Casanova (WGBH/2005)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Telefilm: C+

 

 

Besides the Heath Ledger Casanova, there is this very different version with most of the same character the same year from the BBC Wales and WGBH.  Sheree Folkson’s version has the title character reflecting on his life.  The younger Giacomo Casanova is the current doctor Who, David Tennant, while the older man is played by Peter O’Toole.

 

Unfortunately, this is more of a silly exercise as was the Ledger film than a more serious look at the character, both of which reminded me of Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon (1975), which was subverting the material and the legend more than I had previously considered.  The rest of the cast are unknowns and this is as choppy as the Ledger version, but is does lack Lasse Hallstrom’s pretensions, so it is not much worse.

 

The letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image is soft and limited, shot nicely by Anthony (Tad) Radcliffe, but with nothing special to it.  It is as competent as the Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, which has limited surrounds.  There are no extras, but the actors playing the title role are enough to constantly cause curio interest.  Now you know what you’ll get.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo