Casanova is a 2005 American romance film directed by Lasse Hallström starring Heath Ledger and loosely based on the life of Giacomo Casanova. The film premiered September 3, 2005, at the Venice Film Festival. It received mixed reviews and flopped at the box office.

Plot

A young woman tearfully leaves her son to live with his grandmother and promises to return for him someday. Several years later, in 1753, in Venice, Casanova is notorious for his promiscuity with women, his adventures being represented in puppet theatres around the city. The Doge, the ruler of the city, is a friend to Casanova, but cannot be too lenient on him as he wishes to avoid trouble with the Church. He warns Casanova to marry soon, or he will be exiled from the city. Casanova gets engaged to Victoria, famous for her virginity, to save himself from exile.

Casanova later meets and falls in love with Francesca Bruni, who writes illegal feminist books under the pseudonym of a man, Bernardo Guardi, and also argues for women s rights as Dr. Giordano de Padua. Francesca mistakes Casanova s name for Lupo Salvato (Casanova s servant) and Casanova humors her, since she hates the ill-reputed Casanova. Francesca and her mother are heavily in debt, and her mother pressures her to marry rich Paprizzio from Genoa, a union arranged by her late father. When Paprizzio arrives in Venice, Casanova lies to him and says that the hotel he booked is closed and he persuades him to stay at his house. Casanova also lies and says that he is indeed Bernardo Guardi. While Paprizzio asks his advice on how to impress Francesca, Casanova lures him to stay at home while receiving treatment for weight loss. Casanova visits Francesca, pretending to be Paprizzio and tells her that he lied to her before to make sure she is not in love with someone else and marrying him only for his money. Francesca is initially suspicious but gradually begins to trust him.

During the Venetian Carnival, Francesca recognizes the real Paprizzio from his publicity posters which force Casanova to confess his true identity making her angry. Casanova is arrested by the Venetian Inquisition for crimes against sexual morality, such as debauchery, heresy, and fornication with a novice. He saves Francesca by pretending to be Bernardo Guardi, which cools her anger. At his trial, Francesca confesses that she is the real Bernardo Guardi, and both are sentenced to death. Meanwhile, Francesca s mother and the real Paprizzio fall in love.

Just as Casanova and Francesca are about to be hanged in the Piazza San Marco, they are saved by an announcement that the Pope gave amnesty to all prisoners who were to be executed on that day, as it was the Pope s birthday. It is later discovered that the Cardinal who gave the announcement was actually an impostor who happens to be Casanova s stepfather, wedded to his long-lost mother who came back for him just as she promised when Casanova was a child.

As they all escape on Paprizzio s boat, Francesca s brother, Giovanni stays behind to marry Victoria and to continue Casanova s legendary womanizing. The real Casanova spends the rest of his life as a stage actor touring with his family and the Paprizzios.

Cast

• Heath Ledger as Giacomo Casanova
• Sienna Miller as Francesca Bruni
• Jeremy Irons as Bishop Pucci
• Oliver Platt as Paprizzio
• Lena Olin as Andrea Bruni, mother of Francesca
• Omid Djalili as Lupo Salvatore
• Stephen Greif as Donato
• Ken Stott as Dalfonso
• Tim McInnerny as Francesco Loredan, the Doge of Venice
• Helen McCrory as Zanetta Farussi
• Charlie Cox as Giovanni Bruni
• Natalie Dormer as Victoria Donato
• Philip Davis as Guardi
• Lauren Cohan as Sister Beatrice
• Eugene Simon as Casanova aged 11

Production

Director Lasse Hallström had long wanted to make a film about Casanova but postponed the project to make An Unfinished Life with Robert Redford. The script was originally written by Kimberly Simi. It was later redrafted by Michael Cristofer. Tom Stoppard gave the script an uncredited polish. Producer Leslie Holleran also polished the script.

