The Libertine | 
| Director: Laurence Dunmore
Actors: Johnny Depp, Paul Ritter, John Malkovich, Stanley Townsend, Francesca Annis
Studio: Weinstein Company
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $2.14
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Rating:  139 reviews
Sales Rank: 10287
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: 79406
UPC: 796019794060
EAN: 0796019794060
ASIN: B000F7CECK
Theatrical Release Date: March 10, 2006
Release Date: July 4, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: DISC IS IN GREAT SHAPE. MAY HAVE LIGHT SCRATCHES. ALL ART WORK. ORIGINAL CASE FORMER RENTAL! . WILL SHIP NEXT BUSINESS DAY. 100 % SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.
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Amazon.com
The beautifully sculpted face of Johnny Depp fits right in with this masterpiece of design. The Libertine--filmed in a grainy, color-muted chiaroscuro--captures the lush costumes, extravagant decor, and remarkable filth of Restoration England. John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester (Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ed Wood), warns the audience at the very beginning of the film that they will not like him. From there, he treats his wife cruelly, drinks to relentless excess, abuses his friendships, and generally wallows in dissipation, much to the dismay of King Charles II (John Malkovich, Dangerous Liaisons), who hopes that Rochester will write a play glorifying his reign. But Rochester finds his true inspiration (and the movie comes to life) when he sees a young actress named Lizzie Barry (Samantha Morton, Minority Report, Morvern Callar). Rochester sets out to make her the greatest actress of their time--and she, with some reluctance, submits to his teaching. The weakness of The Libertine is not that Rochester is unlikable; it's that he doesn't want to do anything. Barry galvanizes the movie because she burns with ambition, but Rochester's only apparent aim in life is an agonizingly slow self-destruction. Still, The Libertine has lurid Saturnalian visions, Morton is superb, Malkovich gives a typically insidious turn, and Depp, as always, finds moments of sad poetry in the bitterest of speeches. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Johnny Depp stars as the decadent John Wilmot the second Earl of Rochester. The film follows the Earl s adventures in London from his passionate romance with a young actress to the writing of a scurrilous play which blisteringly and bawdily lampoons the very monarch who commissioned it Charles II leading to the Earl s banishment and eventual downfall.System Requirements:Running Time: 114 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 796019794060 Manufacturer No: 79406
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| Customer Reviews: Read 134 more reviews...
 No holiday season fare here January 13, 2006
Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA)
161 out of 172 found this review helpful
If you go into THE LIBERTINE envisioning Johnny Depp in his previous role as Captain Jack Sparrow or Willy Wonka, forget it. You won't find a similar persona here.
THE LIBERTINE is a dark film that the studio wisely decided to release only after the Christmas holiday season. In it, Depp plays John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester (b. 1647 - d. 1680), whose life of debauchery was a public scandal even in a society that tolerated the loose morality of King Charles II and his court. Ironically, as the film makes a point of depicting, Charles (John Malkovich) reluctantly, but regularly, banished Rochester from the royal presence for the liberties the latter took in lampooning the former's free-wheeling lifestyle.
THE LIBERTINE is a depressing affair mainly because there's nobody in it to like. Moreover, neither Wilmot nor the viewers' sensitivities are spared the ravages of tertiary syphilis, the disease that ultimately kills the Earl; the film is a great argument for the advent of penicillin. Only Rosamund Pike as Rochester's long-suffering wife may gain audience sympathy. Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), the struggling actress whose career Rochester takes upon himself to further, apparently for uncharacteristically altruistic reasons, matter-of-factly accepts his help but remained unengaging to this viewer. The gloom is enhanced by a cinematography accomplished in somber, washed-out tones, particularly brown and dark green, with lots of shadows and murky candle light. Even the daylight is muted, as if in winter.
Now having said why THE LIBERTINE isn't light and airy, I have to also say that it's a powerful display of Depp's superlative talent. If the film wasn't so bleak, I'd expect a stampede to nominate Johnny for an Oscar. Rochester's two monologues for the camera, at the beginning and the end, the latter as his face recedes into darkness, are but hints of the excellence in between.
