Casanova (2005)

Heath Ledger plays the fabled romantic as a man who, after failing to win the affection of a particular Venetian woman, strives to discover the real meaning of love.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Jeffrey Hatcher (screenplay), Kimberly Simi (screenplay),

Stars:

Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Heath Ledger	...	Casanova
Sienna Miller	...	Francesca
Jeremy Irons	...	Pucci
Oliver Platt	...	Paprizzio
Lena Olin	...	Andrea
Omid Djalili	...	Lupo
Stephen Greif	...	Donato
Ken Stott	...	Dalfonso
Helen McCrory	...	Casanova's Mother
Leigh Lawson	...	Mother's Lover / Tito
Tim McInnerny	...	The Doge
Charlie Cox	...	Giovanni Bruni
Natalie Dormer	...	Victoria
Philip Davis	...	Guardi (as Phil Davis)
Paddy Ward	...	Vittorio

Storyline

Casanova is love with Francesca, who thinks he is a friend of himself even though he is engaged Victoria, who is the love of Giovanni, Francessca's brother. Francessca is betrothed to Paprizzio who thinks Casanova is the feminist writer Guardi, who is really Francessca's nomme de plume. Amidst all these secret identities and misunderstandings, the Catholic Church sends Pucci to bring Casanova and Guardi to trial for heresy.

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Plot Keywords:

love | casanova | heresy | secret | writer | 

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Taglines:

There's no greater adventure than true love.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official DVD site [de] Touchstone Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Femur

Filming Locations:

Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel - 6099 Sestiere Cannaregio, Venice, Venato, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$16,753 (Chile) (26 May 2006)

Gross:

$29,735 (Chile) (2 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Mark Gordon Company, The, Gondola Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Casanova is running away from the Inquisition in the opening scene he jumps through a window and into the University of Venice. The University of Venice never existed and the building he jumps into is in fact the "Teatro Olimpico", one of the first Renaissance theaters 140 kilometers away from Venice.

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Goofs

The "university auditorium" where Casanova first sees Francesca Bruni is not a building in Venice, but the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, a town approx. 45 minutes west of Venice.

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Quotes

Lupo: The apple is very distracting.

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Crazy Credits

BIMBA is given screen credit as the Pig.

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Connections

References Casanova's Big Night (1954)

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Soundtracks

"Overture"
from the Opéra-ballet "Le Temple de la Gloire"
Composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau

User Reviews

It's a complete mystery to me...

...why this movie wasn't (a) marketed right in the first place, (b) isn't being re-released right now!?

Trust me, as someone who works in this industry, I'm darn picky about what I like...but I liked this, despite wincing over the many historical inaccuracies and liberties taken with authentic language of the time - 'Casanova' is such a fun, feel-good romp, it charmed me into turning a blind eye and deaf ear and chalking all that up to necessary 'poetic licence'! The cast is fabulous, the late Heath Ledger is at his charismatic best...and BECAUSE he's no longer with us makes re-releasing it 'right' this time around a 'no-brainer', so far as I can see (for example; why it made it's Stateside debut on Christmas day baffles me completely - unless it was intended for Academy Award inclusion?). Clearly, this was/should have been a Summer dating flick...for both the typical dating demographic (= late teens/early twenties) AS WELL AS 'baby-boomers', who will appreciate the fine acting performances from the likes of Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt and Lena Olin, as well as enjoy the witty banter. It needs to be promoted as the 'period romp'/romantic comedy it IS, without being depicted as simply stupid (e.g. without excessive trailer cameos of characters falling off gondolas into the canals and/or slipping on bananas, etc!). The right trailer, the right time of year, the right riding-on-Heath's-sadly-gone-forever-coat-tails PR push, and this movie could be a 'sleeper hit' yet!