Filming began on July 9, 2004, and the finished film was released in the United States on September 3, 2005. Visual effects for the film were produced by Custom Film Effects and Illusion Arts. Period costumes were supplied by four different Italian costume houses: Tirelli Costumi, Nicolao Atelier, Costumi d Arte, and G.P. 11, and shoes were manufactured by L.C.P. di Pompei. Wardrobe was also rented from Sastreria Cornejo of Spain.

The film was shot on location in Venice. Additional scenes were filmed in Vicenza, particularly the Teatro Olimpico, the Renaissance theater known for its intricate forced perspective stage design. The hot air balloon scene was created using Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).

Music

• Assagio No. 1 in G Minor (Andante), composed by Johan Helmich Roman
• Concerto à 5, Op. 9 No. 10 in F Major for Violin, Strings & Continuo (2. Adagio), composed by Tomaso Albinoni
• Concerto à 5, Op. 9 No. 4 in A Major for Violin, Strings & Continuo (2. Adagio), composed by Tomaso Albinoni
• Concerto à 5, Op. 9 No. 2 in D Minor for Oboe, Strings & Continuo (1. Allegro e non presto), composed by Tomaso Albinoni
• Concerto à 5, Op. 9 No. 6 in G Major for 2 Oboes, Strings & Continuo (3. Allegro), composed by Tomaso Albinoni
• Tambourins I/II from the tragédie lyrique Dardanus, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the tragédie lyrique Zoroastre, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Air Grave from the tragédie lyrique Zoroastre, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Menuetts 1 & 2 from the tragédie lyrique Zoroastre, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Air Gai from the opéra-ballet Le temple de la Gloire, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the opéra-ballet Le temple de la Gloire, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the opéra-ballet Les fêtes de Polymnie, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the comédie-ballet Platée, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Gavotte from the opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Rigaudons en Rondeau from the opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the pastorale Acante et Céphise, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Ballet Figure (1st Gavotte) from the pastorale Naïs, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the pastorale Naïs, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Overture from the pastorale Zaïs, composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Cello Concerto No. 3 in D Minor (2. Amoroso), composed by Leonardo Leo
• Concerto in C Major for Mandolin, Strings & Continuo (1. Allegro), composed by Antonio Vivaldi
• Concerto in D Major for Lute, 2 Violins & Continuo (3. Allegro), composed by Antonio Vivaldi
• Sinfonia from the opera Farnace, composed by Antonio Vivaldi
• Violin Concerto Il cimento dell armonia e dell invenzione, Op. 8, No. 11 in D Major (2. Largo), composed by Antonio Vivaldi
• Concerto for 2 Violins, Cello & Strings L estro armonico, Op. 3, No. 2 in G Minor (1. Adagio e spiccato), composed by Antonio Vivaldi
• Harpsichord Concerto in B Flat Major (2. Grave), composed by Francesco Durante
• Harpsichord Concerto in B Flat Major (1. Allegro non troppo), composed by Francesco Durante
• Concerto for 2 Violins, Viola & Continuo No. 8 in A major La Pazzia (1. Allegro), composed by Francesco Durante
• Concerto in C Major for Harpsichord & Strings (2. Larghetto, 3. Rondo), composed by Giovanni Paisiello
• Overture from La Madrilena, composed by Vicente Martín y Soler
• Casanova s Lament, traditional music, original lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus, performed by Tommy Körberg
• Sonata for Violin & Continuo, Op. 5 No. 11 in E Major (5. Gavotta – Allegro), composed by Arcangelo Corelli
• Sonata for Violin & Continuo, Op. 5 No. 7 in D Minor (3. Sarabanda – Largo), composed by Arcangelo Corelli
• Bourée from Plaisirs Champêtres, composed by Jean-Féry Rebel
• Tastar de Corde, Recercar Dietro, composed by Joan Ambrosio Dalza and performed by Christopher Wilson and Shirley Rumsey
• Rigaudon from Water Music, Suite No. 3 in G Major, composed by Georg Friedrich Händel
• Bourée from Music for the Royal Fireworks, composed by Georg Friedrich Händel
• Loure from Tafelmusik 1, composed by Georg Philipp Telemann
• Bella Gioiosa, composed by Fabritio Caroso

