''Fellini's Casanova'' () is a 1976 Italian film directed by

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

from a screenplay he co-wrote with Bernardino Zapponi, adapted from the autobiography of 18th-century Venetian adventurer and writer

Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (; ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer who was born in the Republic of Venice and travelled extensively throughout Europe. He is chiefly remembered for his autobiography, written in French and pu ...

, played by

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

. The film depicts Casanova's life as a journey into sexual abandonment, and his relationship with the "love of his life" Henriette (played by

Tina Aumont Maria Christina "Tina" Aumont (February 14, 1946 – October 28, 2006) was a French and American actress. She was the daughter of French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont and Dominican actress Maria Montez. She made her acting debut in the British film ...

). The narrative presents Casanova's adventures in a detached, methodical fashion, as the respect for which he yearns is constantly undermined by his more basic urges. Shot entirely at the

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constru ...

studios in Rome, the film won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Costume Design, with the Oscar going to Danilo Donati. Fellini and his co-writer Bernardino Zapponi were nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. The film also won

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

s for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, and a David di Donatello for Best Score.

Plot

Casanova visits one of Venice's islands to copulate with a fake nun for the pleasure of a rich voyeur. Casanova is frustrated that the man finds no interest in his research into

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

and his further scheming. As he rows back to the mainland, Casanova is arrested, judged and imprisoned by the High Court over his famed debauchery. During his time in prison, Casanova reminisces of his affairs with a dressmaker and later on with one of her junior employees, Anna Maria, who suffers from frequent fainting and requires constant

bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) was the deliberate withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and othe ...

. Casanova escapes the prison through the roof and exiles himself from Venice, being taken into the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

court of Madame d'Urfé. The Madame, an aged woman, enthralled by Casanova's apparent knowledge of alchemy, wishes to transform her soul into a man's through ritualistic intercourse with him. Fortuitously, Casanova encounters his brother, whose girlfriend he entices away. Two years later, in

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, Casanova moves to the court of a hunchback, Du Bois, in between taking charge of a beautiful young woman, Henriette. The lovers vow fidelity to each other, but the following morning, Henriette has disappeared. Du Bois informs Casanova that an emissary of a faraway court has reclaimed Henriette, and she has requested that Casanova not attempt to follow her. While in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Casanova is robbed by two women and he attempts suicide by drowning himself in the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. A vision of a

giantess Giantesses are imaginary, gigantic women. They are widely believed to be mythological by the humans of modern-day, since the term "giantess" is so generic, it seems possible to describe female giants not native to Earth which fall under the very ...

and two dwarves distracts him; he follows them to a frost fair, where he arm-wrestles the giantess—a princess—and later pays to watch her bathe with the dwarves. Casanova attends a deranged party at Lord Talou's palace in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he wins a bet over how many orgasms he can have in one hour. In

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, he falls in love with an alchemist's daughter, Isabella, who fails to keep an appointment to go to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

with him; Casanova instead partakes in an orgy within the hostel he has been stranded in. In Dresden, he has a brief chance encounter with his estranged mother in a theater. He then moves to a court in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, where his desire to be taken seriously as a writer/inventor is frustrated by the court's orgiastic, wild nature. It is here that he meets Rosalba, a mechanical doll with whom he shares a dance and later on has sex with. Time goes by and Casanova, now elderly, holds the position of librarian to Count Waldstein at his castle in Dux. Life at the castle is more than frustrating for Casanova, as he becomes an object of mockery and animosity. A weary, bloodshot Casanova cringes in an armchair and recounts a recent dream. In this dream, Casanova is back in Venice. He chases the ghosts of his past lovers, all of whom disappear. An ornate stagecoach beckons him to join its passengers. He finally meets with Rosalba, the mechanical doll, once again and they dance with each other.

Cast

Production

''Fellini's Casanova'' is noted for its symbolic, highly stylised ''

mise en scène Mise or Miše may refer to: * Mise (mythology), a deity addressed in the ''Orphic Hymns'' * Ante Miše (born 1967), Croatian footballer * Jerolim Miše (1890–1970), Croatian painter, teacher, and art critic * MISE, an abbreviation for Mean integ ...

'' and the casting of

in the lead role. Fellini's dislike of the character was well documented, and in one interview he even referred to exposing "the void" of Casanova's life. Producer

Dino De Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian film producer and businessman who held both Italian and American citizenship. Following a brief acting career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he moved into f ...

suggested

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

in the role of Casanova, but Fellini refused to cast him.

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter. Sordi is considered one of the most important actors in the history of Italian cinema and one of the b ...

and Gian Maria Volonté were also considered for the role. When De Laurentiis bowed out of the project and Fellini signed a new contract with producer

Alberto Grimaldi Alberto Grimaldi (28 March 1925 – 23 January 2021) was an Italian film producer. Biography Grimaldi was born in Naples and studied law. In 1962 he founded his own production company, P.E.A., and released his first feature film, '' The Shadow ...

, Sutherland was cast in the role. Fellini required that he shave his head and wear both prosthetic nose and chin to give him a more grotesque appearance. The film was shot in both English and Italian, marking Fellini's first English-language film. Fellini had to re-shoot parts of the film, including the elaborate

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

carnival scene, when approximately seventy reels of film—including the first three weeks of shooting—were stolen at the Technicolor labs of Tiburtino,

, on 27 August 1975. The thieves were apparently interested in Pasolini's '' Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' (1975), and some reels of this film were also stolen, along with half of Damiano Damiani's spaghetti western '' A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' (1975). Chesty Morgan and Barbara Steele were both cast in the film, but their scenes were deleted from the final cut. Music was composed by Nino Rota, a frequent Fellini collaborator.

Accolades

References

External links