User Reviews

"The Leopard" is based upon the celebrated novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, which was a massive success in Italy and also brought its author to international attention. A film adaptation was inevitable, but its scale and detailed recreation of 19th century Italy required a bigger budget than the Italian cinema could easily afford. The decision was therefore taken to attract international audiences by casting a big-name Hollywood star, Burt Lancaster, in the leading role, with the well-known French actor Alain Delon in a secondary one. I was interested to learn that not only were Lancaster and Delon's lines dubbed into Italian, but the same was also done with the film's leading lady, Claudia Cardinale. Although Cardinale is normally thought of as an Italian actress, she was actually born to ethnic Italian parents in Tunisia, at the time a French colony, and grew up speaking French and her parents' Sicilian dialect. Her heavily accented Italian was felt to be inappropriate to her character, Angelica, who although of peasant stock has been brought up as a cultured young lady by her social-climbing father.

The action takes place in the Sicily of the early 1860s. The "leopard" of the title is Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, the head of an ancient and illustrious aristocratic family. This is, however, a time of change, because the "Risorgimento", the struggle to unite the network of petty states which made up Italy into a single kingdom, has begun. Early in the story the armies of Francis II of the Two Sicilies are defeated by the pro-unification "redshirts" of Giuseppe Garibaldi, leading the way to the incorporation of the island into the new state.

Lampedusa, himself a Sicilian aristocrat, took a somewhat cynical view of the Risorgimento, even though these events are one of the defining episodes of Italian patriotism. Fabrizio sees the events of 1860/61 as marking the decline of traditional aristocratic values and the rise of a corrupt, materialistic bourgeoisie. The new Italy claims to be a democracy, but this claim is shown to be a hollow one when the new rulers organise a rigged plebiscite to approve the incorporation of Sicily into the new unified Italy. (In Fabrizio's home town 512 citizens out of 515 supposedly vote in favour, with three abstentions and no votes against, a landslide of North Korean proportions). Fabrizio is offered the position of a Senator in the new state, but contemptuously rejects it.

The main representative of the rising bourgeoisie is Don Calogero Sedara, a wealthy, self-made businessman. Like many "new money" men throughout the ages, Sedara longs for social acceptance by the "old money" nobility, and is desperate to engineer the marriage of his beautiful daughter Angelica to Fabrizio's nephew Tancredi. Although Fabrizio was hoping that Tancredi would marry his own daughter, Concetta, he reluctantly gives his consent, knowing that Tancredi (whose own family are aristocratic but not particularly wealthy is not only smitten with Angelica's good looks but also in need of her father's money.

The novel has always been known in English as "The Leopard" (and in French as "Le Guépard"), even though its Italian title "Il Gattopardo" refers not to the leopard (that would be "Il Leopardo") but to two smaller members of the cat family, either the serval (gattopardo africano) or the ocelot (gattopardo americano). Although I can see why the change was made- "The Serval" would mean little to English-speaking audiences unless they were expert in zoology- Lampedusa's title strikes me as somehow more appropriate. By the end of the film Fabrizio seems a diminished figure, no longer the biggest cat in the jungle.

When first released in 1963, the film was a success in Italy and France but not in America, where it was released in an English-dubbed version, cut down to 161 minutes, considerably shorter than Luchino Visconti's 185-minute "director's cut". I have never seen the English-language version, so my comments below are of necessity based upon Visconti's cut. Even if Lancaster did not speak the words we hear in the Italian version, he nevertheless dominates the picture by his very presence. At first he seems a towering figure, a pillar of tradition and aristocratic values, but it eventually becomes clear that the forces of historic change are too strong for him, and if he still remains standing at the end he does so like a pillar which remains upright when the structure it once supported has fallen into ruins around it.

"The Leopard" is an early example of what has become known as "heritage cinema" and, although that genre is mostly associated with Britain it predates what I normally think of as the first modern British example, Schlesinger's "Far from the Madding Crowd", by several years. It is not only a grand epic, very visually striking and making good use of the landscapes and architecture of Sicily and of the costumes of its period, but also a moving meditation upon the forces of history and the process of change. A fine drama. 8/10

Burt Lancaster plays a true aristocrat in an aristocracy that is not an aristocracy. The degeneracy as well as the sophistication of the rival political factions in warring Sicily is shown, and the human insight of the central character that embodies true nobility, even though he is largely powerless to make his ideals reality. Garibaldi is invading Sicily with an army of a thousand, landing in Marsala and advancing through Palermo. Prince Salina (Lancaster) is a noble of a disappearing age. He refuses a place in the new senate and is unable to convince the new wave that the unification will not be good for Sicily. He is caught between different loyalties. A love story between his nephew (played by Alain Delon) and a rich merchant's daughter (played by Claudia Cardinale) interweaves the action and heightens the moral dilemmas that Prince Salina has to face. A brave film, opposing, exposing and opposed by government and church. The full length restored edition is a cinematic gem and the opulent costumes and scenery are a treasure to behold.

