| Fellini's Casanova | |
 original film poster |
|
| Directed by | Federico Fellini |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Alberto Grimaldi |
| Written by | Federico Fellini Bernardino Zapponi |
| Starring | Donald Sutherland Tina Aumont Cicely Browne Carman Scarpitta Daniel Emilfork Dan van Husen Isabel Pisano |
| Music by | Nino Rota |
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Rotunno |
| Editing by | Ruggero Mastroianni |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Inc. |
| Release date(s) | 1976 |
| Running time | 148 min. DVD release |
| Language | Italian / English / French / German |
 |
This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (November 2008) |
Fellini's Casanova (Il Casanova di Federico Fellini) is a 1976 Italian film by director Federico Fellini, adapted from the autobiography of Giacomo Casanova, the 18th century adventurer and writer.
Shot entirely at the Cinecittà studios in Rome, the film won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, with the Oscar going to Danilo Donati.
Contents |
Plot
A carnival in Venice is the prelude to a series of erotic encounters that follow Giacomo Casanova through the cities of 18th century Europe. It is the age of Voltaire – sexual and intellectual awakenings abound.
Casanova's life becomes a freakish journey into sexual abandonment. Any meaningful emotion or sensuality is eclipsed by increasingly strange situations. In Venice, he "defiles" a fake nun for the pleasure of a rich voyeur; in Paris, he attempts to convert a mature woman's soul into a man's using intercourse; in Dresden, his body is pounded by two hefty women and a hunchback.
The narrative presents Casanova's adventures in a detached, methodical fashion, as the respect he yearns for is constantly undermined by more basic urges.
The script also highlights other incidents from Casanova's life, including his escape from a Venetian prison and his visit to a London Frost fair.
Style
Fellini’s Casanova is noted for its symbolic, highly stylised mise en scène and the casting of Donald Sutherland in the lead role.[citation needed]
By using a range of visual effects Fellini attempted to depict Casanova as a debauched figure incapable of displaying any genuine emotion.[citation needed]
This Felliniesque style is most noticeable in Sutherland’s acting and appearance which was made overtly graphic at the director's request.[citation needed]
Other unusual techniques include a scene where Sutherland rows across a stormy sea made from black plastic sheets.
Fellini’s dislike of the character was well documented and in one interview he even referred to exposing "the void" of Casanova's life.[1] Consequently, Fellini’s interpretation goes against the traditional notion of Casanova as an enlightened gadabout.
Awards and nominations
1977 Academy Award, USA
- Winner - Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati)
- Nominated - Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Federico Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi)
1977 David di Donatello Awards, Italy
- Winner - Best Music (Nino Rota)
1978 BAFTA, Great Britain
- Winner - Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati)
- Winner - Best Production Design/Art Direction (Danilo Donati, Federico Fellini)
- Nominated - Best Cinematography (Giuseppe Rotunno)
See also
- Federico Fellini
- Cinema of Italy
- Giacomo Casanova
- Histoire de ma vie, Casanova's autobiography
- Carnival of Venice
References
- ^ Bondanella, Peter (eds.) "Casanova: An Interview with Aldo Tassone" in Essays in Criticism: Federico Fellini (Oxford: Oxford University Press). p. 29.
External links
- Fellini's Casanova at the Internet Movie Database
- "Article". brightlightsfilm.com. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/26/fellini1.html.
- "essay". sensesofcinema.com. http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/fellini.html.
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
