Run Time: 50 minutes. Studio: Società Italiana Cines. Director: Giulio Antamoro. Main Cast: Polidor, Augusto Mastripietri, Natalino Guillaume, Lea Giunchi.
The 1940 Disney film version of Pinocchio has had a permanent effect on how people view the character and his story. Though there have been many film versions of the character since then, almost all of them have been at least partially inspired by the Disney movie. However, the story of Pinocchio has been around much longer than that. In fact, Disney's version wasn't even the earliest film adaption of Collodi's classic story. In hindsight it is a bit shocking to watch a film version of Pinocchio that came out before the Disney version was even thought of and was not affected at all by that landmark movie. However, that is also what makes this 1911 silent movie such a joy to watch.
The storyline here definitely reflects Collodi more than it does Disney. While Disney created a tightly woven and traditionally structured story, this silent film keeps the very episodic nature of Collodi's original version. The storyline here is simply treated as an excuse for the wooden puppet to get into one misadventure after another. Unlike the Disney version, Pinocchio's goal to become a real boy is less important than the various misadventures he gets in along the way.
With its episodic structure, this is easily the most playful film adaption of the story. Imagination and fun set pieces take front stage here. As such it lacks the emotional connection of later film adaptions or the depth of Collodi's original story. However, it makes more than up for this in pure fun. There is such a surrealistic and playful tone here that I couldn't help but have a great time watching it. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously and we don't have to either. We can just enjoy the pure imagination and silliness. This is heavily enhanced by the look of the film, which embraces the more surrealistic and adventurous feel of the story. There are times when the costumes can look a bit more like something out of a play version than a film adaption, but this actually fits perfectly with the tone of the film. Ferdinand Guillame (an acrobatic clown who was already well known to Italian movie goers) is very charming and energetic in the main as the main character. He can mug at times but that honestly fits considering the tone of the film.
As an adaption, this film is rather strange. Most of the set pieces come directly from the original. However, they seemed to be shuffled into a completely random order. The result is that none of the sequences seems to lead into the next. As episodic as the original story was, each misadventure seemed directly lead into the next. As fun as this movie is, the shuffling of scenes from the original story can make it feel a bit disjointed in a way that the source material did not.
The same year this film was released, Collidi's original story was reissued in a new storybook version which featured new illustrations by Attilio Mussino. Interestingly the look of this film is extremely similar to that of Mussino's illustrations. For many Italians of that generation Mussino's illustrations become the definitive look for Pinocchio.
If you want to watch this fun film, you can do so below.
Resources Used
Pinocchio: The Making of The Disney Epic by J.B. Kaufman
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