Synopsis
“Loosely based on episodes from the life of eighteenth-century Venetian author, scientist, and libertine Giacomo
Casanova, the
Fellini version portrays its protagonist as an enigmatic and lifeless man who fornicates with one woman after another until, ultimately, he couples with an automaton. Imbued with an air of funereal solemnity and elegance, the film forsakes realism in favour of a stylized romantic pessimism that confronts impotence, failure, sexuality, and exploitation as fully as
Pasolini’s
Salo. Enhanced by
Danilo Donati’s Oscar-winning costume design,
Nino Rota’s haunting score, and an extraordinary performance by
Donald Sutherland,
Casanova is a film of visual daring and pure imagination that renders an elegiac farewell to an era of Italian cinema.” – Harvard Film Archive
