Synopsis
The celebration of and homage to the language of cinema unites not only the three central characters of this film, but is the character of the film itself. This is the story of a man whose entire life has been shaped and supported by the movies. Jordan (Marcello Mastroianni) grew up at his father's movie theater, and after World War Two, he took over as the theater's manager. In those halcyon days, the theater was so popular that police had to be hired to keep the crowds waiting to get in from rioting. Now, however, the theater is losing money and is in danger of being torn down, or sold to a department store. Jordan has long since concluded that the townspeople have forgotten their affection for the movies, but in a Capra-esque vision, he imagines them gathering as a body to prevent him from selling the theater. One highlight of this successful film about films is the glimpses it offers of over a dozen great works of Italian cinema.
What Critics Say
No Hollywood.com review at this time
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Movie News
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L.A. Film Crix Pick "Splendor"
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Wednesday named the quirky dramedy American Splendor best picture of 2003, and The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson was voted best director.
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Brando in All His Natural Splendor
HOLLYWOOD, July 21, 2000 -- And you thought that naked guy on "Survivor" was bad. Sources from the Canadian set of Marlon Brando’s new movie "The Score" tell Liz Smith that the pleasantly plump Godfather has taken to arriving for his close-ups naked from the waist down.
Yes, nekkid.
According to the gossip maven, Brando’s co-stars, among them Angela Bassett, Ed Norton and Robert De Niro, and crew members think that this is Brando’s way of ensuring that he will be filmed only above the shoulders in order to hide his heft.
Smith says that Brando has also asked that all his suits be made from the same stretchy velour fabric used for a lounging robe he dons in the film.
Some things are really better left unseen.