Customer Reviews
Life is Beautiful 
2008-10-06
If we could all view life in the way this main character, did, LIFE WOULD BE BEAUTIFUL, always!!!!!!!! Story inspires hope and the deepest love a person can offer. Even in the face of "hell" God's pressence was kept alive by the power of ONE man. An inbelievable film. A MOST SEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dad teaches son to win against impossible odds 
2008-09-24
A wonderful story to illustrate a father teaching his son that life is a game... that can be won if you guard your heart and grow your attitude. A concentration camp can't stop the father-son bond because of the dynamic principle of making the choice to have an incredible attitude.
No matter what you are facing today, this story will inspire you to face it with a new found courage to see the beautiful gifts that are often over-looked by those too busy or worried to see the joy. My perspective on life was broadened by watching this amazing story. I believe that your life will be blessed as well.
Here's a great coaching tip. Actively watch it by viewing it the second time with a legal pad to chart out the powerful insights that carry this family against impossible odds so that you can apply them to your own life. It's that good.
Words aren`t sufficient... 2008-09-20
Fantastic movie, a classic beyond description. The first 10 minutes I was thinking: "Crazy italian movie, didn`t I have another film lying here also". 20 minutes later I am captivated - the story is touching, deep, but the mood is easy although the rather grave setting of the story.
This is a must-see - above and beyond most other movies made.
One of the greatest portrayals of love 2008-09-05
This is one of the greatest movies ever! It's about a Jewish fellow in pre-WWII Italy who falls in love with a rich Italian Christian noble. They get married and live happily as WWII erupts. Their little son Jozue grows up oblivious to the horrors of the day thanks to his wonderful parents. Jozue's father is an eternal optimist and displays an incredible love for live and optimism even as he and little Jozue are being deported to the concentration camp just before the arrival and liberation of the allies. His mother shows no less courage and love as she voluntarily steps on to the "death train" heading for the same camp as her husband and son. The film has a bitter sweet ending, but is an incredible production and a must see. If we feed this kind of productions to our children, there will be fewer drifters and fewer dropouts as this makes one think deeply about life and love and enduring values.
There are copies of the movie in English, but it's poorly dubbed. Frankly the Italian version with subtitles is the way to see this movie! Benigni delivers masterful performance and his expressions in Italian are probably impossible to duplicate via dubbing. It's a gem!
Excelent movie, 2008-07-20
After requesting the movie we thought that could take over 10 days, it only took 4 days. The movie is great, we really enjoyed.
Whimsy in a Technicolor Death Camp 2008-07-03
An inspired motion picture masterpiece, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL was nominated for 7 Academy Awards(R) -- winning 3 Oscars, including one for Best Actor Robert Benigni. In this extraordinary tale, Guido (Benigni) -- a charming but bumbling waiter who's gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor -- has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family. But then, that life is threatened by World War II ... and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate! Honored with an overwhelming level of critical acclaim, this truly exceptional, utterly unique achievement will lift your spirits and capture your heart!
An amazing foreign film... don't miss it! 2008-07-01
When this movie first came out, we went to the theatre to see it during a foreign film exhibition, and now, in an attempt to share it with the family and some friends, we acquired the DVD and saw it again, this time in the privacy of our home environment.
Life is beautiful is about love, romance, comedy, tragedy, horror, and it surfaces the best and worse of human emotions in a way that leaves us with the hope that someday we shall learn to live better lives.
Roberto Benigni starts as Guido, a young man who moves from the country to the city to work as a waiter for his uncle at a restaurant owned by the family. Guido is articulate, fun, possesses a great imagination and upon arrival falls in love with the woman of his dreams, who "falls from the sky into his arms." Dora, played by Benigni's real life wife, actress Nicoletta Braschi, is dating and is soon to be married to a man that Guido runs into and with whom Guido has several controversial episodes which serve to add great adventure and fun to the story.
Thanks to several encounters where Guido and Dora end up in each other's arms, Guido conquers Dora's heart and they marry, forming a beautiful family. We meet their son, played by Giorgio Cantarini... and the child is simply magnificent as the stubborn, intelligent and precocious boy that struggles to live through the Holocaust.
At some point, this ideal family life is shattered by the Nazis who arrest and ship the men off to a concentration camp. Because she is Italian, Dora is not arrested but she goes to the train station and commands the Gestapo in charge to stop the train because there has been a mistake. He reviews the list and tells her that no mistake has been made, she is not Jewish and therefore, has not been selected to go, but she explains that her husband and son are on the train, therefore, she too... must go on their journey. The saga that ensues is simply heart wrenching because Guido attempts to do something that we know is impossible, make believe that the concentration camp experience is part of a game designed to determine a winner of a real tank. He does this to shield the child from the horror of what they have to endure each and every day.
What we enjoy most about owning DVD's is that we get to see the special features and bonus material provided with the films. In this DVD, the extras include interviews with many actors that had the honor of working with Benigni, who comment on his personality and charismatic human power. The interviews answer the question: would a Jew be offended by attempting to bring humor, fun, and hope into circumstances surrounding the Holocaust? They conclude that the film surfaces the horror of it all and yet, provides an endearing vision into the best of humanity; a father that risks it all to make sure his child is not traumatized by the insanity created by the most evil machine ever conceived. Simply... a most see film... just make sure you have tissues close by.
The way we should all be 2008-06-26
Life is Beautiful is an amazing story of total selfless love. The courage and strength for which the main character strives throughout the film is a message in charity. We should all seek to carry ourselves in such loving virtue. This film is an excellent addition to our family collection and we will cherish it and share it with our children for many years to come!
A great WW2 movie 2008-05-25
i saw this movie i school and i couldnt get enough of it. It really gives true descritpion of the halocaust, while telling it through the point of a father. It really sends chills trough your body when you see the grusom things that the jews had to go through daild in the concentration camps. This movie will give you a better understanding of the halocaust!!
If you are interested in a great WW2 movie, then this is for you!!
Incredible. One of my all time favorites 2008-05-13
Great story, great acting, great score, what more can you ask. A true classic in every sense of the word.
