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''Pinocchio'' will try to win audiences in its native Italian
Friday February 07, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) Roberto Benigni's ``Pinocchio'' has found its
voice and it's in Italian.
The movie was originally shot in Italian but became a box office
flop when it opened in this country just before Christmas in a
dubbed English version. It has grossed less than $4 million.
Miramax initially marketed the movie for a broad holiday family
audience but is now rereleasing it in its original language with
English subtitles to the art house crowd. The film has opened in
select theaters in Los Angeles and New York.
Part of the problem was the film's producers decided at the last
minute that Benigni, who stars in the film as the wooden puppet,
struggled with dubbing his performance into English.
Just weeks before its release, another actor was brought in to
dub Benigni's dialogue. Many reviewers have slammed the movie for
dialogue that poorly matched the lip movements on screen.
``Pinocchio'' is a project the Italian director had long wanted
to make.
Benigni is best known for his film ``Life is Beautiful,'' which
was released in the United States in Italian with subtitles. A
second version dubbed in English was not as successful.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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