This is a beautiful and thoughtful film about the changes occurring in Sicily after 1860, with the unification of Italy and the disappearance of the old Kingdom of Sicily. It explores these changes and and changing role of the old aristocracy through the experiences of the Prince of Salina. Overall it is an excellent film with many beautiful scenes, much contemplation, and a great exploration of the prince's character, views, a realisations.

It has some absolutely incredible moments, particularly the grand ball at the end, which is handled wonderfully. The film perfectly captures the prince's feelings, sadness, and sense of separation or isolation from the rest of the seemingly happy people at the ball and I don't think that I have ever seen this phenomenon handled so powerfully. The whole atmosphere of the ball, with the prince sweating and feeling in a daze while others laugh, giggle, dance and gossip, is wonderful, as is the horrible din while people go to get food and chat away whilst eating. It is unusual in that it perfectly captures such negative aspects of big, "festive" parties so rarely even addressed, much less demonstrated so flawlessly. The fact that such feelings of isolation and the like are a fundamental reality of big parties, especially when one has a lot on one's mind, makes this all the more forceful and compelling.

However, the film has some weaknesses. It does not bring everything together quite perfectly and fails to completely hit the nail on the head. I understand the transformations in the film and the prince's emotions, yet there is too little information underlying all of this too really see the bases for these thoughts, etc. I needed to extrapolate and rely on my own knowledge of the historical circumstances, none of which really should be necessary. The result is that I can easily see how audiences may be confused or uncertain what it's all really about. Moreover, it introduces scenes or issues that seem to have no point, lack an explanation, and go nowhere. Some seem at first to have significance, but then go nowhere and this tends to distract from the central plot and themes of the film while leading to potential confusion about the point of the scenes, as well as expectations that the issues will arise again. However, while these points to me prevent this from being the absolute masterpiece that it could have been, they do not seriously detract from the film and are only minor dents in the film's incredible strengths.

If you ever have the chance to see this magnificent film in an uncut, fully restored version, with good subtitles...DO IT. This is a film of astonishing beauty, bristling with ideas and magnificent performances.Like all truly great films it is full of sublime SCENES: Prince Tancredi riding off to war in his carriage., the astonishing ball sequence, when Prince Salina gazes at the painting and comes to grips with his own mortality,and the unforgettable end, when Salina kneels on the ground and speaks to the stars.Coppola, Cimino, and Scorsese all saw this film and learned from it..the Godfather echoes it repeatedly( in fact all THREE Godfathers echo it repeatedly). Scorsese once ranked it with The Red Shoes, Citizen Kane, Otto e Mezzo and The Searchers as one of the films he "lives by." Seeing it, one understands.

This beautiful film, which I saw some time ago, remains in my memory as a profound study of a man in a position of power who thinks, reflects on important values, as well as his own aging process...and yet the film is never static. Burt Lancaster gave a brilliant performance...which I read was his favorite role. Visually, it is stunning. The long dance scene with Claudia Cardinale is justifiably famous...one of the sexiest scenes on film, in my opinion. To anyone interested in serious concerns, cinematically expressed with grace and intelligence, I would urge you to see this splendid film.

I was rounding off a two year study in France in 1963 and I remember gazing at the marquee of a cinema in Paris shortly after the Cannes Festival, seeing "Le Guepard" advertised, beautiful Claudia Cardinale waltzing with handsome, courtly, Burt Lancaster. At the time, I made a mental note to see the movie but in fact, saw it for the first time many years later, on a black and white TV no less! Chopped up and edited as it was, in black and white, the film moved me immensely. I was absolutely thunderstruck by the dialogue which, when I read the Prince of Lampedusa's novel shortly after, I realized had been "lifted" verbatim from the novel in large chunks. What a novel and what a worthy and noble tribute to it Visconti has paid. I now own the Criterion three disk set of Il Gattopardo and never tire of watching what is for me, one of the great films of the twentieth century. Burt Lancaster, as the Prince of Salina, was an inspired choice for the cinematic role, though apparently he was not Luchino Visconti's choice. I think the Prince of Salina is Lancaster's finest performance.

