Good movie but grossly overrated

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Filmed opera can be shot either on stage (one lead example is "The Magic Flute" by Ingmar Bergman, but there are many others), either on site as in a fiction movie. (Rarely, it combines both elements, for instance "The Tales of Hoffmann" by Powell and Pressburger.) "Don Giovanni" is a masterpiece of the latter kind.Granted, the film is not the first opera off-stage: among others, we must mention at least the memorable "Tosca" by De Bosio (1976), shot in the actual Roman locations where the action is supposed to take place. However "Tosca" was a TV movie, while "Don Giovanni" was a full-scale cinema movie with live recordings. As such, it has set high standards and a trend that was imitated later on: "La Traviata" by Zeffirelli (1982), "Carmen" by Rosi (1984), "Madame Butterfly" by Mitterrand (1995). Unfortunately, these films are rare because of costs (settings, singers mobilised for a long period, important crew, dedicated orchestra, etc.). Hence stage filming is more common because it is cheaper to produce: apart from royalties, there are few additional costs than stage production.Even if you are not an opera amateur, you will probably like this movie: it is loaded with action and drama, settings are impressive, costumes are gorgeous. And the music, ah the music, anybody would love it. Mozart is eternal.Where to start with such a masterpiece? Since it is an opera, with the most obvious: the singers are top class. Ruggero Raimondi is a fabulous lead role. He conveys an intense aura throughout the movie, he gives everything to the character, he strips figuratively and literally; he does not play Don Giovanni, he IS Don Giovanni. We knew he was a great singer, we now know he is a great actor. José Van Dam is a colourful, stylish, smart Leporello. It is a bright idea to attribute this role (that was then frequently considered secondary) to such a talented singer: the character and plot gain depth. Teresa Berganza is a prodigious Zerlina: although she was more than 40 when the movie was shot, we believe she is a young peasant. Despite her small role, she is the most convincing of the female singers. Most other performers are remarkable, but these three break the house down in terms of singing and acting.The orchestra, directed by Lorin Maazel, is a firm support to these great artists. To be honest, it is not the best interpretation but does the job for the purpose of the movie, with its dynamic tone and sharp texture. (For information, the reference recordings are by Giulini, which has my preference, and Krips. I would also recommend Jacobs, an elaborate version, or Gardiner, a red-blooded account). At the time, the acoustic was somewhat flawed, which raised criticisms, but has been corrected since.Settings and costumes do more than illustrate the plot: they give it an altogether new dimension. Note the movie does not aim for historical accuracy (as the above-mentioned "Tosca"): it was shot in Veneto, Italy, while the action is supposed to take place in Sevilla, Spain. Losey aims here for maximal aesthetic effect. On the one hand, details enhance the feeling of reality: peasants working, eating, sleeping; a lively wedding; a lush party. On the other hand, remote surroundings, elaborate costumes and mysterious masks create a timeless and abstract atmosphere. This gives the movie its universal dimension, which makes me believe it will never be surpassed.In such an environment, the fabulous arias rise to artistic stratosphere. "Madamina, il catalogo è questo" is illustrated by Leporello unwinding a huge manuscript down stairs and a hill: we can barely believe what is happening, we are bewildered like Donna Elvira. This brilliant idea has since been imitated numerous times on stage, in different forms. "Là ci darem la mano" is sung in a beautiful, sunny house, surrounded by friendly folks: we believe, as Zerlina, that Don Giovanni will love her for ever. "Dalla sua pace" is sung by Don Ottavio in a boat floating among marshes: the calm and surrealist surroundings increase the character's loneliness and melancholy. Likewise later on with "Il mio tesoro", where he wanders alone in deserted gardens.The overture, where there is no action, always is a tricky part: what to film as the music plays? Losey imagines a splendid and clever scene: Don Giovanni visits a glass fabric. We see him behind a fire, an illustration of his devilish character and an anticipation of the fact he will be devoured by the flames of hell. Losey even manages to beautify the epilogue (after Don Giovanni dies), clearly not Mozart's best piece of music. The duel, the wedding, the love scenes, the party, the cemetery, Don Giovanni's death, etcetera, etcetera: all scenes are impressive and flawless. The movie is a long string of perfect pearls.Enhanced by this artistic vision, the opera's themes are better than illustrated: they are transcended. Desire, love, ambiguity, humour, social constraints, domination, money, destiny, fate: it is rare to see a movie that is at the same time so enjoyable and so profound. Regardless if you are a connoisseur or not, "Don Giovanni" will change your vision of filmed opera, opera in general, classical music, music in general and even cinema. Already outstanding at the time, it has now become a must-see classic.

I enjoyed it very much. I'm fairly new to the whole wide world of opera but this was very entertaining. But what do I really comment on? Mozart's work, or the movie adaptation of it? Mozart of course is incredible. I love the opening scene, the closing scene and pretty much everything in between. My biggest problem, and I assume that this is true with opera in general is that once I passed the point that I had reached in familiarity from listening to a recording of it, the music was lost to me. I paid more attention to the words and what was going on in the plot than the music.As for the movie adaptation, aside from it being very strange to watch and listen to an opera written more than 200 years ago on my modern television, I found it enjoyable. Yes, the preceding comment is true that the expressions were exaggerated and more fit for a stage but I don't feel they were inappropriate either. As far as sets and costumes and quality, I have very little basis of comparison, as I have not seen it on stage, or any opera for that matter.In short, I found it to be very good, though I'm probably one of the very few sixteen year olds who would agree with that.

This is a wonderful film, the only non-stage performance I've ever seen of this incredible opera. I saw it a million years ago in college and have probably watched it a dozen times over the years. Raimondi is demonically compelling as the Don, wicked, handsome, sardonic, and Van Dam plays off him as Leporello just wonderfully, balancing humor and pathos. Riegel's Ottavio is just as he should be, a humorless square, and Te Kanawa soars as Elvira. My only casting complaint is with Moser as Anna; she sounds very shrill. I liked the hint that perhaps Anna was, despite appearances, actually quite attracted to the Don as well; her protestations to the lumpish Ottavio that she thought it was actually he who'd come to her bedroom didn't persuade (and frankly, I've always wondered why he was such a putz as to buy it). The settings are lush and lovely, including Palladio's Villa Rotonda. Of course some of the lip-syncing is off a bit, but that's to be expected. I also eagerly await a day when this film is available on DVD.

Sublime music and the filming on location in Vicenza -- Very well made adaptation of Mozart's masterwork. The settings create a visual feast to rival any operatic stage set. Although I did find Leporello a little dissapointing with its full comic potential not realised.