Fellini's Casanova – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1976
Director: Federico Fellini
Writers: Giacomo Casanova, Federico Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi
Cast: Donald Sutherland, Tina Aumont, Chesty Morgan, Dudley Sutton, John Karlsen, Reggie Nalder, Elisa Mainardi, Mary Marquet

Release Date: December 8th, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 155 Minutes 15 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"The incomparable Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita) directs this visually stunning portrait of Casanova, the infamous Italian womanizer, adventurer, author and libertine. In a remarkable performance, Donald Sutherland (MASH) portrays the great seducer not as an amorous anomaly, but an everyday man living in extraordinary times. Featuring dazzling European settings (although it was filmed entirely in Rome), an unforgettable musical score by Nino Rota (The Godfather), and Academy Award®-winning costumes, Fellini's Casanova is a cinematic experience to fall in love with." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “New 4K restoration!", "Restoration of Fellini’s Casanova (Federico Fellini, 1976) completed in 2019 by Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia – Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà at the Istituto Luce – Cinecittà laboratories from the original 35mm picture negative made available by Alberto Grimaldi Productions and from a positive track printed from the optical soundtrack negative.nSound Restoration supervision by Federico Savina.”

Fellini's Casanova comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.6 GB

Feature: 42.7 GB

The source looks great; it is a marked improvement over its previous home media releases. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good. Though grain is present, it looks thicker in darker moments.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD Mono Italian)

This release comes with two options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian. Fellini’s Casanova was Federico Fellini’s first English-language film. The English language track is in excellent shape; dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well-represented, and Nino Rota’s score sounds appropriately robust. The Italian language track is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. This release comes with two subtitle options: English SDH for the English language track and English SDH for the Italian language track. That said, English SDH for the English language track only translates spoken English, while English SDH for the Italian language translates all spoken dialog.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 54 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), an audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton, and a 12-page booklet with an essay titled Fellini’s Cinematic Music Box written by Alberto Zambenedetti, cast & crew credits and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Due to his inability to gain affection from the only woman he ever truly loved, a man becomes obsessed with discovering the real meaning of love.

Federico Fellini adapted the screenplay for Casanova from the biography of Giacomo Casanova, an 18th-century writer whose main course of study was pleasure-seeking. Other film adaptations often romanticize Giacomo Casanova's sexual adventures and pursuit of pleasure. Federico Fellini’s version of Casanova depicts a more sympathetic character whose exploits often undermine his quest for pleasure. When it comes to sexual acts in Fellini's Casanova, they are devoid of sensuality because of their focus on the mechanical aspects of the act. Another way Fellini's Casanova sets itself apart is its lack of emotion that comes forth from its characters, most notably its protagonist, Casanova.

As mentioned before, the way that Fellini's Casanova depicts sex is unconventional. Each new sexual conquest is more bizarre than the last one. Casanova's prowess is exemplified by a scene where he's invited to a party and asked to prove his endurance in front of everyone. His competition is a young man from a lower class. In the end, Casanova’s more methodical thrust defeats his competitors’ caveman approach to sexual intercourse.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this film is the casting of Donald Sutherland (Don’t Look Now) in the role of the Casanova. The original producer, Dino De Laurentiis, reportedly wanted Robert Redford in the role of Casanova, and when Federico Fellini refused to comply, he left the project. Federico Fellini asked Donald Sutherland to wear a prosthetic nose and chin, shave off the front of his hair, and further immerse himself in the role. That said, he delivers a pitch-perfect performance that easily ranks among his best work as an actor. The cast features several recognizable faces like Tina Aumont (Torso), John Karlsen (Footprints), and Reggie Nalder (Mark of the Devil).

From a production standpoint, Fellini's Casanova has everything anyone would want or expect from a Federico Fellini film. And at the forefront of this mise en scène of excess is a highly stylized universe that could have only come from the mind of Federico Fellini. There are nuns, dwarves, a giant arm-wrestling princess, a hunchbacked nympho, and mechanical dolls. These are just a handful of the characters that populate Fellini's Casanova.

When discussing Fellini's Casanova one must not overlook or undervalue its deliberate look. Not only are the visuals which are overflowing with surrealism, but also in its emphasis on artificiality when it comes to set design. Though there are many outstanding moments visually, nothing resonates stronger than the finale, which serves as a perfect coda. Ultimately, Fellini's Casanova is an extraordinary cinema experience that fans of excess and surrealism should thoroughly enjoy.

Kino Lorber gives Fellini's Casanova a first-rate release that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a pair of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer