Tornatore has stated that this is his definitive version of the film.
For this 1990 cut, a professional voice cast was hired. Notably, the famous actor James Woods provided the voice for the adult Salvatore (Jacques Perrin’s role). The rest of the cast featured competent voice actors, but the production quality was standard for the era—lip flaps rarely matched, and the emotional intensity of the original performances was inevitably flattened. cinema paradiso english dub
When Miramax (run by Harvey and Bob Weinstein) acquired the US rights to Cinema Paradiso , they were terrified of foreign-language films. Their strategy was to cut the runtime drastically (American audiences had short attention spans) and dub the remaining footage into English. Tornatore has stated that this is his definitive
In 2002, Giuseppe Tornatore released the (also known as the "Extended Cut" or "Integral Version"). This restored the 30 minutes of footage, most notably adding 20 minutes exploring the adult Salvatore’s failed romance with Elena. This version runs 173 minutes (nearly 3 hours). The rest of the cast featured competent voice
This version was released on VHS and early DVD. If you find a copy labeled "English Language" from the early 90s, this is what you are getting. Here is where the search for the Cinema Paradiso English dub hits a brick wall.
Within ten minutes, you will forget you are reading. The emotional power of Ennio Morricone’s score and the raw, untranslatable pain in the Italian actors’ voices will hit you harder than any flat English voiceover ever could. Cinema Paradiso is about the purity of cinema. Don't dilute it with a dub. Let it speak its mother tongue.