This known novel is magnificently brought to the screen with colorful images , impressive soundtrack , visually absorbing cinematography and sensitive as well as thoughtful events . An epic story dealing with Fabrizio Cordero , the Prince of Salina , the Leopard (Burt Lancaster , though 20th Century Fox asked Visconti to choose from among Anthony Quinn, Spencer Tracy and Lancaster ; Luchino wanted Laurence Olivier for the title role and he wanted to cast Nikolai Cherkasov , too). Salina is an upright aristocrat who attempts coming to terms with the new rulers of Sicily as well as overcome his family and class amid the troublesome social upheavals . Fabrizio observes the waning of his noble home and attempts to help build a new Sicily but his nephew Tancredi (Alain Delon , though Horst Buchholz turned down the role) , Prince of Falconeri (Alain Delon) assures his status by marrying Don Calogero Sedara's (Paolo Stoppa) gorgeous daughter Angelica (Claudia Cardinale) .

Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure deals with the tumultuous social upheavals of 1860's Sicily , and it is paced in slow and deliberate rhythm . The film traces the rising and falling of Fabrizio Corbero , Prince of Salina and the corresponding rise to eminence of the hugely wealthy ex-peasant Don Calogero . However , the film results to be overlong , it seems longer than its 187 minutes running time . Based on the classic novel written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa , being scripted by Suso Cecchi D'Amico , Pasquale Festa Campanile and considered to be the best screen adaptation ever . Such was Luchino Visconti's attention to detail that it was shot in actual historical palaces , including authentic pictures , objects and tools . Concluding the climatic scene in the sumptuous forty-minute ball and long banquet where Tancredi introduces Angelica to society , it is deemed to be one of the greatest set pieces in film history . Originally released in USA in a badly dubbed 165 minutes version , picture was restored in 1983 to proper form .

Masterful interpretation by the great Burt Lancaster , The Prince of Salina , a noble aristocrat of impeccable integrity who tries to preserve his family against their dark destination and nice acting by Alain Delon as his ambitious nephew who swims with the tide and assures his own position . Support cast is pretty well , they give top-notch performances such as Paolo Stoppa , Romolo Valli , Terence Hill , Pierre Clémenti , Giuliano Gemma and Ida Galli . Colorful and evocative cinematography in Technirama wide screen system, by Giuseppe Rotunno . Classical and emotive score by Nino Rota . The motion picture was masterfully directed by Luchino Visconti and was shot over 11 of the hottest weeks of the year , being Martin Scorsese's favorite movie .

This celebrated story was well based on historical deeds , these were the followings : Sicily was invaded by "A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi landed in Sicily in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the Bourbons" . The Expedition of the Thousand was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi landed in Sicily in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the Bourbons. The project was an ambitious and risky venture aiming to conquer, with a thousand men, a kingdom with a larger regular army and a more powerful navy. The expedition was a success and concluded with a plebiscite that brought Naples and Sicily into the Kingdom of Sardinia, the last territorial conquest before the creation of the Kingdom of Italy on 17 March 1861.The sea venture was the only desired action that was jointly decided by the "four fathers of the nation" Giuseppe Mazzini, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel II, and Camillo Cavour, pursuing divergent goals. It is difficult to determine the true instigator: Mazzini desired to release the Mezzogiorno and Rome, whereas Garibaldi wanted to conquer in the name of Victor Emmanuel II, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and continue to Rome to complete the unity of Italy, and Cavour wanted to avoid at all costs conflict with his French ally, Napoleon III, who protected Rome.The expedition also brings new large collective ambiguity and misunderstanding: for Garibaldi, it is to achieve a united Italy; to the Sicilian bourgeoisie, an independent Sicily as part of the kingdom of Italy, and for the mass farmers, the end of oppression and land distribution

Luchino Visconti directed this rich, emotional, and intellectually rewarding study of the aristocracy in 19th century Sicily. Starring Burt Lancaster (his voice well-dubbed in his very best role), this would qualify as a character study if its canvas weren't so large.

As Garibaldi burns his way to a possible worker's revolution, the upper class seems to circle in a different orbit, taking vacations while the situation is at its least stable. With mutton chops beard and careful bearing, Lancaster is very much the Leopard, slyly shifting alliances when it's to his advantage. That's why his protégé (Alain Delon) is so likable to him, a young leopard certain to earn his own place.

This is more a film of character and theme, taking its time to show the contrasts between rich and poor, young and old. The famous ballroom sequence at the end of the film ties it all together with sensitivity and sadness.

The Leopoard requires some patience, but there's much to like. Fans of classic Italian cinema would be advised to seek out the full-length version.