At one point in the movie, Rochester says (if I remember correctly): "Life isn't a sequence of 'urgent nows', but a listless trickle of 'why should I?s'." The tragedy for Rochester is that, at least in this screenplay, answers to the latter are piteously few. However, your answer to the question when contemplating seeing the movie should be: "Because Johnny Depp is as good as you'll ever seem him."
Depp At His Best. March 14, 2006
thornhillatthemovies.com (Venice, CA United States)
78 out of 90 found this review helpful
England, 1675. John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), the Earl of Rochester, finds his banishment lifted by King Charles II (John Malkovich). The King banished Wilmot a few months earlier for writing a poem critical of the Monarchy, but now Charles finds himself in a predicament. After fifteen years of increased personal, sexual and artistic freedoms, the British people are now dealing with disease, warfare and natural disaster. They aren't happy and this is testing Charles' reign. Charles decides Wilmot will write a play. However, Wilmot views his return to society as license to drink as much as he wants, sleep with as many people as possible and the King be damned.
"The Libertine", directed by Laurence Dunmore and written by Stephen Jeffreys, based on his own play, is a very good film, for the most part.
The film opens with Depp in darkness and shadow, holding a wine glass, moving towards the candlelight and into our view. Wilmot informs us "You will not like me". As he continues, he announces "Ladies, I am up for it all the time." This scene is already one of the most memorable in recent film. Because it is Johnny Depp, many women (and for that matter, some men) will swoon as soon as he appears onscreen, but as he begins to warn us, he further cements our memory of this character. His frank and open manner is very memorable.
Sure enough, as the film progresses, we don't like Wilmot. It is a testament to Depp's skill as an actor that we don't really care. Depp's portrayal is interesting and challenging, both of which more than make up for the lack of a likable hero in the story. Wilmot enjoys all of the pleasures of living in society and enjoys them well. As he and his wife ride back to London, he fondles her as she recounts how they initially met, a strangely erotic story portrayed in a charged way. In London, he immediately revisits a favorite bordello. Soon, he meets Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), an actress who attracts his attention and receives his guidance. A good example of his uninhibited nature is displayed when Wilmot meets the man who will eventually become his new valet. After setting a test for the subject, Wilmot is surprised to learn the man's name is Allcock. Very fitting for the playwright. All the while, he drinks, and drinks, and drinks. Depp manages to make all of this carousing and carrying on seem entirely natural.
Later, when Charles calls upon John to write the play, for a visit from the French Ambassador, he pens a work about Charles, as only Wilmot can. But that is best left to your discovery.
What I didn't get from the film, or Depp's performance, was evidence of why Wilmot is remembered today as a good writer. During a few scenes, he creates some interesting verbal word play, but the one play we get a glimpse of is clearly designed to offend the monarch and little else. The work seems amateurish, even childish in execution, so it doesn't work as a testament to his ability as a writer.
"The Libertine" is strangely beautiful to watch. I suspect the movie was filmed using high definition video and available light. As all lighting during this period is provided by candle, light sources are inconsistent, flickering, allowing more dark to seep into the frame. Because of this same lack of light, the film has a very grainy look and all objects are drained of color imbuing a sepia tone throughout. As you watch the story, you get the sense of reading an old book, or looking at old drawings torn from a 17th Century manuscript. The look of the film is further enhanced by attention to detail in both costumes (suitably elaborate) and scenery (suitably muddy and dark). The look of the film is entirely successful, capturing details of London during the Seventeenth Century.
Samantha Morton and John Malkovich are both good, restrained and believable, providing a nice counterpoint to Depp's more theatrical performance. Malkovich doesn't scream or rant, as you might expect, giving his portrayal of Charles II more believability, more vulnerability. Charles II was vulnerable during this period, so it works. Morton brings a quiet power to her performance. Manipulated by Wilmot and Charles, she seems a pawn throughout. But as we watch her performance, we begin to question that, and realize perhaps she is stronger than we initially thought.
"The Libertine" is a very good film, featuring a memorable, uninhibited performance by Depp. But it doesn't fulfill its initial promise to convince us of why Wilmot is still remembered to this day. A late scene in the film shows a number of his writings and drawings being destroyed by a family member. Why was he remembered as a great writer? How was he remembered? Through word of mouth? How were his writings remembered?