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 44% based on reviews from 131 critics. The site s consensus states: This frothy, oddly bloodless film does a disservice to the colorful life of the real Casanova. On Metacritic it has a score of 57% based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 2 out of 4 and wrote: That the new Casanova lacks such wit is fatal. Heath Ledger is a good actor but Hallstrom s film is busy and unfocused, giving us the view of Casanova s ceaseless activity but not the excitement. It s a sitcom when what is wanted is comic opera. A.O. Scott of The New York Times called it a delightful respite from awards-season seriousness and rated it 4 out of 5.

Year	2005
ReleaseDate	2006-01-06
RuntimeMins	112
RuntimeStr	1h 52min
Plot	The fabled romantic Giacomo Casanova, after failing to win the affection of the Venetian woman Francesca Bruni, strives to discover the real meaning of love.
Awards	Awards, 5 wins & 3 nominations
Directors	Lasse Hallström
Writers	Jeffrey Hatcher, Kimberly Simi, Michael Cristofer
Stars	Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons
Produced by	Su Armstrong,Betsy Beers,Guido Cerasuolo,Mishka Cheyko,Richard L. Fox,Mark Gordon,Leslie Holleran,Gary Levinsohn,Adam Merims
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by	Oliver Stapleton
Film Editing by	Andrew Mondshein
Casting By	Priscilla John,Ronna Kress
Production Design by	David Gropman
Art Direction by	Susanna Codognato,Robert Guerra,Luca Tranchino
Set Decoration by	Anna Pinnock
Costume Design by	Jenny Beavan
Makeup Department	Ambra Bellotto,Angela Bolli,Jana Carboni,Maria Vittoria Cascioli,Sabrina Catucci,Irene Cavalli,Rita Cecchini,Luigina Centi,Elena Cippolato,Dalia Colli,Desideria Corridoni,Maria Teresa Corridoni,Antonella Cozza,Lamberto Deli,Teresa Di Serio,Alessandro Durante,Massimiliano Duranti,Alessandro Filippi,Paolo Franceschi,Paola Genovese,Mirella Ginnoto,Rossella Gregorio,Aurelio Guzman,Carla Indoni,Frank Ippolito,Federica Jacoponi,Jamie Kelman,Maurilio Lazzaro,Elda Magnanti,Michela Mainenti,Centanni Marisa,Piero Marsiglio,Alberto Moccia,Matthew W. Mungle,Samankta Mura,Corrado Pastore,Mario Pegoretti,Stefania Petrini,Tiziana Rangeri,Mariangela Righetti,Roberto Rodriguez,Sharim Sabatini,Katia Sisto,Vittorio Sodano,Mauro Tagliaventi,Gino Tamagnini,Emanuele Tasca,Lisa Valota,Consuelo Vitturi,Alessandra Zampieri,Luca Zampiroli,Fulvio Zucconi,Lydia De Martin,Samantha Peluso,Daniela Skala,Renate Skala
Production Management	Enrico Ballarin,Dominique De Langes,Davide Lamberti,Gianluca Leurini,Paul A. Levin,Claudio Lucchese,Nicola Rosada,Guido Salsilli
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Matteo Bardelli,Franco Basaglia,Consuelo Bidorini,Mishka Cheyko,Sergio Ercolessi,Edoardo Ferretti,Richard Graysmark,Brittany Hymore,Giorgia Marangoni,Barbara Pastrovich,Elena Piaggi,Kimble Rendall
