Casanova Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Casanova Blu-ray Movie Review

Heath Ledger may not be the most robust 'Casanova' you could imagine, but this film is a lighter than air farce that's surprisingly enjoyable.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 10, 2010

It can be a fun and instructive exercise to think of products, fictional characters and even real life people whose names have become part of the common vernacular, often standing as glyphs for certain genres of product (Kleenex or Xerox, for example), behavior traits (Scrooge, for example) or even lifestyles. In that latter category, and a very particular subset of it, it’s interesting that we have two fictional characters and one real life one, all renowned for their romantic exploits, namely Don Juan, Lothario and the honest to goodness real one, Casanova. Though Casanova’s memoir, Histoire de ma vie, remains one of the prime sources for customs and (to a certain extent, at least) morés of 18th century Europe, it’s his womanizing ways that have made his name an iconic symbol of the Art of Love, particularly the surreptitious seductive kind that typically involves a cuckolded husband. Part scoundrel, part philosopher, and all man (if we’re to believe the contemporary accounts of many of his exploitees), Casanova’s life was rife with intrigue, romance and even political posturing. How odd, then, that Lasse Hallström has chosen to make his film Casanova a rather farcical comedy of manners, with mismatched pairs madly rushing through a carnival like Venice and wreaking havoc with the uptight political and religious powers of the time. There’s absolutely none of the surreal beauty of Fellini’s Casanova here, nor even the putative (if actually spotty) historical accuracy of either of the BBC miniseries adaptations of the past several decades. This is not to say that Hallström’s soufflé isn’t enjoyable, because it most certainly is; it’s simply to recognize that this is fictionalized history at its most improbable. If you come to this Casanova with few if any expectations, you’re likely to come away with a smile on your face, if few lasting emotional imprints—much like a real life Casanovian one night stand.

The late Heath Ledger stars as Casanova.

Casanova is told within a framing device, as our ostensible hero, now very aged, looks back on his amorous career and decides to let us in on one final adventure which he has never before shared with anyone. If you listen closely to the voiceover in this prologue, you’ll realize you’re being set up for a supposed twist at the end of the film, though it’s not very surprising once you get there. Be that as it may, Casanova then wends its way back to the Venetian lothario’s early childhood, when his actress mother abandons him with his grandmother, promising to return one day. Quick cut to a strapping young Casanova (Heath Ledger, oddly somnambulant throughout this film), who is busy cutting a wide swath through the womanhood of Venice, including (in true farce style) several novice nuns at a local convent.

Casanova’s indelicate seductions of the most vulnerable of young girls makes him persona non grata with the Catholic church, but he is protected by his friend, the Doge. Unfortunately the only way the Doge can permanently keep Casanova from the long arm of the law is for the young man to settle down and find a wife. Though Casanova initially sets his sights on a comely virgin, appropriately named Virginia (Natalie Dormer), he soon finds himself literally crossing swords with the rambunctious proto-feminist Francesca (Sienna Miller in a funny and spunky performance). Francesca of course is betrothed to a plump aristocrat (Oliver Platt) at the behest of her mother (Lena Olin, Hallström’s real life wife). An almost Shakespearian comedy of errors ensues, as Casanova assumes the identity of Francesca’s fiancé (whom she has never met) in order to woo her, while Francesca’s brother Giovanni (Charlie Cox) sets out to woo Virginia. Playing out amid all this madness is a subplot featuring scandalous 18th century “grrl power” broadsheets written by Francesca under a nom de plume, which raise the ire of the Catholic church, which sends in a venomous Inquisitor (Jeremy Irons) to ferret out the author, who is assumed to be male.

As is probably evident from this précis, Casanova is nothing more or less than a romp, a madcap, quasi-screwball joyride, Rococo style. The best thing about the film is its resolute refusal to take anything seriously, even its none too subtle posturing about women’s rights and the imperiousness of officialdom, whether that be religiously or politically affiliated. The film excels with its breezy, lighter than air approach to a historical figure, obviously not worrying about anything approaching historical accuracy and content to simply entertain, which it does very well. The supporting cast is all top notch here, with everyone from Jeremy Irons (in his most deliciously arch scene-chewing mode) to Miller contributing fine work. And despite a very appealing athleticism on the part of Ledger, his actual performance, as noted above, is oddly quiet, especially for a role that one could imagine the likes of Errol Flynn tearing through 75 or so years ago. There’s little joy in Ledger’s approach here; instead we’re treated to a sort of actorly, mannered Stanislavskian introspection that is somewhat at odds with Casanova’s extroverted character.

