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Once Upon a Time, Cinema

Play trailer Once Upon a Time, Cinema 1992 1h 40m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
In this meditation on the history of cinema, contemporary scenes blend with clips from the silent era. A cinematographer (Mehdi Hashemi) consults with the shah of Iran (Ezzatollah Entezami) in an attempt to convince him that cinema is beautiful. Movies are censored, however: the shah bans them himself. But when the shah falls in love with a beautiful silent-film actress (Fatemah Motamed-Aria), he forfeits the throne and crosses into the realm of the movie screen to be with his love.

Critics Reviews

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James Berardinelli ReelViews 12/28/2018
3/4
The product of Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Once Upon a Time, Cinema, is an indulgence and a Valentine to movies. Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 07/19/2005
3/5
Brian Webster Apollo Guide 01/01/2000
73/100
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Audience Reviews

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01/30/2008 i love thsi movie... and i have watched it many times since iwas a child. See more 10/02/2007 Smart, somewhat revolutionary See more Read all reviews
Once Upon a Time, Cinema

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Cast & Crew

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Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Director

Mehdi Hashemi

Akkas bashi

Ezzatollah Entezami

Nassereddin Shah

Akbar Abdi

Malijak

Mohammad Ali Keshavarz

Farrash bashi

Fatemah Motamed-Aria

Golnaar

Movie Info

Synopsis In this meditation on the history of cinema, contemporary scenes blend with clips from the silent era. A cinematographer (Mehdi Hashemi) consults with the shah of Iran (Ezzatollah Entezami) in an attempt to convince him that cinema is beautiful. Movies are censored, however: the shah bans them himself. But when the shah falls in love with a beautiful silent-film actress (Fatemah Motamed-Aria), he forfeits the throne and crosses into the realm of the movie screen to be with his love.
Director
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Producer
Masud Jafari Jozani, Mohammad Mehdi Dadgu
Screenwriter
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Persian
Runtime
1h 40m