Life Is Beautiful

Life Is Beautiful (Italian: La vita è bella, Italian pronunciation: [la ˈviːta ˈɛ bˈbɛlla]) is a 1997 Italian comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who employs his fertile imagination to shield his son from the horrors of internment in a Nazi concentration camp. The film was partially inspired by the book In the End, I Beat Hitler by Rubino Romeo Salmonì and by Benigni's father, who spent two years in a German labour camp during World War II.

Life Is Beautiful

Vitaebella.jpg

Theatrical release poster

Directed by

Roberto Benigni

Produced by

Gianluigi Braschi

Elda Ferri

Written by

Roberto Benigni

Vincenzo Cerami

Starring

Roberto Benigni

Nicoletta Braschi

Music by

Nicola Piovani

Cinematography

Tonino Delli Colli

Edited by

Simona Paggi

Production

company

Melampo Cinematografica

Distributed by

Cecchi Gori Group (Italy)

Miramax Films (USA/International)

Release date

20 December 1997 (Italy)

Running time

116 minutes[1]

Country

Italy

Language

Italian

German

English

Budget

$20 million[2]

Box office

$230.1 million[3]

The film was a critical and financial success. It grossed over $230 million worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing non-English language movies of all time,[4] and received widespread acclaim, despite some criticisms of using the subject matter for comedic purposes. It won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, nine David di Donatello Awards (including Best Film), five Nastro d'Argento Awards in Italy, two European Film Awards, and three Academy Awards (including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor for Benigni).