Art Department	Emiliano Achilli,Alessandro Alberti,Marco Angelucci,Nicola Aramu,Claudio Arrabito,Daniele Bacciu,Andrea Bari,Stefano Bernabei,Massimo Bertazzoni,Matteo Bertelli,Flavio Bertini,Fabio Bianco,Alvise Bittente,Fabio Bozzetti,Barnaba Brombin,Georgia Bubini,Nicoletta Buggio,Giuseppe Cafagna,Giuseppe Cagnoni,Aurelio Calzuola,Giuseppe Cancellara,Matteo Caocci,Antonio Capoccia,Dimitri Capuani,Stefano Carbonaro,Cristina Cecili,Alessandro Cedoloni,Mauro Cedoloni,Marcello Cerasuolo,Marco Cerizza,Adriano Cingolani,Roberto Cingolani,Mattia Clanetti,Fergus Clegg,Giovanni Coletti,Franco Contini,Michel Courtemanche,Luca Cristofoli,Jean Paul Decavel,Lorenzo Dominici,Tommaso Dubla,Sandro Ercolini,Aldo Femiani,Alfonso Fortunati,Massimiliano Foytik,Antonella Franceschini,Andrea Gallenda,Egidio Gallo,Ruggero Gamba,Cora Gianolla,Alfio Giardina,Gioacchino Paolo Giardina,Alessandro Greselin,Gisella Ingrassia,Marino Ingrassia,Bryan Korenberg,Sabina Lepri,Roberto Magagnini,Domenico Mancino,Mauro Martinuzzi,Giulio Masieri,Brick Mason,Mauro Masotti,Luca Massarotto,Ventura Massimiliano,Luca Migliaresi,Chiara Molon,Antonio Motolese,Francesco Motolese,Fabrizio Mucci,Matteo Nazzari,David Orlandelli,Giovanni Pajalich,Arianna Pascazi,Massimo Pauletto,Pietro Petri,Ivan Pirolli,Paolo Pugiotto,Alessandra Querzola,Nicolaj Raichevich,Paolo Ricci,Luigi Riitano,Veronica Rosafio,Marco Rossiello,Attilio Rufini,Giovanni Battista Russo,Angelo Sabbadini,Lauretta Salvagnin,Linda Segala,Fulvio Sergianni,Luigi Sergianni,Massimo Sergianni,Alessandro Tassi,Anita Tomaselli,Alberto Tommasini,Matteo Torcinovich,Lorenzo Vitturi,Tommaso Zamarchi
Sound Department	Andy Aaron,David Boulton,David A. Cohen,Ben Conrad,Adriano Di Lorenzo,Lee Dichter,Scott Dikkers,Robert Fernandez,Matthew Hartman,Harry Higgins,Michael Kirchberger,Mathew Knights,Bruce Lacey,Jane McCulley,Everett Moore,Marnie Moore,Jesse Nichols,Margie O Malley,Barry O Sullivan,Dino Raini,Fabio Santesarti,Ivan Sharrock,Louise Sinclair,Allie Sultan,Marco Tidu,Roland Vajs,Roy Waldspurger,Deborah Wallach,Kay Denmark,Phillip Fuller,Onofre Ortega
Special Effects by	Danilo Bollettini,Giovanni Corridori,Duilio Olmi,Franco Ragusa,Silvano Scasseddu,Valek Sykes
Visual Effects by	Ryan Beadle,Justin Brandstater,Steve Caldwell,Dennis Dorney,Mark Dornfeld,Syd Dutton,Michele Ferrone,Collin Fowler,Adam Gass,Laurie Powers Going,Joseph Grossberg,R.J. Harbour,Shaina Holmes,Mark Kenaston,Michael Kory,Adam Kowalski,Lynn Ledgerwood,Mary E. Manning,Fumi Mashimo,Kelvin McIlwain,Michael Meyers,Lori C. Miller,Robert Nall,Roger Nall,Chris Patterson,Richard Patterson,Michelle Rothburgh,Mark Sawicki,Robert Scifo,Jeff M. Sharar,Aaron Snow,Mary C. Snyder,Catherine Sudolcan,Bill Taylor,Andrew Tucker,David S. Williams Jr.,Amani Williams,Mike Chambers,Carl Frytz,Nicholas Kim,Thomas Mathai,Steven J. Scott
