Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 10/27/1998
SubTitles: English/French
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 112 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Not For Children, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video

Marshall Herskovitz directed this look at life in 16th-century Venice, based on Margaret Rosenthal's 1994 book The Honest Courtesan. Positioned outside of the Venetian court, Veronica Franco (Catherine McCormack) hopes to rise above her station, but her interest in nobleman's son Marco Venier (Rufus Sewell) is blocked since his parents forbid their marriage. Following the path taken by her mother, Paola (Jacqueline Bisset), Veronica becomes a courtesan, finding this gives her a niche in the male-dominated society. When Vatican emissaries accuse her of witchcraft, she lashes back, using the trial as a feminist forum to expose the hypocrisies of the period. Filmed in 1996 in Venice and Rome with a variety of working titles (Courtesan, Venice, and The Honest Courtesan).

~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
Catherine McCormack - Veronica Franco
Rufus Sewell - Marco Venier
Jacqueline Bisset - Paola Franco
Oliver Platt - Maffio Venier
Moira Kelly - Beatrice Venier
Fred Ward - Domenico Venier
Naomi Watts - Guila De Lezze
Jeroen Krabbé - Pietro Venier
Joanna Cassidy - Laura Venier
Daniel Lapaine - Serafino Franco
Jake Weber - King Henry
Simon Dutton - Minister Ramberti
Peter Eyre - Doge
Michael Culkin - Bishop De la Torre

Production:
Marshall Herskovitz - Director
Marshall Herskovitz Arnon Milchan Edward Zwick Sarah Kaplan - Producer
Paolo Lucidi - Co Producer
George Fenton - Composer
Arthur Coburn Steven Rosenblum - Editor
Jeannine Dominy - Screen Writer
Ian Whittaker - Set Designer
Gianni Giovagnoni - Art Director
Stefania Cella - Art Director
Mary Selway - Casting
Mindy Marin - Casting
Wendy Kurtzman - Casting
William Hobbs - Choreography
Bojan Bazelli - Cinematographer
Gabriella Pescucci - Costume Designer
Michael Nathanson - Executive Producer
Stephen Randall - Executive Producer
Kuki Lopez Rodero - First Assistant Director
Norman Garwood - Production Designer
David A. Stephenson - Sound/Sound Designer
Margaret Rosenthal - Book Author

Dangerous Liaisons
    Glenn Close / R / 1988
The Affair of the Necklace
    Hilary Swank / R / 2001
Ridicule
    Charles Berling / R / 1996
Restoration
    Robert Downey, Jr. / R / 1994
Mansfield Park
    Frances O'Connor / PG13 / 1998
Age of Innocence
    Daniel Day-Lewis / PG / 1993
Casanova
    Heath Ledger / R / 2005