Hallström, who typically takes on somewhat weightier fare, shows a lightness of touch here that is quite appealing. The film is sumptuously shot (by DP Oliver Stapleton) and is filled with a wealth of glorious period music. Hallström captures the sweep and pageantry of 18th century Venice, and aside from one strangely sloppy sequence (the chase at the film denouement, which features poor framing and even a camera jiggle or two), helms a very fluid and cohesive film. If the emotional “arc” of Casanova is predictable from the get-go, despite the supposed post-modern revisionism its given here, that ultimately doesn’t detract from the film’s very real pleasures. Sometimes a soufflé is exactly what the palate requires, and though Hallström may be one of the least likely directorial chefs to whip one up, he’s done a surprisingly tasty job here.

Casanova Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Casanova comes from the relatively early days of the Blu-ray format, when compression codecs were still almost as hotly debated as the much argued over high definition format wars. Studios actually supported various codecs much like they signed up to support either BDs or HD-DVDs, as odd as it may seem to us this far into the high-def era. This was actually one of Buena Vista's first forays into VC-1 territory, and Casanova, with a full 1080p image in a 2.38:1 aspect ratio, shows why this compression regimen has become de rigeur for so many Blu-ray releases in the interim. This is one sumptuous looking film, which the Blu-ray delivers handily, with no artifacting or noise, and certainly no over aggressive post-digitizing clean-up. What we're given is a remarkably colorful, vibrant image with a very robust palette, and a brilliantly sharp image to boot. What impressed me most about Casanova was the absolutely breathtaking depth of field in the many exterior shots, where you can literally see for what seems like miles. Some of this film does have a slightly soft look, again in the exterior scenes, but I attribute that to the sun-dappled half-light that Hallström tends to favor in this often amber hued feature.

Casanova Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Casanova is presented with both lossless (LPCM 5.1) and lossy (Dolby Digital 5.1) mixes, as well as several foreign language tracks. The LPCM 5.1 mix is surprisingly robust for a talky farce, and it contains some astounding LFE in the carnival fireworks sequence midway through the film. Dialogue is always crisp and clear, and surround channels kick into play both in the delicious use of underscore (almost all of it classical source cues) and the occasional outdoor crowd scene. But despite the film's perhaps smaller scale aural ambitions, this is a carefully constructed sound mix, which provides some good foley effects (listen to the quicksilver "clang" of the swords during Casanova and Francesca's battle) as well as an all around excellent ambience (the spaciousness of some of the interior scenes set in large rooms is quite noticeable). This isn't a knock your socks off summer blockbuster sort of track, but it's unusually effective in its own way, and provides Casanova a nice bit of sonic "oomph".

Casanova Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A smattering of good to excellent extras supplement Casanova, including:

• An informative Commentary by the director, which hits a ragged spot or two, but which is told in Hallström's engaging style;
• Reflections of Venice (4:53), an odd if engaging travelogue featurette by Louie Schwartzberg that takes us on a brief tour of the film's locales;
• Movie Showcase (3:26), that throwback to the early days of Blu-ray, when Buena Vista liked to highlight various scenes that supposedly showed off the splendors of high definition;
• Creating an Adventure (12:53), a fairly standard EPK-fest, with interviews with cast and crew; and
• Dressing in Style (5:20), a much better featurette focusing on costume designer Jenny Beavan.

Casanova Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This, like Fellini's take on the character, is nothing approaching an historical account of the real Casanova. While Fellini's film is his typical strange, surreal enterprise, full of glorious, if sometimes incomprehensible, images, Hallström chooses a different, perhaps less pretentious, path, offering nothing other than a simple farce built around an ostensibly "real" lead character. This is frenetic fun that is more often than not completely engaging, and it receives a really good transfer in this early days Blu-ray. Despite some passing qualms about Ledger's tamped down performance, Casanova comes highly recommended.