Stunts	Alessandro Borgese,Mauro Caterini,Walter Colombaioni,Umberto De Luca,Ottaviano Dell Acqua,Bruno Di Luia,Diego Guerra,Roberto Libertini,Alessandro Novelli,Emiliano Novelli,Claudio Pacifico,Gianluca Petrazzi,Gabriele Ragusa,Tatiana Romanova,Tito Tomassini,Pietro Torrisi,Massimiliano Ubaldi,Anna Maria Zamperla,Rinaldo Zamperla,Federico Benvenuti,Massimiliano Bianchi,William Hobbs,Stefano Saveriano,Diego Tomassini,Daniela Zorzetto
Camera and Electrical Department	Marco Alzetta,Giovanni Andreotta,Massimiliano Anzellotti,Werner Bacciu,Riccardo Baratto,Tommaso Baratto,Andrea Bassani,Leonardo Beltrame,Regis Benedettelli,Stefano Biscaro,Stefano Steve Buosi,Stefano Calcaterra,Matteo Carlesimo,Tiziano Casanova,Davide Ceccato,Paolo Centoni,Andrea Chiozzotto,John Clothier,Andrea Conchetto,Antonio D Arienzo,Giovanni De Gaetano,Hanoi De La Paz,Emilio Della Chiesa,Alberto Deppieri,Roberto Di Pietro,Carlo Di Stassi,Enrico Fabris,Stefano Falivene,Paolo Forti,Fabio Francini,Cristiano Giavedoni,Doane Gregory,Paul Guenette,Bruce Hamme,Emiliano Leurini,Ian R.C. Levine,David Lourie,Stefano Marino,Daniele Massaccesi,Marco Nuvolara,Jean Marc Pain,Lorenzo Paladini,Elvis Pasqual,Michelle Pizanis,Cristiano Rossi,Salvatore Ruberto,Angelo Russo,Marco Sacerdoti,Paolo Sartori,Valerio Silvestri,Andriano Trinca,Michele Turchetto,James R. Tynes,Tiziano Vecchiato,Vincenzo Vedovato,Antonio Viola,Stewart Whelan,Nicola Zangrando,Giorgio Zennaro,Mauro Ziroldi,Paul Guenette
Casting Department	Faith Allbeson,Courtney Bright,David Kramer,Lilia Trapani,Abigail Barbier,Alessandro Bressanello,Louis Elman,Tiziana Kinkela,David H. Kramer
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Cristiana Bertini,Frieda Basso Boccabella,Catherine Buyse Dian,Osvaldo Che,Claudia Colussi,Vanessa Crane,Bruno de Santa,Beatrice Giannini,Jenny Hawkins,Anna Kot,Joe Kowalewski,Stephen Miles,Sophie Norinder,Shizuko Omachi,David Otzen,Ombra Renzini,Katia Scarpa,Sunita Singh,Benito Sposato,Clare Spragge,Ilaria Tenti,Maurizio Torti,Caterina Volpato,Akiko Kusayanagi,Jane Law
Editorial Department	Terra Bliss,Ian Blume,Thomas Digirolomo,Ann Gray,Natasha Leonnet,Devon Miller,Anne O Brien,Chris Patterson,Claus Wehlisch,Lee Wimer,Angelo Francavilla,Perry M. Kimura,Jack Lewars
Location Management	Luisa Amendola,Laura Cappato,Nicola Catullo,Fabrizio Cerato,Deborah Cesana,Charles Harrington,Stefano Dalla Lana,Anna Maria Rocca,Andrea Salvagno,Simona Serafini