Following his personal motto, "something has to change in order to keep everything in place," authoritative prince Fabrizio di Salina (Burt Lancaster) secures his position, and that of his social class, by resigning himself to the "Risorgimento" and making a pact with the representatives of the bourgeoisie. He marries his nephew, Tancredi Falconeri (Alain Delon) to the daughter of a nouveau riche mayor (Claudia Cardinale), who should infuse fresh blood into an old bloodline threatened with extinction: the alliance between "the Leopard" and "the Jackal" exemplifies the blend between old and new. The collector's box of this film includes an interview with Alain Delon who, in retrospect, claims that Visconti had almost played the role of prince Salina himself, given the analogies between the two characters. Like Salina, Visconti preoccupied himself with questions of disappearing social class and transience. Beyond the splendour and revelry in his films always lies a dark horizon, the imminence of death, whose premonitory signs are perceived everywhere. The closing marriage scene is a lamenting farewell to vanishing beauty. Awesome Burt Lancaster in tuxedo looks into the mirror and tears well up in his eyes. Outside, a coffin is brought out. Majestic grandeur and striking dignity intertwine with elegiac melancholy, grief and regret. The perfect illustration of Friedrich Schiller's definition of tragedy: "Tragedy is not synonymous with suffering. Rather, tragedy is the futile protest of the individual against inevitable suffering". Delon claims that today he finds himself unable to watch the film, which evokes memories and images from a world long since forgotten, let alone listen to the soundtrack, "qui me fait pleurer"...

I've been on IMDb for over 10 years and I've never written a review before, but this time I was so disappointed with this film that I needed to write something. The Leopard is a film that's universally praised, even the great Martin Scorsese hails it as an essential piece, so I expected a solid masterpiece, but that wasn't the case here. I'm a big fan of Death in Venice and Rocco and His Brothers (both directed by Visconti), I usually enjoy long period films and I'm not really concerned when "nothing happens" in a film, but that's because when a film doesn't have a clear plot, it usually involves some serious character development or images that tell a story, even if it's not linear; unfortunately this film gets lost in itself, not really knowing what it wants to be, it's incredibly uneven, the political aspect that provides the context seems rather superficial even if the dialogue is mostly about politics and in the end it doesn't commit to anything, we get the main character who is the only one who seems like a real human being and not a one-dimensional statue, and Lancaster does a very good job with what he's given, but he becomes a spectator to the central couple that could not be more bland and uninteresting, they're supposed to be young and full of life but they seem to be uncapable of any real emotion (and Alain Delon is usually a great actor) and there's no way the audience could actually care about them. The production design, cinematography, costumes and music are indeed remarkable, I don't know how the book tells the story because I haven't read it, but even if it's a faithful adaptation, there should have been some sort of work in character development, pacing and finding a central line, because even in a film that's simply about "a few moments in the life of a family" there should be a theme that's fully explored, and yes, Don Fabrizio has an arc, seeing he's no longer relevant in the world but that would've worked if the people around him actually felt like real people. At last I'd also like to mention that the dubbing IS a problem, a lot of people say that it shouldn't take you out of the story but isn't a truly great film in the sound era supposed to have audio correctly synced? That's actually a problem for most (if not all) Italian films from the 60s (including La Dolce Vita, and 8 1/2) and I just can't ignore it because it is ultimately a flaw. So overall, I would never call this a terrible film or even a truly bad one, but I would say it is ineffective, flawed and definitely not a masterpiece.

Luchino Visconti was the last scion of the Visconti di Modrone family, one of the oldest and richest families in Italy. He was also a lifelong member of the Communist party, whose first major masterpiece, LA TERRA TREMA is one of the harshest and most compassionate films about the lives of Sicilian fishermen, which was furthermore shot in the Sicilian dialect and released in Northern Italy with the appropriate subtitles. Andre Bazin noted that the fishermen of that film seemed imbued with the nobility of Renaissance Princes. As an artist, Visconti was like his greatest character, Prince Fabrizio, "straddling two worlds and not comfortable in either." "The Leopard" is set in the period of the Risorgimento, the Re-Unification of Italy. It was in this period that a group of principalities and isolated city-states grouped together to form a single nation, the Modern Italy more or less as it exists today. The film is however set in Sicily, the small island situated below the toes of the Giant Boot of Italy. A small island that in centuries was invaded and conquered by foreign nations and rulers and never had a say in the running of it's land. The promise of "being a free state in a free country", articulated by the Chevalley(Leslie French), is for the Sicilians, too late or not enough, when they are charitable or merely the latest in a long line of outsider powers ruling the small region of golden fields and beautiful mountains that is uncaring of the problems of the people or the Salina family.

In the middle of this turmoil is Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina. A fictional aristocrat modeled in part on the grandfather of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. As incarnated by Burt Lancaster, Salina is a man of great presence and intelligence, he claims he is 45 but realizes at once that he is already very old when he learns that his daughter Conchetta is in love with his nephew Tancredi Falconeri(Alain Delon). He realizes that his daughter is no match for the ambitious and handsome nephew and that all his family has left is a name and fading splendor but no money at all. However Anjelica Sedara(Claudia Cardinale) is a Goddess and her father is as rich and upwardly mobile as he is crass and vulgar.

