Critically Acclaimed: Pinocchio and The Magnificent Ambersons

Roberto Benigni won two Oscars for LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, and he used all that clout to direct and star in a live-action version of PINOCCHIO, starring himself as a marionette who comes to life and ruins everything and gets forgiven for it every time even though he’s a jerk. It’s an unpopular film made almost completely unwatchable by the baffling decision to dub it into English with distractingly recognizable voice actors, some of whom give terrible performances. So why is it the perfect double feature with THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, Orson Welles’s follow-up to CITIZEN KANE, which also suffered severe post-production difficulties, but despite the controversial debacle still ranks as one of the best films ever made? (Oh wait, we may have given that away a bit.) And hey, we’ve also got reviews of the brand new releases THE PREDATOR, A SIMPLE FAVOR, MANDY, THE CHILDREN ACT and BEL CANTO, as well as more of your letters! Cool, right? Email us at letters(a)criticallyacclaimed.net, follow your hosts on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani and @WitneySeibold, and follow the podcast/website at @CriticAcclaim. Check out our website at www.criticallyacclaimed.net and head on over to www.patreon.com/canceledtoosoon to contribute to the show and get even more exclusive content! Email us at letters(a)criticallyacclaimed.net, and follow your hosts on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani and @WitneySeibold.