Hopefully, the film will not suffer the same fate as its `hero'.
Johnny Depp - Great Job September 4, 2006
Annalee Blysse (USA)
25 out of 29 found this review helpful
I'm a Johnny Depp fan. He did a great job at playing John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. But, the movie wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I knew the subject matter going in. That wasn't the problem. To me, the movie wasn't dark enough. There wasn't any motivation as to why John Wilmot was so obsessed with sex and drinking to the point of self-destruction. Johnny Depp did a great job of letting us know something was rattling around in his head. But the dialogue and visual images weren't there to back it up and left a lot open for guessing.
But, thanks to the magic of DVD, people can figure out that internal motivation by watching the deleted scenes and comments. I think the director should have left in the flashbacks from early in John Wilmot's life. The dark subject matter doesn't bother me or I wouldn't have been watching a movie like this. The decision to leave them out struck me as an interesting edit because one of the players in the special features segment of the DVD described how John Wilmot was a brilliant writer, and ahead of his time. If that is part of the reason they're making the movie, to showcase an artist that wasn't afraid to write the King of England a pornographic play, then why was the director was afraid of being honest to the character?
I enjoyed this movie more after I watched the special features. Because of the thought process I went through, I think this is a great DVD for writers and artists to watch.
 The Darker, Far More Interesting Side of Restoration England July 9, 2006
Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)
23 out of 27 found this review helpful
THE LIBERTINE is one of the most atmospherically captured stories/biographies/tales on film. Based on the highly regarded play of the same name by Stephen Jeffreys who thankfully transferred his poetry to the screen in a brilliant screenplay, THE LIBERTINE glows with a sense of history, of social conscience, of the tawdry court of King Charles II in England, and relates the brief but scandalous yet ultimately poetic life of John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester (1647 - 1680). Laurence Dunmore directs with a pace that is rapid and sure and a feeling for the story that is uncannily real. The film may bit a bit heavy for some viewers, but for those who cherish the English language written and spoken like Shakespearean poetry this film is a brilliant work.
Johnny Depp as the Earl of Rochester delivers a dazzling portrayal complete with utter debauchery, incessant drinking, crude antics, razor sharp observations about life and the senses that marked the 33-year life of his character. From the open monologue about why he does not want to be liked to the closing recapitulation, Depp is immersed in this character, delivering a bravura performance bathed in Depp's gift to say as much with his eyes and his body language as with his delivery of lines. As King Charles II John Malkovich gives his finest role to date, stepping down from his original habitation in the role of John Wilmot he created on the Steppenwolf stage to offer a King riddled with problems of a kingdom at odds with history and rampant with social disease. Rosamund Pike is radiant as Wilmot's frustrated and neglected wife and Samantha Morton brings the actress Lizzie Barry to life as the only woman Wilmot seemed to love - or was it really the theater he loved, the venue where he could allow his true motivations to be experienced instead of being trapped in the body ruled by libido in which he lived, eventually dying of the Great Pox (syphilis) in a wretchedly distorted body yet able in his last days to support the monarchy in an unexpected, highly dramatic appearance before Parliament.
The large and impressive supporting cast includes cameos by Paul Ritter, Stanley Townsend, Francesca Annis, Tom Hollander, Johnny Vegas, Richard Coyle, Hugh Sachs, Tom Burke, Rupert Friend, Billy Downs, Kelly Reilly, Trudi Jackson, and Claire Higgins. The costumes and scenery, lighting and camera work are some of the finest we've seen in period pieces. And the musical score by Michael Nyman is superb, worth owning as a CD if it becomes available.
There is an added feature on the DVD about the making of the film and watching it, with all the energy and love from the entire crew. Seeing this kind of banter form a group committed to making a fine independent film only serves to whet the appetite to immediately watch this excellent movie again. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Grady Harp, July 06
See this movie and decide for yourself March 22, 2006
Persephone
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Johnny Depp's performance in this stunning film is beyond anything he has done before. You will see dimensions of his talent that will only become deeper and richer with time.
This movie casts it's spell and is difficult to leave behind. Against the Earl's best advice, I cannot help but like him.
Do not let the critics influence you about this film. See it for yourself and decide. Your time will not be wasted.
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