IL GATTOPARDO is a film that deals with the birth of the Middle Class. 19th Century Europe witnesses the slow disintegration of the aristocratic families and the arrival of the middle-class mercantile consumerist faction in it's wake. The film more importantly shows this process, gradually and symbolically but also precisely rendering the machinations in detail. Dozens of films can recreate history by simply play-acting an event, it's another thing to show it as a process. This is one of the great achievements of Visconti. The middle-class, the bourgeoisie will take power but it can do so step by step. First it supports a peasant-led popular revolution only to compromise it, then it accepts democracy only to sabotage it, and then through marriage establishing itself as the chief ruling class of a nation giving the old Leopards a shiny new cage in a stately zoo, in effect allowing the aristocracy to survive as the walking dead.

Released in 1963, Visconti's film must have felt a little incongruous. A big international production on a scale not seen since the commercial disaster of Ophuls' LOLA MONTES, an adaptation of a respected literary source and starring popular international stars - Lancaster, Delon, Cardinale. This was the period of the French New Wave of Modern Italian cinema as embodied in Antonioni and Fellini(Cardinale in fact went back and forth between this film and 8 1/2, essentially in two separate solar systems). Yet Visconti's film could not be conceivable any other way. A film about the dying aristocracy, this film is also about the classical tradition embodied in that culture which is slowly disappearing and which Visconti, despite being a progressive, was a product of.

So THE LEOPARD is also self-reflexive about it's own style and mode of storytelling, yet the ending of the film is also vastly more different and more richer than that of the novel that it takes as a source. The novel written by a cynical aristocrat dilettante is a work of great emotions the chief being nostalgia for the old ways. This nostalgia is tossed out by Visconti, alongside its shameless misogyny. In the transaction the characters are richer and deeper than their literary forebears.

Visconti put his entire heart and soul into THE LEOPARD. You will never see widescreen and colour used as powerfully in all of cinema as it is used in this film. Light, colour, camera movement and the movement of the actors is choreographed in a single whole, the framing has a depth of field that is unparalleled in film history, comparable only to the works of Welles, Ophuls and Mizoguchi. This is a true spectacle - rich and grand, yet personal and intimate.

Checked out THE LEOPARD, the full, uncut, subtitled criterion version. and while it is without doubt a large, elaborate, well filmed spectacle, it has one glaring flaw... it's not that engaging. The first hour is interminable, with perhaps one of the largest, and most listless battle scenes ever caught on film.

When Visconti moves away from his uneven 1st hour, and his failed attempt to film the anarchy of the revolution, and gets back into personal relationships, his specialty, the film picks up.

While it never attains the sumptuous, wrenching power of Visconti's black and white Neo-Realistic masterpieces, such as the absolutely harrowing and brilliant ROCCO AND HIS THREE BROTHERS (also starring Alain Delon), it has moments of subtle satire, and dripping beauty. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the return of the Noble family, after the revolution.

They come back to the town that has moved on, and they sit in church surrounded by people making a new destiny, the masses full of life and energy, and the Leopard and his family by comparison are dusty relics, looking mutely on, as the world leaves them behind, A brilliant visual moment.

However there are too few of those moments to sustain the films length. And much like the nobles it details, the film (mostly about indulgence and boredom) winds slowly down, slowly, like a tired machine. And finally, mercifully... stops. An interesting flawed film, far from great, far from the director's best, and not one I'd want to sit through again. ** out of ****.

The film is great if you're curious about the aristocratic life because it literally shows how boring and ultimately lazy these people are. They are interesting to look but mediocre in every aspect of their life. Many of the aristocrats are broke or poor due to their refusal to work.

Overall, this movie is BORING and nothing interesting happens. I manage to skip the scene reducing the time to 30 minute and still nothing happen.

Let me just start by saying this film is gorgeous, starting with its cast, led by Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale. With his whiskers and regal gravitas, Lancaster even looks like the majestic leopard from his family's coat of arms, or perhaps a lion. The production quality is very high, with lavish sets, beautiful costumes, and incredible attention to detail. Shot in widescreen format, director Luchino Visconti also gives us sweeping landscapes in rugged Sicily.

Set in 1860, the Bourbon state of Naples and Sicily (the Kingdom of Two Sicilies) was about to end, as King Ferdinand II had recently died. The movement for Italian unification was led out of Piedmont-Sardinia, ruled by Victor Emmanuel and with Cavour as his Prime Minister. Sometimes at odds with these leaders, in May, 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi and his "Redshirts" invaded Sicily to successfully take the island from the Bourbons. This was a part of creating the new Kingdom of Italy, unified for the first time since the Roman period.

