Don Juan DeMarco
by Jeremy Leven
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bob Dishy, Faye Dunaway, Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, Rachel TicotinDirector: Jeremy Leven
Brand: NEW Line Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2010-09-07
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: New Line
Movie Reviews of Don Juan DeMarco
Movie Review: Brando and Depp...A Beautiful Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember seeing "Don Juan DeMarco" when it was first released and thinking it was a very good movie. Because I am a Marlon Brando fan, my focus was very much on Marlon Brando who portrayed Doctor Mickler AKA Don Octavio DeFlores, a deeply sensitive and perceptive psychiatrist with traits not unlike Marlon's own in life before his passing in 2004.
I had an opportunity recently, after more than a decade, to see "Don Juan DeMarco" again and, although my primary focus was on Marlon Brando, my eyes were opened in taking note of Johnny Depp and the role he played in this film. I have known of Johnny Depp for some time, but I have never really followed his career.
In "discovering" Johnny Depp, I realize that, in some respects, his acting style is like that of a young Marlon Brando. He played his role to perfection as the title character and perfected his accent, his demeanor, and his performance as "Don Juan DeMarco" just as Marlon Brando always did in his movie roles. Johnny Depp strikes me as a great talent - brilliant and shining in his own right in this film, even when standing in the glow of the greatest actor of them all, Marlon Brando.
Following my having watched "Don Juan DeMarco" again, I then decided to see "The Libertine" and, again, I was amazed at the depth of talent of this wonderful actor, Johnny Depp. This was another extraordinary film.
I will not reveal all of the details of this very touching film, but I will say that the characters portrayed in "Don Juan DeMarco" were so like we all are - the heartaches we struggle with in life...The taking for granted of those we love the most and are the closest to, not really looking at them for the unique people they are...The "masks" we wear to hide our vulnerabilities, and stepping out into the world each day, "preparing a face to meet the faces that [we] meet" (as T.S. Eliot wrote) - no matter our occupations or ways of life, we all wear masks for whatever reasons we need to wear them.
"Don Juan DeMarco" touches the lives of those around him in this film as he lives in a fantasy world that allows him to keep on living while suppressing his life's pain at the same time. He wears a physical mask and plays a fantasy role as "the world's greatest lover."
Doctor Mickler AKA Don Octavio DeFlores, played by Marlon Brando, wears masks of his own - not physical masks, but emotional and social masks.
Revelations about his own life are brought to light for Doctor Mickler in working with the delusional Don Juan and he is changed by it forever as is his relationship with his wife, played by the beautiful Faye Dunaway, in a pairing on screen that is nothing short of lovely.
After much is said and done between "Don Juan DeMarco" and Doctor Mickler, Doctor Mickler tells Don Juan, "You have seen through all of my masks." This is a breakthrough, emotional moment for the characters on the screen as well as for the viewing audience.
Ultimately, medication brings reality to the forefront for "the world's greatest lover," and some sadness for Doctor Mickler and for the audience in us somehow not wanting to see reality wash away the poignant beauty and purity of the fantasy in which Don Juan has been living. Doctor Mickler brings about reality for Don Juan, "curing" him of his delusion while Don Juan brings about fantasy and revelation about the possibilities of love and of the importance in cherishing the relationships in one's life, irreversibly "curing" Doctor Mickler of his dry, live-a-day, reality-based life.
The content of the film's story begs the question, "What's wrong with a little delusion when it is the wellspring for passion, enlightenment, love, and survival?"
I definitely recommend this movie. It is both moving and thought-provoking. I think it is a "not to be missed" film.
Summary of Don Juan DeMarco
DON JUAN DEMARCO - DVD MovieYou might not get a thrill from the sight of Faye Dunaway and Marlon Brando throwing popcorn into each other's mouths, but that didn't stop Don Juan DeMarco from gaining a new lease on life thanks to cable television and home video. It's a quirky romantic comedy about a mental patient (Johnny Depp) who claims to be Don Juan, the world's greatest lover, and he gets quite a few women to believe it's true. Brando plays the psychiatrist who tries to analyze his patient's apparent delusion, and Dunaway plays Brando's wife, who wants to inject some Don Juan-ish romance into their marital routine. Walking a fine line between precious comedy, wistful drama, and delicate fantasy, the movie gets a big dose of charm from its esteemed cast, with Depp delivering dialogue that would have sounded ludicrous from a lesser actor. This may not be a great movie, but it is guaranteed to put you in an amorous mood. --Jeff Shannon
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