he's still in town and he sees a little girl that looksexactly like Elena.
(54:17):
So much so that he follows her, not in no weird way, just like, this is uncanny.
And sure as hell, like,
She walks into the house and out comes the adult Elena and she's married to one of hisclassmates who we had met earlier in the film.
And he's sort of like a politician or something in that town.
(54:38):
And they see each other and he runs off and she knows exactly where he is.
Cause it was the place in this one gorgeous scene earlier where they had met up and sheknew where he was going to be.
So she meets up with him and.
He tells her he loves her and like, you he never stopped loving her and all this otherstuff.
(55:00):
they end up, exchanging, body heat in the car.
Yeah.
They do that.
Yeah.
I mean, it's not, wasn't a model T wasn't like foggy glass, right.
But, but it was that, right.
Okay.
But he gets, but he's like, you know, I know I haven't been here in a minute, but like,you didn't even give me a forwarding address.
(55:24):
And.
Like you just vanished.
know, whatever happened to you.
Like you didn't try to find me.
And she said, I did try to find you, but Alfredo told me to stay away from you.
If I really loved you.
Yeah.
What?
Yeah.
Like if I really loved you, I would let you do what you're supposed to be doing and notget caught up in all this emotional mess.
(55:48):
But, and you'll remember this because this part sticks into the cut, but means somethingdifferent.
in the original cut, he goes looking, remember he goes looking through that theater and hepicks up a piece of paper?
Yeah.
On the back of that piece of paper is the note she left him.
I love you.
Please find me.
(56:09):
What?
Yeah.
And what happened, what ends up happening is, is she's like, I, you know, I'm not leavingmy family.
I'm not doing this.
Like, but you could tell as the viewer that she wants to.
but like, yeah, but they just don't.
So when he goes home, I mean, when he goes back now to Rome and watches that film, it haslike a few different connotations, right?
(56:36):
but maybe too much, right?
it's like, when you watch it all together, like I could see why they made the cut becauseyou're like, okay, look, this is too much.
Got it.
And it's almost a soap opera for a second.
So the streamlined version is the definitive version.
I think it's a better film.
It's definitely a better movie, but it is really cool to go see the director's cut andthen see it's almost like, but what really happened, you know what I mean?
(57:06):
But as a film, it's not a better film for having left that in there.
You know what I mean?
man.
So I got to tell you, like that put a 10 pound weight on what were already sappy emotionsto begin with.
So but I went but I went through it because I was like, what did I miss if there's likeanother 40 minutes to be had?
(57:27):
And I'm thinking it's going to be like Blade Runner, right?
Like where he's going to like just find like an origami unicorn.
You know what I mean?
Like it was a director's cut.
I just figured it'd be like something like that.
Like some slight difference like that.
I know it was gonna get like an entire subplot.
As soon as you started telling that storyline, my brain kind of imploded because in myhead in the original film, well, whether it's the, you know, like the international, the
(57:54):
Italian version, but you know, there's only like a 10 minute difference between those.
Right.
It's just a very sweet next phase.
in him growing up, right?
It's a little like, my first love.
That's all that it is.
So it's lovely and it's sweet, but it's not the end of the world, right?
Right.
And then he's coming back and causing like, you know, like lawyers might have to getinvolved.
(58:20):
Right.
know, like, it's wild.
So I could see why he was like, yeah, I know we spent probably another month filming thiswhole thing.
Maybe two months, but we can't use any of this because it makes the end too heavy.
Of course now also just cause you know me, I'm going to have to.
(58:40):
Yeah.
I'm going to have to fricking watch that version, but now I'm to have to watch it knowing,which I feel like means I'll be like extra the whole time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like, Abby.
Yeah.
You'll lose like four pounds in tears.
Like, yeah.
Yeah, I was, not gonna lie.
was sobbing.
I was like, this is beautiful.
(59:02):
But even knowing it was like too much, even like, you're like, even my critical eye wasn'tlike, well, I wasn't trying to be critical in that moment.
I was just like, this is, here's a life weird.
My God.
I honestly did not.
sorry.
Sorry.
Radio free Reinglif.
I just work, but I don't think I, did not think I could get any more.
(59:28):
emotional than I was when I this this movie gets me every time this movie gets me everytime yeah and now there's a director's cut it's like a boomerang right crap crap well I
think we went kind of long we don't have to do and you know an upon reflection segment Idon't think you know I we pointed out the child abuse and again I know it's Devon's
(59:50):
favorite part of the movie it is it makes her the happiest but you know
the little Toto getting slapped.
Had the cut been different?
Like had the beatings taking place after the ending?
It would have been a much better movie for her.
Would have been very different.
Yeah.
I would have been much, happier.
It would have been your favorite feel good comedy, really.
It would have.
(01:00:10):
It really would have.
But I hope Tito calls back.
I Tito calls back and I hope we hear more about Chrissy from the snack counter.
Just I'm in it now.
So what are we watching next week?
We can tell.
I'm so excited, yes.
Because we don't waver in our decision making.
We do not waver in our decision making.
We are watching Gaslight.
(01:00:32):
And there are a couple reasons I'm super stoked.
One, neither of us have actually watched it before.
No.
So this is going to be fun for both of us.
We're both coming at it completely new.
But also, from a pop cultural standpoint, it is a term.
It is a term we use because of this film.
But hardly anybody
(01:00:53):
our age or younger have actually sat through this film.
But we all know the term and we all know what it means.
So I think we're both really stoked about this.
And I hear Angela Lansbury is amazing in her meadness in this film.
I believe she actually, this is actually her very first film.
(01:01:17):
goodness.
Right?
Well, join us next week for that.
That's going to be amazing.
And remember,
We're your Studio Property.
I'm Doug.
I'm Devin.
And we will see you next week.
Bye everyone.
Studio Property is mixed at Spillway Street Content in Red Hook, New York and syndicatedon Radio Free Reinklip.
Theme song by The Corner Bodega.
(01:01:38):
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and follow us on Instagram at Studio Property Show.
Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next week.
Spillway Street!
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