We would like to say we agree entirely with Morricone. He saw Benigni in his show in Rome, we in Florence, under a circus-style big top, when Benigni kept us all enraptured for more than two hours. We still remember that occasion affectionately. Since then Benigni has been very close to our hearts, as is the case for all Italians.

With "Life is Beautiful" he has managed, perhaps for the first time, to transfer his mastery, humor, and momentum into an oeuvre d'ensemble which has captured the world.

Morricone was interviewed by Italian television after the Oscar ceremonies because of a rumor circulating in America, according to which "Nicola Piovani," composer of the film's score, and who's won an award himself, was a pseudonym for none other than Morricone himself. This gross mistake was spread by an American encyclopedia.

Benigni is the first non English-speaking actor to win the Best Leading Actor award in the whole history of the ceremony.

The movie also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film.