Movies - Il Casanova di Federico Fellini

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	Movies - Il Casanova di Federico Fellini

Il Casanova di Federico Fellini (Fellini's Casanova) is a 1976 Italian film by director Federico Fellini. It was adapted from the autobiography of Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, the 18th century adventurer and writer.

Plot outline

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.

Instead of adventure though, 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 nun for the pleasure of a voyeur, in Paris he attempts to convert a mature womans soul into a mans, and in Dresden his body is pounded by two hefty women and a hunchback.

The script highlights a number of other incidents from Casanova's life including his escape from a Venetian prison and his visit to a London Frost fair.

The film was shot entirely in Rome's Cinecitta studios and recived an Academy Award for 'Best Costume Design', with the Oscar going to Danilo Donati.

Fellini-esque

Critics attribute much of the film's distinctive style to Fellini, especially his casting of Donald Sutherland in the lead role (who's appearance was made extremely graphic at the director's request). Moreover, the film is noted for its symbolic, highly stylised mise en scène, and its potrayal of Casanova as a debauched figure incapable of displaying any genuine emotion.

To this end, Fellini's thoughts on Casanova have been well documented, and in one interview he referred to exposing 'the void' of Casanov's life. Hence the film goes against the romantic notion of Casanova as an enlightened gadabout.

A variety of visual techniques are employed, and in one scene Sutherland rows across a stormy sea made from black plastic sheets. Consequently, Fellini presents Casanova's desires in a detached, methodical fashion, as the respect he yearns for is constantly undermined by his more basic urges.

Awards and nominations

1977 Academy Award, USA

Winner - Best Costume Design (Danilo Donati)
Nominated - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

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 (Guiseppe Rotunno)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Il Casanova di Federico Fellini ]

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