Andrea Gasperetti It is always tricky and very hard to turn a (great) novel into a movie with good results. So many times the result is quite bad. But in this case this rendition of Carlo Collodi's wonderful novel (read it! And have your kids read it!) by one of the greatest Italian directors will leave you totally delighted and moved. The actors are superb and the atmosphere is absolutely perfect. Andrea Balestri (Pinocchio) is... well... THE perfect Pinocchio. Geppetto (the great Manfredi) is unforgettable, and so Lollobrigida, and so Franco Franchi e Ciccio Ingrassia and... well, try and find a copy: every effort you will make is worth, trust me. I have to say that Disney's version (after all a cartoon. A great one, but a cartoon) disappears if compared to Comencini's Pinocchio. I watched Comencini's Pinocchio when I was a kid and many times since then (I am Italian so I have had more opportunities to watch it) and I do think that this version is a masterpiece.

Imdbidia An Italian mini-series (but co-produced by several European TV stations) shot in the 1970s that tells the story of Pinocchio. This is a film faithful to the novel, with life actors, that goes far beyond the sweetened heartless and childish versions that Hollywood has been producing since the 1940s, as if all kids were simple-minded, and all children stories empty of meaning.The film/mini-series has all the elements of the best Italian Neorealism, and, in fact, the background is an unsweetened sad and poor 1860s Italy, in which, however, magic and hope are everywhere, in the poorest of the settings, in the saddest most lonely heart. This magic and this hope carry the viewer along the harshness of Pinocchio and Geppetto's despair, separation, dramas, failure, and final success.The characters, the mood of the movie, the dresses, the music are all fabulous, superbly constructed and presented. Most importantly, the characters are superbly played, very heartfelt, by all actors. Andrea Balestri and Nino Manfredi are unforgettable as Pinocchio and Geppetto, respectively, as well as Gina Lollobrigida in her tiny but important role as a the Fairy Azzurra.This is a Pinocchio with heart, real heart. The story and the acting being heartfelt, the character of Pinocchio becomes real, believable, unquestionably human despite its wooden body.This Pinocchio is not just for kids, although kids will like it, but for adults interested in new approaches to film making and to old stories being true to the original, not a pre-masticated version of the same.If you haven't watched this, you should, because this is a fabulous piece of TV history and film making. In fact, the best Pinocchio ever made to the date. Forget even Begnini, still a pre-masticated version of the original for Hollywood.

alindera When I was a child in the 70's I watched this beautiful version of Pinocchio on the German television for the first time. The series was broadcast on a few Sunday mornings in the '70's. I never saw such a realistic pinocchio-boy. It was fascinating to see how the wooden boy moved and how he walks and talks. In my childhood this boy of wood looks very realistic. I never forgot some fragments like the mysterious fairy and the boat by the water and the big whale. It was really spooky sometimes to watch but I didn't wanna stop watching! I loved it! But anyway I will warn children and other readers for watching Le avventure di Pinnochio alone. It could be a bit scary. One day, it was real tragic for me, the series suddenly stopped, it disappeared. Unfortunately I never saw it again on the television. I searched many times to this Pinnochio movie but didn't know any information about the subtitle or creator. Without the internet, I guess, I never discovered it. Finally this week I found at last the information I was searching so many years for. I was very enjoyed about it!! Now I can order this masterpiece of Luigi Comencini on DVD and watch it in my own Dutch language. I will always treasure this series from my childhood and I can't wait to see it again after more then 20 years.

dhb8 This is a charming, funny yet dark adaptation of Carlo Collodi's story of Pinocchio. The basic plot will be familiar to anyone who's seen Disney's version, but the story is much richer than the cartoon format allowed for. The actors in this version are superb, particularly Manfredi as Gepetto and Franchi and Ingrassia as the cat and the fox. It's well worth renting, if you can find it -- and it's probably better for adults to watch with older kids, given that some of the villains in the story are portrayed in a pretty scary way that the Disney cartoon glossed over.