Fellini's Casanova
Fellini's Casanova | |
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Italian | Il Casanova di Federico Fellini |
Directed by | Federico Fellini |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Histoire de ma vie by Giacomo Casanova |
Produced by | Alberto Grimaldi |
Starring | Donald Sutherland |
Cinematography | Giuseppe Rotunno |
Edited by | Ruggero Mastroianni |
Music by | Nino Rota |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Titanus |
Release date |
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Running time | 155 minutes |
Country | Italy |
Languages |
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Fellini's Casanova (
Shot entirely at the
Plot
Casanova visits one of Venice's islands to copulate with a fake nun for the pleasure of a rich
During his time in prison, Casanova reminisces of his affairs with a dressmaker and later on with one of her junior employees, Anna Maria, who suffers from frequent fainting and requires constant bloodletting. Casanova escapes the prison through the roof and exiles himself from Venice, being taken into the Paris court of Madame d'Urfé. The Madame, an aged woman, enthralled by Casanova's apparent knowledge of alchemy, wishes to transform her soul into a man's through ritualistic intercourse with him. Fortuitously, Casanova encounters his brother, whose girlfriend he entices away.
Two years later, in Forlì, Casanova moves to the court of a hunchback, Du Bois, in between taking charge of a beautiful young woman, Henriette. The lovers vow fidelity to each other, but the following morning, Henriette has disappeared. Du Bois informs Casanova that an emissary of a faraway court has reclaimed Henriette, and she has requested that Casanova not attempt to follow her.
While in
Casanova attends a deranged party at Lord Talou's palace in Rome, where he wins a bet over how many orgasms he can have in one hour. In Bern, he falls in love with an alchemist's daughter, Isabella, who fails to keep an appointment to go to Dresden with him; Casanova instead partakes in an orgy within the hostel he has been stranded in. In Dresden, he has a brief chance encounter with his estranged mother in a theater. He then moves to a court in Württemberg, where his desire to be taken seriously as a writer/inventor is frustrated by the court's orgiastic, wild nature. It is here that he meets Rosalba, a mechanical doll with whom he shares a dance and later on has sex with.
Time goes by and Casanova, now elderly, holds the position of librarian to Count Waldstein at his castle in Dux. Life at the castle is more than frustrating for Casanova, as he becomes an object of mockery and animosity. A weary, bloodshot Casanova cringes in an armchair and recounts a recent dream. In this dream, Casanova is back in Venice. He chases the ghosts of his past lovers, all of whom disappear. An ornate stagecoach beckons him to join its passengers. He finally meets with Rosalba, the mechanical doll, once again and they dance with each other.
Cast
- Donald Sutherland as Giacomo Casanova
- Tina Aumont as Henriette
- Cicely Browne as Madame d'Urfé
- Carmen Scarpitta as Madame Charpillon
- Clara Algranti as Marcolina
- Daniela Gatti as Giselda
- Margareth Clementi as Sister Maddalena
- Olimpia Carlisi as Isabella's sister
- Silvana Fusacchia as Isabella
- Adele Angela Lojodice as Rosalba, the mechanical doll
- Sandra Elaine Allen as Angelina the Giantess
- Clarissa Mary Roll as Anna Maria
- Daniel Emilfork Berenstein as the Marquis Du Bois
- Dudley Sutton as the Duke of Württemberg
- John Karlsen as Lord Talou
- Reggie Nalder as Faulkircher
- Mario Cencelli as Dr. Mobius (uncredited)
- Harold Innocent as the Count of St. Germain (uncredited)
- Marika Rivera as Astrodi (uncredited)
- Alessandra Belloni as princess (uncredited)
- Diane Kurys as Madame Charpillon's daughter (uncredited)
- Dan van Husen as Viderol (uncredited)
- Mary Marquet as Zanetta Farussi, Casanova's mother (uncredited)
- Nicholas Smith as Francesco Giuseppe Casanova, Casanova's brother (uncredited)
Production
Fellini's Casanova is noted for its symbolic, highly stylised
The film was shot in both English and Italian,
Chesty Morgan and Barbara Steele were both cast in the film, but their scenes were deleted from the final cut.
Music was composed by Nino Rota, a frequent Fellini collaborator.
Accolades
Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Academy Awards | 1977 | Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | Federico Fellini and Bernardino Zapponi | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design
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Danilo Donati | Won | |||
David di Donatello | Best Score | Nino Rota | Won | ||
British Academy Film Awards | 1978 | Best Cinematography | Giuseppe Rotunno | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design | Danilo Donati | Won | |||
Best Production Design | Won |
See also
- Carnival of Venice
- Cinema of Italy
- Histoire de ma vie, Casanova's autobiography
References
- ^ "Il Casanova di Federico Fellini (1976)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Fellini's Casanova". Mara, Marietta. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Davis, Melton (31 August 1975). "Federico Fellini's Far‐Out Casanova". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Lane, Anthony (17 January 2020). "A Hundred Years of Fellini". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ French, Philip (16 May 2010). "Philip French's Classic DVD". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-19-502273-5.
- ISBN 978-1-55778-000-3.
- ISBN 978-8-817-03282-7.
- ^ Gallagher, Paul (19 October 2019). "'Pinocchio-in-The-Uterus' or 'A walking Sperm Bank': What Fellini Thought About 'Casanova'". Flashbak. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Kutner, C. Jerry (3 February 2009). "When the English-Dubbed Version is Better". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Benson, Raymond (3 December 2020). "Review: Fellini's "Casanova" (1976) Starring Donald Sutherland; Blu-ray Special Edition". Cinema Retro. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Show Business: The New Fellini: Venice on Ice". Time. 17 May 1976. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-571-21168-5.
- ^ "The 49th Academy Awards | 1977". Academy Awards. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Motore di ricerca" (in Italian). David di Donatello. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "Film in 1978". BAFTA Awards. Retrieved 17 March 2024.