(1965)
2.5
Craig Butler
An extremely dated Italian sex farce, Casanova '70 was well received upon its debut in 1965, even winning an Oscar nomination for its screenplay. Seen today, it's hard to fathom why the writing was so honored, as the entire film is predicated on one joke -- Marcello Mastroianni is impotent unless there is imminent danger surrounding any sexual escapade -- and that joke is repeated over and over. True, there is imagination in the way in which the writers contrive to get Mastroianni into each of the dangerous set-ups so that he can achieve satisfaction, and some of the sequences (most notably the one involving a Sicilian peasant whose newlywed husband claims she is not a virgin) do provide some very decent laughs. But there's so little depth to the material, and it's so repetitive that it eventually becomes tiresome -- and that's without even considering the ways in which attitudes toward male-female relationships have changed since 1965. Fortunately, Casanova features a sterling performance from Mastroianni, at his peak, which goes a long way to keeping viewer interest. It also helps that such stunners as Virna Lisi and Marissa Mell are on hand as the women in his life. It's far from a great film, but those looking for a lightweight knockabout of a sex comedy may find Casanova to their liking.
Casanova '70 on AllMovie
Casanova '70 (1965)
