Join Preservation Houston for a special screening of Cinema Paradiso at the historic River Oaks Theatre. We’re proud to co-present this beloved film in one of Houston’s most cherished movie houses, a setting that deepens its story and its meaning.

Released in 1988, Cinema Paradiso tells the story of Salvatore, a boy growing up in a small Sicilian village in the years before television reshaped everyday life. Drawn to the local movie theater, he forms a lasting bond with Alfredo, the cinema’s projectionist, whose guidance helps shape Salvatore’s love of film and, eventually, his future as a filmmaker.

The theater is the heart of the film. It’s where the village gathers, where friendships form, romances begin and memories take root. As Salvatore grows older and leaves home, the story traces the quiet costs of change — what it means to move forward, and what’s left behind when familiar places fade.

Cinema Paradiso gains an added resonance at the River Oaks. This is a film about how buildings hold shared memory and how returning to a place can reconnect us to earlier chapters of our lives. Watching it in a historic theater that’s still doing what it was built to do helps bring that idea into sharp focus.

With its celebrated score by Ennio Morricone, Cinema Paradiso remains a touching, deeply felt reflection on movies, memory and the enduring value of places that bring people together.

Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for children, students, seniors and military, available through the River Oaks Theatre box office. Reserve your seat today →

We hope you’ll join us for this classic film and the chance to experience it on the big screen in a theater with a story of its own.

Runtime: 2 hours, 14 minutes / rated PG