Casanova [DVD]

A funny, tender, poetic & beautiful film about love, passion, changes and fighting for one's dreams. Heath Ledger is absolutely brilliant, sexy, funny, exciting and wonderful. Jeremy Irons and Oliver Platt are superb. Director Lasse Hallström shows us, once again, his sensibility for describing tenderness, friendship and love. Beautiful music by Rameau, Vivaldi, Albinoni and other Baroque masters. Charming costumes. The whole movie was shot in Venice, which gives the film a lot of beauty and splendor. Super entertaining and cool. Indispensable for all Heath lovers.P.S. The DVD has very exciting EXTRAS (behind the scenes, an extended scene and parts of interviews with Heath Ledger & Lasse Hallström).

Brilliant film, so sad he's not here anymore. One of the greatest!

Hired via Amazon Prime. Easy to load and purchase via Apple TV.

I purchased this DVD as a fan of Lasse Hallstrom's films, but I would have probably bought it anyway, for the real star of this film is Venice itself, even though many of the views on-screen - through the use of inventive matt paintings and persuasive CGI - are preposterously unhistorical and geographically impossible. But we also get to see the interior of the monastery of San Giorgio Maggiore, the veranda of the Doge's Palace - and Palladio's Teatro Olympico at Vicenza. But when we came to the balloon-ride above the city, my partner turned to me and said, "Now it's getting stupid!"But this is a film not to take seriously at all: it is a romp, nothing more and nothing less, despite its attempts at expostulating a philosophy of love. It is a pantomime fairy-tale. It has a ludicrous plot with lots of holes, the main one of which is relying on the fact that Casanova's face is not well-known, but also relying, for example, on billboard advertisements for lard. (Don't ask!) People wanting a truer version of events are directed to Casanova's own not-so-reliable memoirs: his life was actually more exciting than that depicted in the film.There are some good gags in the script: "Venice is perceived as a hotbed of ... well, a hot ... bed" says the Doge to Casanova. Meanwhile, when the Grand Inquisitor tells a nun that, "You will suffer hellfire and damnation for spending one night with Casanova", she replies, "Seems a fair deal to me." And when the Inquisitor accuses Casanova of sleeping with a novice, he replies that she was hardly that!One annoying feature of the film are the accents, a mixture of public-school English, with Cockney and Irish thrown in. The director decided not to have any Italian inflections so as not to distract the viewer's attention. In principle, it works - especially considering that some of the leading parts are played by Americans, Australians, and Swedes - but it is a shame nevertheless. The music and costumes, however, are fantastic and just right.Heath Ledger gives a fine performance. I especially liked that at the table during the Carnival Ball with one supposed fiancée and her mother at one side of the table and another supposed fiancée and her father at the other. And Jeremy Irons hams his role up well as Bishop Pucci of the Inquisition, a far cry from his role as Antonio in the film version of `The Merchant of Venice'.The extras on the disc include a director's commentary, from which we learn that the whole film was shot in the Veneto (including the studio shots). One can imagine how difficult that must have been: `challenging' is not the word! For example, how to shoot for four days in St Mark's Square with a thousand extras? The production even at one point stopped traffic on the Grand Canal, removing modern boats and replacing them with period craft. Because of the noise of the city, there had to be a lot of ADR, but I cannot say I noticed.Hallstrom's films are usually dramas with an element of comedy because that is real-life, but he says that `Casanova' was "the most stylised comedic thing I've done". He actually uses the word `romp' - and, as such, it works. Despite being liberal with the truth of Casanova's story, the Venetians apparently applauded it when the film was shown there.

Very good film. I am a huge Heath Ledger fan. It was well acted and very classy, though with seedy undertones. Tells the story of the great lover and his devilish exploits.

ok film, good enough to past the time away

We had been to Venice and had just came home. Great movie and the locations were spot on. Historically not so sure, but entertaining nonetheless

Awful. Carry on is actually misleading as that would be funny. Its more like a bad Monty Python take-off , except again its not funny!. Just avoid despite interesting cast

Version très sympa et agréable à regarder

Film da 8 fatto bene in tutto

... nähme ich doch gerne in Kauf ...Venedig 1753. Giacomo Casanova ist in aller Munde - Straßenschausteller spielen das nach, was man sich in Venedig so über den Herzensbrecher erzählt ... "Bin ich die Einzige für dich?" - "Du bist die Einzige" (für einen Tag zumindest)."Ein solcher Mensch muss zutiefst verhaltensgestört sein. Das, was er für Liebe hält, ist in Wahrheit Narzissmus" - das ist die Einschätzung von Francesca Bruni, in die sich unser Frauenheld unsterblich verliebt. Francesa ist eine aufgeschlossene, selbständig denkende, junge Frau, die sich gegen die Heirat mit einem Genueser Kaufmann heftig sträubt. Heimlich veröffentlicht sie sogar Pamphlete unter dem Pseudonym Bernardo Guardi, was ihr später noch zum Verhängnis werden soll. Sie wird von der Inquisition als Ketzerin verfolgt ...Die Handlung ist äußert turbulent, es geht drunter und drüber und es bleibt kein Auge trocken. Die Dialoge sind hinreißend, die Venezianische Kulisse einmalig! Das ist kein Film, den man sich nur einmal ankuckt, sondern diesen Genuss muss man sich mehrfach zu Gemüte führen. Ich denke, dass auch erst dann diese vielen wunderbaren Details sich einprägen können ... Kostüme, Kulisse, Hintergund etc. Auch der Soundtrack ist erwähnenswert - ausschließlich klassische Musik aus dieser Zeit z.B. von Vivaldi, Albinoni, Telemann, Händel, um nur die bekanntesten zu nennen."Chocolat"-Regisseur Lasse Hallström bringt diesen Film mit wunderbar leichter Hand und hervorragenden Schauspielern auf die Leinwand. Allen voran Heath Ledger (der eh mein ausgesprochener Liebling ist bzw. war), dicht gefolgt von Sienna Miller, die die Francesca einfach klasse spielt, Lena Olin, die ich in der Rolle der Mutter köstlich finde, aber auch Natalie Dormer als Victoria finde ich herausragend - eine vielversprechende junge Schauspielerin! Sehenswert auch Oliver Platt als Fettkloß "Paprizzio". Bei dem Dogen (gespielt von Tim McInnerny) fühle ich mich ein wenig erinnert an Monty Python-Darsteller John Cleese - ihm sitzt auch der Schalk in den Augen.Casanova verrät dem Bruder von Francesca sein Geheimnis der Liebe: "Seid die Flamme und nicht die Motte!" Man muss es also wert sein, geliebt zu werden und darf nicht Trübsal blasen, wenn man geliebt werden will...

Casanova est tourné à Venise où la ville est belle et filmée en détails et où les costumes sont d'époque au détails près. Les personnages sont attachants, aussi bien les principaux que les secondaires, car ils ont tous un caractère propre. Le tout forme un équilibre très agréable. La seule chose qui manque peut-être est, au moins, une scène de plus avec plus de dialogue entre Casanova et son aimée. Toutefois le dvd contient une très belle scène dans les Bonus où la jeune femme avoue enfin son amour. C'est un film de changement de décors et de masques, en fonction des changements d'identité des personnages principeaux jusqu'au coup de théâtre de la fin. C'est un très beau film.

enjoyable