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"An extraordinary story about an incredible adventure." Kino Lorber has unveiled a brand new poster for the new 4K restoration re-release of the beloved 90s religious movie Little Buddha about reincarnation. Directed by Italian maestro Bernardo Bertolucci, the film originally opened in the US in the summer of 1994. Restored in 4K by Cinecitta from the separation masters under the supervision of Vittorio Storaro. After the death of Lama Dorje, Tibetan Buddhist monks find 3 children - one American and two Nepalese - who may be the rebirth of their great teacher. The American boy travels to Bhutan to meet the monks and learn more about Buddhism and its history. "Magical, mind-broadening entertainment." Starring Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha (the original Buddha), with Ying Ruocheng, Raju Lal, Greishma Makar Singh, Chris Isaak, Alex Wiesendanger, and Bridget Fonda. The movie only has 64% on Rt now, but Gene Siskel gave it a positive review - writing: "In a quiet way,...

As Keanu Reeves plans a reunion with Sandra Bullock, it’s an opportune time to revisit one of his early career gems. Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1993 drama Little Buddha, starring the actor as Siddhartha, has been restored in 4K by Cinecitta from the separation masters under the supervision of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. With a theatrical run beginning on May 9 in NYC at IFC Center, and May 16 in LA at Laemmle Glendale, with a national expansion to select cities to follow, Kino Lorber has now unveiled the new trailer and poster.

Here’s the synopsis: “Drawing on Buddhist history to weave a metaphor about the tragedy of Tibetans in exile, Little Buddha is Bernardo Bertolucci’s stunning follow-up to The Sheltering Sky. In this religious tour-de-fource, a Buddhist monk, Lama Norbu (Ying Ruocheng), believes that a 10-year-old American boy, Jesse (Alex Wiesendanger), is the reincarnation of his spiritual teacher, Lama Dorje. Jesse’s father,...

Bernardo Bertolucci, the legendary Italian director behind classics such as “Last Tango in Paris” and “The Last Emperor,” has died at age 77. Bertolucci’s publicist, Flavia Shiavi, confirmed the director’s passing on the morning of Monday, November 26. The filmmaker, who had been suffering from cancer, died at his home in Rome, Italy.

Bertolucci was widely considered one of Italy’s greatest auteurs throughout his five decades making films in both Hollywood and Italy. The filmmaker got his start working with another giant of Italian cinema, Pier Paolo Pasolini. Bertolucci was an assistant on Pasolini’s first feature, “Accattone,” before he made his own directorial debut at age 21 with “The Grim Reaper” in 1962. The drama centered around the murder of a Roman prostitute and premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Bertolucci gained recognition in Hollywood following the release of “The Conformist,” which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

An Italian film director sets out to recreate an epic Chinese story as an independent film and entirely in English and goes on to win nine Oscars. Sound unlikely? Well, in most cases it probably would be, but Bernardo Bertolucci did just that with The Last Emperor in 1987 as he set out to tell the story of a 3-year-old boy who became Emperor of China with 400 million people as his subjects on an unlikely path to becoming a gardener in Peking. The success of the film is almost as unimaginable as the story behind it and Criterion has set out to ensure you know Everything there is to know about this movie and its place in history with a Blu-ray edition that takes three (of the four) DVDs worth of material and places it all on one disc. Speak ill of the high-definition format no more as the thought of...