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Paradise found
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For your DVDs head to Cinema Paradiso which opens today, has a mind-boggling collection of DVDs of world cinema
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THERE IS a story floating around about Gore Verbinski's little horror flick The Ring. The subliminal message in the movie about a killer videotape (you see it and are dead in seven days) is supposed to be the revenge of the videotape. Be that as it may, analogue has most definitely given way to digital and DVDs are the cinephile's super favourite new toy.
The best thing about a DVD apart from crystal clear pictures and theatre style sound are all the add ons like the director's commentary or the director's cut, the outtakes, previously unseen footage the works. With any new technology (especially in the field of entertainment) it makes sense to wait for the hardware to stabilise and the software to become more accessible.
Now with the hardware stabilising, the stage is set for accessible software and how! With the opening of Cinema Paradiso, we will have the best of cinema at our doorstep. With 14 sections spread over 1,000 feet, one could make a selection from 2,500 DVDs. A tie up with Virgin Records translates to the DVD being available at Cinema Paradiso three days after its US release.
While the library stocks the latest from Hollywood as well as award-winning documentaries, there is also the cream of world cinema available. From Truffaut (France) to Theodoros Angelopoulos (Greek), from Kurusawa (Japan) to Makhmalbaf (Iran) and Satyajit Ray, the greatest of world cinema is available.
If you are Woody Allen person, or think that cinema begins and ends with Stanley Kubrick there is a place now where you could go and indulge in worshipping the moving picture. A chance to watch movies like Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ or Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut that were not released in the country is not to be missed at any cost. The film buff will feel at home with the posters (including an original of Sunset Boulevard) and documentaries on directors like Spielberg and Scorsese as well as Al Pacino's screen tests. Stuff one hears about but never gets to see like Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine is also available.
And the store's namesake, Cinema Paradiso, the movie that won the Academy Award for best foreign film in 1990, is available in its complete version. The distributors, Miramax, had trimmed 51 minutes of the original and now is the chance to see the director, Giuseppe Tornatore's vision in full.
Like a DVD, Cinema Paradiso has irresistible add ons like a browsing corner where one could go through the latest issues of Variety, Screen and Vanity Fair or books on filmmakers. Then the high-speed mac allows you to check your mail (for free). The hall of fame will have film personalities make imprints of their hands, starting with Chiranjeevi.
And best of all is the mini theatre. The 11-seater is equipped with a 52-inch plasma television. With the acoustics okayed by A.R. Rahman's sound engineers, the theatre will give you the complete theatre experience tempered with a happy cosy feel thanks to snug rugs and comfy sofas. And while you could bring in eats from the many fast food joints in and around the place, popcorn is on the house.
So what if you missed that film on screen or on telly, now you can be your own programming head and get all friends together for a Fellini film festival.
Log sheet
Where: Lumbini Amrutha Chambers, Nagarjuna Circle, Banjara Hills
Call: 55107474/55107575
Membership: Rs 3,000 (Rs 2,000 is refundable)
DVD rentals (for three days): Rs 100 for world cinema Rs 75 for English cinema
Mini theatre: Rs. 1,000 (per film)
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