For wealthy aristocrats on Sicily, the coming change was viewed warily, for reasons of wanting to hold on to their riches, as well as a fair degree of Sicilian cynicism. We see this in the older Prince (Lancaster), who looks on impassively, looking to ride out the regime change and retain his position, and who later turns down an opportunity to represent Sicily in the newly formed nation's senate. We also see it in his nephew (Delon), who doesn't really have a guiding political principle, but is canny about sensing change, and fights for the side which benefits him the most. It's not a particularly flattering portrait, though I think Visconti's portrayal of these characters is far less pessimistic than Lampedusa's. Lancaster is stately and dignified, a positive character here, particularly when contrasted to the character of Calogero, a landowner who has risen from humble circumstances.

The genius of the film and the work it's based on is how it has all of these layers to the inevitability of change, with one political regime giving way to another, the old aristocracy giving way to those with "new money," and older people recognizing their age and giving way to youth. The grand palaces and beautiful ballroom dances are of an age now lost, and the film has a poignancy in fondly looking back at it - kind of like how the American south before the Civil War is romanticized (and in this case, minus the horrifying slavery and subsequent distortion of truth).

Amidst this grand historical backdrop the old Prince sees all aspects of his life changing, even if he's been convinced by his nephew that "for everything to remain the same, everything must change." He ponders it wistfully, and the viewer comes along for the ride emotionally. That quiet look in the mirror that Lancaster has towards the end, a tear in his eye, says it all. Lampedusa did not live to see his only book published or the triumph of this movie, which is sad but somehow in keeping with his themes. Even in triumph, the march of time is relentless, and we all will be the victim of our own transience.

Visconti's work is fantastic and faithful to the book, with one glaring exception: he omits the final two chapters, set in 1888 and then 1910, choosing to spend a very long time (45 minutes!) on the final ballroom scene instead. As exquisite as that set piece was, I think it was a mistake, because those final chapters which flash forward in time cement the theme of dissolution, give us the realities behind the grand moments of life and love, and contain indelible images. It's a bittersweet film regardless, but Visconti chose to put things in a more optimistic and happy light. Perhaps without cutting the ballroom scene down at all, we could have been treated to another hour of this delicious work. I would have been down for that.

A couple of quotes, this first one on getting older: "You see, Father a man can think of himself as still young, even at 45. But when he realizes his kids are grown enough to fall in love, old age becomes all of a sudden overwhelming."

And this one, on Sicilians. Lampedusa's observations reminded me of Kazantzakis commenting on Cretans, and I loved how we get little insights into the culture at about the two hour point of the movie:

"We're old, we're very old. For 25 centuries we've been carrying on our shoulders the weight of wonderful civilizations. But they all came from the outside, we didn't create them. For 2500 years we've only been a colony. I know it's our own fault. But we are tired, void, and lack vitality. ... I know you all mean well, but you're late. Sleep. That's what Sicilians want, a long sleep. They will hate those who want to wake them up. Were it even to give them beautiful gifts. But I doubt that the new Kingdom has any gift for us. Here, any action, even the most violent, represents a longing for oblivion. Our sensuality is a longing for oblivion. We shoot and stab because we long for death. Our laziness, the penetrating sweetness of our ice cream are a longing for voluptuous immobility. That is, again, for death."

"The Leopard" is not only one of the most accomplished films of the twentieth century, but one of the most successful adaptations of a novel to the screen. Rarely has a scenarist so effectively translated the essence of a novel without compromising the source material.

This is not to say that anyone should approach the film before the Lambedusa novel. Indeed, this film might well be considered as a companion to the book--the two being almost interdependent.

Still, the depth, richness, and complexity that Mr. Visconti achieves here justifies a lengthy treatise in and of itself. Equally important is a familiarity with the social background of the story, a piece of history destined to be lost on not a few Americans. Nonetheless, the viewer is encouraged to familiarize himself with the life, writings and allocutions of Pope Pius IX, (particularly his "Syllabus of Errors"), the campaigns of Garibaldi and Mazzini, and the criminal theft of the temporal dominion of the Papacy, effected by a variety of Socialist and Masonic cabals.

But back to Mr. Visconti's film: enough good things cannot be said of it. Often, great visual films are compared to paintings and certainly the comparison is most apt here. Each frame seems to breathe a life of its own.

One is simply staggered by the beauty of the compositions--each scenic tableaux not only intelligently employs the width of the Cinemascope screen to artistic advantage, but even manages, (as in the case, again, of a great painting) to visually probe the novel's subtext.

The casting could not be improved upon. If on paper, Burt Lancaster, seems an odd choice, (what with his Curriculum Vitae brimming with gangsters, cowboys, athletes, and acrobats) he, nonetheless fully realizes both Lambedusa and Visconti's vision, creating a man with the intelligence to see not only his own life ebbing away, but recognizing that the order he embodies, and represents is also simultaneously collapsing.

