I saw Benigni in Johnny Steccino first and loved it. He out did himself with Life is beautiful. He was great in el Mostro, and I also Saw him in Pinoccio.
I love comedy over drama but I have to admit it, Life is beautiful had me on the verge of tears in the end and it was my favorite. A word of advice. Do yourself a favor and watch any Benigni film in Italian with the subtitles in English ( unless you speak Spanish or French, etc). Dubbed in versions do not recreate Benigni's mannerism and voice inflection in his Italian voice. The music score really helped set the mood for the viewer as the movie progressed from the beginning comedy to the tragic second half. I would love to hear from other Benigni fans to discuss his work. Ciao