Music Department	Marshall Bowen,Irwin Costner,Greg Dennen,Tony Finno,Jennifer Hammond,Stephen Hussey,Sonny Kompanek,Oli Langford,Mitchell Leib,Jamie Lowry,Mike Nowak,Sandra Park,Roy Prendergast,John Richards,Ryan Robinson,Peter Rotter,Alan Silverman,Tim Starnes,Jason Stasium,Eric Tomlinson,Pietro Verardo,Rich Wheeler,Booker White,Jean-Pascal Beintus,Craig Braginsky,Eric V. Hachikian,Frank Macchia,Larry Mah,Timmy Olmstead,G. Marq Roswell
Script and Continuity Department	Maria Vittoria Abbrugiati,Eleonora Baldwin,Jessica Clothier,John T. Maye,K.L. Connie Wang
Transportation Department	Alessandro Beranzoli,Gianfranco Bernardini,Walter Bianchin,Maurizio Blasi,Cesare Cantiano,Carlo Di Bernardino,Maurizio Faloci,Matteo Fava,Mauro Fornea,Nicola Gomiero,Matteo Gottardis,Paolo Lazzoni,Roberto Leone,Massimo Pavan,Dino Picucci,Dante Precetti,Emiliano Ratini,Mara Sartore,Angelo Scalia,Giovanni Tomassi,Marco Zanon,Riccardo Zara
Additional Crew	Francesci Anfodillo,Franco Ariano,Matteo Bartoli,Kate Barton,Simona Batistelli,Alison Beckett,Sergio Benvegnù,Flavio Bettin,Bruno Bittner,Veronica Bon,Diego Boscarato,Marco Boscarato,Kate Bowe,Italo Brenna,Alessandro Bressanello,Andrea Brignone,Fabio Bua,Serena Camozzo,Jim Campolongo,Sabrina Canale,Francesco Carone,Gianni Carpentieri,Lino Carraro,Debora Casarotto,Fausto Castelli,Giuseppe Cestaro,Franco Cester,Claudia Cimmino,Roberto Clanetti,Federica D Urso,Roberto Danesi,Emilio De Filippo,Michele De Leo,Oriano De Palma,Franco Di Silvestro,Ivano Diotallevi,Crescens Dupuis,Sergio Falasca,Bruna Ferranti,Bennett Florence,Daniela Foà,Jacqueline Freda,Bernardo Galli,Beniamino Gigli,Massimiliano Goattin,Karen Gordon,Nini Grandesso,Andrea Greco,Giovanni Gregoletto,Gerry Grennell,Laura Hahn,William Hobbs,Nathan Holmes,Tiziana Kinkela,Carlo La Melia,Adam Lagerbladh,Jurek Lamirowsky,Sergio Dalla Lana,Sue Lefton,Francesca Leita,Massimo Levis,Lindsey Liberatore,Antonella Longato,Jennifer Mancino,Federico Mantello,Pasquale Martino,Chiara Mazzavillani,Alessandro Mazzini,Nicola Minghetti,Lila Mirochin,Spencer Mondshein,Isabella Moro,Giulio Nason,Brody Neuenschwander,Andrew Nicoll,Anna Offelli,Daniela Ovi,Evan Parter,Alvaro Pitocco,Angelo Ragusa,Gabriele Ragusa,F. Auguste Rahmberg,Nadia Randazzo Bombino,Danilo Reato,Sergio Rezza,Francesca Rinaldi,Ivo Ruffo,Ashley Salisbury,Lorenzo Salvan,Michelle Sarama,Gabriele Scalvini,Diana Scrivener,Agostino Taboga,Roberto Terzi,Alexandre Vernerey,Michele Wright,Sandra L. Yeary,Dorino Zampese,Giuseppe Zanon,Silvano Zuddas,Victoria Arbiter,Andy Brunskill,Jennifer Zolten Freed,Lorenzo Marangoni,Lori C. Miller,Howard Samuelsohn,Mary C. Snyder,Alexandra Williamson
Genres	Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Companies	Touchstone Pictures, The Mark Gordon Company, Gondola Pictures
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	6.5
ImDbRatingVotes	54565
MetacriticRating	57
Keywords	bare foot man,seduction,prisoner,doge,disguise