Casanova [Blu-ray]

Casanova is a minor gem of a film. It is carefully bracketed as a memoir of Casanova, who is busy in his old age writing his memories in his famous book. However, this is worth paying attention to, because in a film of masks, deceptions and subterfuge, this too is perhaps the best of all possible masks. Giacomo Casanova may be many things to many people (particularly the women of Venice), but he is a very human being, if he would but know it.After spending the greater part of his youth in pursuit of being the pursuer ('be the flame, not the moth,' he says as he gives advice to a young man in need of help courting his love) rather than the pursued, he has finally had to promise (the Doge and the Inquisition) that he will mend his ways and marry. But, in typical Casanova fashion, the woman he intends is the unofficial intended of another, and the woman he wants is not his intended, but intended to another. If you can't quite keep pace, you might be on to something. For Casanova's desire (not to be confused with his intended) is intended to another, whose identity Casanova 'borrows' to better woo her.In the end, this is a fairly standard but well-done costume drama of mistaken identities, plots going awry, and love triumphant (of course it would have to be, for after all, this is Casanova). Heath Ledger plays a very serviceable Casanova (no pun intended, well, perhaps a little intended); Sienna Miller plays the fair Francesca, a woman with a brain far in advance of her time (she is some ways portrayed as a female da Vinci-esque character). Lena Olin plays Francesca's mother, who has arranged a marriage for Francesca, which certainly does not involve Casanova. Charlie Cox plays Francesca's brother, Giovanni, jealous of the attentions Casanova is paying to his unannounced intended across the canal (in an interesting twist, Charlie Cox played in 'The Merchant of Venice' the year before this film was made, together with Jeremy Irons).I was very pleased with the role played by Oliver Platt, the merchant of Genoa (coming to Venice, a very subtle, witty reversal on Shakespeare) - he played the intended of Francesca, a pupil of Casanova, a lard merchant of wealth and fame, and in the end one of the good guys. Tim McInnerny plays the hapless but good-intentioned Doge. However, highest praise goes to Jeremy Irons, who plays the papal visitor/inquisitor, Bishop Pucci, who, if he isn't threatening inquisitorial tortures on illiterate philosophers or falling over backwards in boats is promising to restore the virginity of young maidens. Irons provides a delightful mixture of terror and farce that plays in both comedic and dramatic ways, and he looks every inch the post-medieval bishop.The sets are stunning - of course, this was filmed on location in Venice, so how could they be otherwise? The music is well-selected and drawn into the overall film, using Italian and Italian-influenced compositions of the Renaissance and later periods heavily.This is a fun film, with an unexpected ending in several ways, but love reigns triumphant, and Casanova (in a very interesting twist) both 'gets the girl' and continues his amorous ways - but I'll not spoil it for you.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's a romp, a spoof, an adventure starting with Casanove doing what Casanova does in an upscale nunnery for the daughters and nieces of the elite. Signals indicate the authorities have entered the building. He jumps into clothes, grabs the rest, and starts running down the marble hall with the nuns waving from their doors and shouting, "Don't forget me!" He climbs out a window onto the tiled roof in Venice (where this movie was filmed). The group of authorities follow. One looses footing and plops into the canal below. Casanova also looses footing, but stops his slide inches from going into the canal and escapes by leaping the canal, and clawing his way up over the window sill and into a lecture hall in the Doge's palace where the wigged and robed intellectuals are listening to lectures on the subject of women. The lecturers include a Bernardo Guardi, already damned by the Catholic church as a heretic. In his escape from the nunnery, he drops a shoe in the chambers of Sister Beatrice, niece of the Cardinal, and the the chief authority comes after him.Next we're spectators in a trial of Casanove for fornication in a nunnery and hear him sentenced to be hanged at dawn. The Doge enters and informs the judge that his witness (Sister Beatrice) is the niece of the Cardinal who will be mightily upset at this scandale in his family, The doge places Casanove under his protection and the case is dismissed. As they walk outside along the arcade beside the Doge's plaice, he informs Casanove that he's banishing him from Venice for his own good. The only way he'll let him stay is if he finds a reputable woman of property and marries her. Thus begins the shopping for such a woman all over Venice, by Casanove and his man-servant, and his finally settling for the girl in the window across the canal from a family that is destined to play a huge role in life. Her father accepts Casanova's proposal, the young woman is smitten and can hardly wait.But Casanova discovers he's engaged to the wrong young woman and falls head-over-heels for the young woman across the canal form his fiancee. He discovers that she is, in fact, Bernardo Guardi, the writer/heretic, who disguises herself as a man. She was, in fact, the lecturer in the Doge's palace when he jumped the canal and climbed into the lecture hall. In his/her writings she rails against such men as Casanova who seek pleasure with women, and are destined to be untrue.How he manages a duel, finds that his love does NOT have a secret lover as rumored, how he survives a night at a Carnival ball with two women looking for him, how he elude the Pope's chief of the Inquisition (played masterfully by Jeremy Irons), wins his love and escapes another hanging. enliving the rest of the film. The only movie entirely filmed in Venice (in some of the most beautiful interiors in the world). this movie is gorgeous, sexy, and fun. The surprise ending leaves everybody but the Inquisitor very happy. A must see!

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.

I bought this as it is a good price and is directed by the excellent director Lasse Hallstrom who certainly knows what he is doing. It was recommended to me by a friend who said she found it light and entertaining. Well it is a romp - not slick enough to be a farce and I found Heath Ledger's portrayal rather heavy and lacking in charm. The cumbersome clothes of the period make it impossible for people to move quickly but they are beautiful to look at as are the locations and sets. A romp, lightly entertaining but not an important piece in my opinion.

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).

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

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.