In short, Mr. Lancaster's character personifies nothing short of a tragic loss--the collapse of the noble/aristocratic and chivalric European world order, and, with it, the complex value system, and interdependent mode of decorous deportment that the value system supported, (welcome to the Welfare State, "progressivist" social engineering, and the enshrinement of the declasse.)

Though her character is tainted with arriviste origins, Claudia Cardinale enchants in her interpretation of Angelica. Note the way Mr. Visconti stages her entrance in one of the film's most memorable sequences. As the family gathers in the salon prior to a small dinner party, an anticipatory rustle signals Angelica's arrival. Framed over and through an oil lamp and spray of daisies, and underscored by a recapitulation of Nino Rota's main theme, she glides through the salon, a vision in cream taffeta, elaborate chignon, and a rose at her bosom, plainly enrapturing and even intimidating the entire party. The pitch and sincerity of her voice and diction as she greets the Prince is a marvel of growing self possession.

Miss Cardinale's beauty is of a rare order, and Alain Delon is nearly her match, with a gallantry and swagger that perfectly encapsulate Tancredi. Supporting roles from the Jesuit to Angelica's father are flawless both in type and execution.

The ball sequence defies comment. It is truly one of those things, for which the phrase, "must be seen to be believed" may be applied. The viewer can almost touch the watered silk swagged drapes, feel the swish of embroidered gowns, taste the flavored ices and blanc manges, and smell the liquored air, a waft with the heady mixture of verbena and attar of roses.

When, at the scene's near close, we behold an depleted elderly woman in green silk fanning herself in the far right side of the frame whilst some brave young things continue their exhausted dance, we seem to be viewing a Tissot come to life.

And Nino Rota must be complimented on his majestic score, the main theme of which is of heart breaking beauty and tenderness.

Ironically, "The Leopard" will scarcely find populist appeal in a country for whom MacDonalds, Wallmart, and Oprah appear to provide all that is needed or wished for. No, it is not intended to be accessible to every Tom, Dick or Harry. This would surprise neither Prince Lambedusa or Mr. Visconti.

But for those who know better--savor it! "The Leopard" seeps into one's pores like a drug, after which it demands to be seen again and again.

What I found most fascinating, though this would exclude the character of Fabrizio Salina (played dead-on by Burt Lancaster) and the images captured time and time again, is that The Leopard is practically a 180 from Visconti's breakthroughs. Think of Ossessione and La Terra Trema and any film buff will think of neo-realism, the plight of the under-valued, the emerging form of power in the simplest stories, the most heartbreaking images. By the time it came around to the Leopard, Visconti was still making personal movies, but here with the Leopard instead of it being a grainy black and white, full screen film set in the present and detailing the lower classes in their communities, it's a sumptuous widescreen technicolor feat telling the story of aristocracy in 1860 Italy. But, luckily, Visconti doesn't disappoint- this is a rich film, one that I may not have been able to penetrate on the first viewing, and I don't know how many viewings it will take me to do so.

The lead character, a Count (Lancaster), has to face up with the changing times- not only is an end coming to a ruling class that has been more or less on rules for about 2500 years, his nephew Tancredi (played in a wonderful early performance by Alain Deleon) is in love with a fellow Don, Calogero's (Stoppa, genuinely slimy and interesting aristocrat) daughter Angelica (Claudia Cardinale, who makes Catherine Zeta Jones seem like an every-girl in the looks and persona department). A revolution seems on the way, but it is ceased, and meanwhile the Prince sees that things are changing, but as one quotes, "things will stay the same".

The Leopard is many things- philosophical treatise on the nature of the ruling class with all that is to offer when looking down on the 'little people'; classic, novel-type love story with characters not going into the realm of soap; it's a feast for the eyes and the ears- Giusseppe Rotuno and Nino Rota turn in five of their greatest pieces of work respectively (even when a character may be talking and it may not be terribly interesting, looking at the shots that unfold is not deterring in the least). Although the drama that unfolds at times isn't as compelling as in Visconti's neo-realist efforts, and the fact that this is in another country going back nearly a hundred and fifty years (the distance as opposed to recognizability of the family in the fishing village of La Terra Trema), it is a treat to see.

And, indeed, after seeing it on a big screen (a rare occasion, thanks to the Film Forum theater in New York), it perhaps one of the finest widescreen films to come out of Italy in the past fifty years. A masterful sequence is to behold as well- the ballroom sequence, where the tones are instinctively precise. Bottom line, this is (one of) the ultimate aristocrat-turned-Marxist take(s) on 19th century Italy and Sicily.

No doubt about it, The Leopard with its DeMille like opulence is a thing of sheer beauty. As subject matter for an American audience I think that unless one has a knowledge of Italian history this film might just be a bit arcane for an American audience.

