6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
A portrait of Casanova, the infamous Italian womanizer, adventurer, author, and libertine.
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Tina Aumont, Cicely Browne, Carmen Scarpitta, Clara AlgrantiDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 97% |
Romance | 24% |
History | 10% |
Biography | 5% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono
Italian: LPCM Mono
French: LPCM Mono
French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Federico Fellini’s dark and deliciously perverse “Casanova” (1976) gets a solid treatment by French atrhouse distributors Carlotta. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed contains the film’s 154 minute cut as well as all three official audio versions – English, French and Italian. Unfortunately, it is Region-B “locked.
Donald Sutherland as Giacomo Casanova
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Federico Fellini's Casanova arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Carlotta.
I'll say it upfront: this lovely edition of Casanova is the best kept Blu-ray secret. Period. It is an absolute treasure, which many of you who have gone through endless DVD releases of the film that were plagued with endless issues will be ecstatic to see. Quite some time ago, I noted that BFI's Blu-ray release of Michelangelo Antonioni's Red Desert is a good enough reason to consider investing into a native Region-B or Region-Free player. Well, folks, now it is absolutely essential that you think about going Region-Free. Really, if Carlotta's release of Fellini's Casanova does not convince you, nothing will.
The transfer from Carlotta is in fantastic shape. Before I sat down to write this review, I ran a few quick comparisons with the old non-anamorphic French disc and, frankly, the difference between the two releases is simply unbelievable. First, this French Blu-ray disc preserves the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Second, contrast is impressively stable, detail pleasing and clarity about as good as I hoped it could be. Third, the color scheme is simply fantastic. Next to the French DVD, the Blu-ray image conveys so much depth and tonality (with all sorts of fine nuances) that as cliché as it may sound you have to see them in order to believe them. Fourth, the heavy macroblocking that plagued the French disc is nowhere to be seen. Fifth, the Blu-ray transfer has retained plenty of the natural film grain. This being said, I did notice a few minor specks popping up here and there, but overall the film looks very healthy. Finally, there are absolutely no traces of problematic denoising corrections. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order access its content).
There are three audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 1.0 (48 kHz), French LPCM 1.0 (48 kHz) and Italian LPCM 1.0 (48 kHz). I opted for the English LPCM 1.0 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the other two tracks for the purpose of this review.
First, let's make it perfectly clear that there are no imposed French subtitles on the English LPCM track. Thie English LPCM track is in good condition. The dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow. Furthermore, I did not detect any disturbing audio dropouts, pops, or hisss. As expected, the overdubbing has produced some minor sync issues, which some of you might be able to detect. But, you should know that these are perfectly normal, given that post-production dubbing was favored by the Italian film industry at the time.
As I mentioned above, I ran a few quick tests with the French and Italian dubs (I spent more time on the French dub). Overall, both appear to be practically identical in terms of clarity. During the selected scenes I tested, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings. This being said, Nino Rota's lovely score sounds terrific on all three LPCM tracks. For the record, Carlotta have provided optional French subtitles for the Italian and English versions of the film. (You won't be able to turn off the subtitles from the main menu. You have to use the subtitles button on your remote to do so).
Casanova arrives in a stylish case that very much resembles the coffee-books introduced by Warner Brothers in North America. This is, however, a much sturdier and better designed package. The booklet Carlotta have provided with it (attached to the actual case) contains a number of reproductions for sketches drawn by Fellini himself.
On the actual Blu-ray disc you will find all of the extras that were previously available on the Carlotta DVD as well as a few exclusive supplemental features prepared exclusively for this Blu-ray release:
El Il Casanova de Fellini (1975) (73 min) – This is a rather long documentary, which Fellini requested that Gianfranco Angelucci and Liliane Betti complete a year before the shooting for Casanova started. Some well known Italian actors - Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazi, Alberto Sordi, Tonino Guerra, Vittorio Gassman – are given the opportunity to improvise in front of the camera. A lot of these improvisations were later on utilized by Fellini to finalize the main characters in Casanova. (In Italian with optional French subtitles).
Et Fellini Créa Le Casanova (28 min) – a rather long but very insightful interview with Gianfranco Angelucci, scenarist and Fellini collaborator, who recalls how Casanova came to exist and how some of the more outrageous scenes were filmed. He also addresses El Il Casanova de Fellini. (In Italian with optional French subtitles).
"Poly-gammies" en la mineur (21 min) – Composer Alexandre Desplat (The Beat My Heart Skipped) talks about Nino Rota's truly unusual soundtrack. He focuses on the relationship between images and sounds and how they are absorbed by the viewer. (In French without optional French subtitles).
Les memoires d'un casanoviste (22 min) – French film director Alain Jaubert ("Giacomo Casanova") talks about Fellini's characters, the exotic locations from the film (done at Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà in Rome and Lazio) as well as the critical overtones the film conveys. (In French without optional French subtitles).
Autor de Casanoa: piste informative – this is a Profile 1.1 feature. When activated, a small box, with texts in French, appears on your screen during specific scenes. The feature can be activated from the main menu.
Gallery of stills –
Original theatrical trailer –
(Note: The supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are not playable on NTSC-only TV sets. In order to view them in North America, you either have to have a multi-system TV set or a Region-Free Blu-ray player capable of converting PAL- NTSC).
Fans of Federico Fellini's Casanova will be delighted to hear that there is finally a deserving release of his controversial film. French distributors Carlotta's Blu-ray disc is certainly one of the most delicious releases to be produced in Region-B. I really hope that they would continue to surprise us with such special treatments. Finally, it would be unfair if I did not mention the case this Blu-ray disc arrives with - it is lovely. Yes, this is one classy looking release. Bravo Carlotta! Very Highly Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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