Undubbed but still wooden

Roberto Benigni’s “Pinocchio” is a bummer in any language. The most expensive Italian movie ever made ($45 million), it opened on Christmas Day in the U.S. minus press previews to poor business and worse reviews. The film had been given a painstaking dubbing job -- though not free of that dreaded hollow and colorless sound -- in an attempt to attract the holiday family trade.

Now it’s being re-released in an uncut, undubbed version, but so insufferable is Benigni’s Pinocchio that his film fails as an original-language art film just as did in its English version aimed at children.

The lavish fantasy of course sounds better in Italian, accompanied by superior subtitles, but is no more enjoyable. Not only does it remain a stultifying monument to Benigni’s self-indulgence, but also, because it’s in its original language, it’s that much easier to imagine what it might have been had Federico Fellini directed it as originally intended. From start to finish Benigni, who is on camera almost the entire time, pulls all the stops out. There’s precious little respite from the shrill, scenery-chewing extravagance. He swiftly becomes tedious and off-putting. The only way his show-off performance could have a prayer of working would be if the film were released as a silent.

On home ground Benigni scored a record-setting hit, his popularity and “Pinocchio’s” status as a national myth overriding mixed reviews. For the rest of the world, however, Walt Disney’s 1940 animated classic is sure to remain the “Pinocchio” to cherish.

*

‘Pinocchio’

Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes.

MPAA rating: G.

Where: Exclusively at the ArcLight, Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, (323) 464-4226