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•	2011 GDM Album

•	2003 GDM Album

•	2001 DRG Album

•	1991 DRG Album

•	2018 Quartet Album

•	2011 GDM Album

•	2003 GDM Album

•	1993 Epic Album

•	1991 DRG Album

•	1989 General Album

To appreciate Morricone's approach to Cinema Paradiso, you have to maintain an affinity for his softly likeable romantic sensibilities of rather simplistic construct. The composer doesn't attempt to impress with structural complexity, instead allowing the pleasantly minimal, painfully tonal renditions of his basic melodic core to carry the work. The orchestra supplies strings and woodwinds at the forefront, with brass serving mostly as supplemental depth or color in a few scenes of greater turmoil, like "Cinema in Fiamme." In Andrea Morricone's love theme, brass does carry the melodic lines with a touch of noir style as well. Piano is also an important element in its pulsation in the background of the several cues ("Cinema in Fiamme" and "Fuga, Ricerca e Ritorno"), a tool of heightened expectations or melodrama. Some light jazzy accompaniment in "Quattro Interludi" is also afforded to the piano. In the end, however, it's the string ensemble with solo violin and woodwinds that define the character of this score's themes. Saxophone is an occasional delight, though it's applied in cues like "Visita al Cinema" and "Prima Gioventu" much like an oboe, with little flair in the performance inflection. The themes by the Morricones for the picture are applied as Ennio Morricone and John Barry were fond of at the time, repeating slight variants of the same basic ideas throughout the film. Ennio Morricone provided several themes to Cinema Paradiso, including the primary idea for the theatre that bookends the score in the "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" cues and also guides the two "Visita al Cinema" cues as well. While it's a nostalgic and pretty tune, the static movement of its main descending phrases is a bit too rigid to flow as romantically as one would hope, though it does fit with the composer's own melodic tendencies. The two variants of the "Totò e Alfredo" theme, meanwhile, are all over the film due to the director's clear preference for it, and this idea has more regional charm in its character. The most enduring theme from Cinema Paradiso is Andrea Morricone's contribution, "Tema d'Amore," which is reprised in various guises throughout the movie to represent the lost romance that haunts the primary character. Each of the performances of this theme is more emphatic than the prior, though the best balance of all its modes likely comes in the latter half of "Tema d'Amore per Nata." Some listeners may find this theme to be too static in its evolution to justify such loyal consistency to its initial form.

Secondary themes do waft through Cinema Paradiso in various guises, the "Maturita" idea relating well to the love theme and providing a spotlight on acoustic guitar. Outside of the dominant thematic development in the score are a number of unique cues that speak to the comedy and source applications in the story. Tornatore was able to include scenes from classic films in his own theatre scenes with their original music, so Morricone wasn't required to provide new material for these oldies. (This was a boon for Tornatore, as licensing issues cause most re-usage to require a new score, even if brief.) He did, though, provide new music for a snapshot succession of scenes from a variety of movies in one scene, "Dal Sex Appeal al Primo Fellini," allowing the composer to spread his wings into jazzier music that stands apart from everything else in the score. The action of "Cinema in Fiamme" and "Fuga, Ricerca e Ritorno" are distinct standouts, though the dissonance from strings in the former is not entirely palatable. The frantic comedy action music in the brief "Tema Della Bicicletta" is the one true detriment to the album. The raw tones of the string solos layered in the main theme performances of "Per Elena" can also be grating. Aside from these cues, however, Cinema Paradiso remains a consistent listening experience in style, and although its themes and their applications to the movie don't always evolve in a truly cohesive narrative arc, their demeanor is pitch perfect with the movie. The score has experienced a plethora of international releases on album since its debut, though among the many re-issues, only three distinct presentations actually exist. The initial burst of albums from DRG Records in America, Mercury Records in Italy, and General Music in France (among others, including Japanese alternatives) hit the market between 1988 and 1991 and featured the same 38 minutes of highlights as the original LP product. Several re-issues followed. In 2001, DRG Records offered a "limited edition" with one bonus cue, "Cinema Paradiso - String Version," tacked onto the end. To reflect the director's cut, the GDM label expanded the presentation to 54 minutes in 2003, including all the redundant variations on the score's themes and adding ancillary cues. This album was re-issued by GDM in 2011 and by Quartet Records in 2018, the latter a remastering in a very limited batch of 500 CDs. The GDM product will remain viable for most listeners, as the thematic variations are welcome, but the 2018 Quartet offering is a solid recommendation for those seeking their first album for this score. There's much to like about this nostalgically bittersweet score, even if you find its themes repetitious and personality quaint.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Ennio Morricone reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.18 (in 11 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.29 (in 10,059 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.