Burt Lancaster who was hired for American and worldwide box office clout is the lead here. He plays the head of an honored noble house in Sicily which is seeing the end of power with the end of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies which is roughly the island of Sicily with the lower half of the Italian peninsula up to around Naples. Giuseppe Garibaldi is leading a revolt against the ruling Bourbon house there. Lancaster's nephew Alain Delon has joined with Garibaldi's army purely for reasons of self preservation for himself and the family. Delon is quite the opportunist. As for Lancaster he looks over the ruins of the society he was a leader in with a dour pessimism just like Ashley Wilkes at the end of the Civil War. In fact The Leopard bears more than a passing resemblance to Gone With The Wind. For one thing it was the epic novel only published work of two authors talking about long gone societies which they were told tales about as kids.

Things take a conservative twist in Italy. The House Of Savoy which ruled the island of Sardinia and Piedmont area of Northern Italy kept itself in business and now was uniting Italy under a constitutional monarchy. One of the locals who's amassed a fortune Paolo Stoppa is in tight with these folks. Alain Delon is courting Stoppa's daughter Claudia Cardinale. A marriage between the two houses will insure financial security for Lancaster and relations and Stoppa gets the prestige of an old and honored name. Lancaster isn't crazy about Delon marrying beneath him, but he sure likes what he sees in Cardinale.

I saw an abbreviated version of The Leopard with battle footage and the some of the climactic ballroom scene cut out. Lucchino Visconti certainly had the skill to bring off a portrayal of Italy's past. His characters are interesting and certainly Burt Lancaster is most impressive as a man some 300 years behind the time and he knows it. Lancaster has some sad predictions for Italy's future and again a knowledge of how Fascism came to Italy is helpful.

The Leopard is an impressive film, but arcane for American audiences.

This is the story of Don Fabrizio, an aristocratic Prince of Salina in Scily. It takes place in 1860, a turbulent time when there was a nationalistic movement to unify disparate regions and kingdoms to form the country of Italy as we know it today. Don Fabrizio sees that, in the revolutionary spirit of the times, his wealth and land holdings, and indeed his way of life, are destined for dissolution. The Prince is a practical, realistic man and he makes difficult compromises to perpetuate his aristocratic lineage as best he can. Not only is the Prince faced with the threat to his way of life, but also with his own mortality. So, there is an air of melancholy that runs throughout the film.

The Criterion Collection set has three DVDs - one containing the subtitled Italian version (with an informative commentary track by Peter Cowie), one containing a dubbed English version, and one containing supplementary material. There is a downside to the dubbing in either version. Burt Lancaster's part is dubbed into Italian in the Italian version, but I found this to be less distracting than others have commented. Lancaster speaks in English in the English version. The English version has about twenty-five minutes cut from the Italian and can serve as the "before" of a "before-and-after" example of restoration - it has uneven lighting, off colors, blips, and scratches. Compare the first ten minutes of both versions and you will quickly abandon the English version. The Italian version is stunningly restored, I have rarely seen a high-definition image to compare with its picture quality.

The costumes and set designs are magnificent. Every scene is a set piece - you could watch this with the sound off and give it a high rating from experiencing the visual beauty alone. How "The Leopard" lost to "Cleopatra" for an Oscar for best costume design is beyond me. One of the most spectacular scenes, Garibaldi's storming of Palermo, seemed staged in spite of the manifest planning and costume designing that went into it.

This may well be Burt Lancaster's best performance; it is subtle, nuanced, and expressive. Alain Delon is perfect to play Don Fabrizio's dashing and ambitious nephew, and Claudia Cardinale has never been more beautiful.

Among the supplementary materials is a brief segment containing background historical information. I would suggest that most viewers see that before watching the movie. In fact, even after watching this supplementary segment and doing some brief research, "The Leopard" still leaves me a little in the dark as to the details of the complex politics of the time.

I first saw this movie in its original English release in 1963 and remember being bored out of my mind. The reason I decided to give it a second chance is due to the consistent praise it has received, and I now understand the basis for such acclaim. I guess there is something to be said for appreciation coming with maturity. And at this time I can better identify with Don Fabrizio's mind-set.

Luchino Visconti's film "The Leopard" from 1963 tells the story of forming a new Sicily.

Burt Lancaster, in a beautiful performance, is Fabrizio Corbero, the Prince of Salina (the Leopard) and watches as a former peasant, Don Calogero Sedara, comes to social prominence.

The prince's nephew, Tancredi (Alain Delon, better looking than the scenery) is a modern thinker and wants to go with the new Sicily. Fabrizio is behind him and knows he is going to be a political force. Tancredi, Prince of Falconeri, solidifies his position in the new regime by marrying Don Calogero's beautiful daughter Angelica (Claudia Cardinale).

The big scene is the huge ball which lasts for 40 minutes at the end of the film.

Gorgeous cinematography, lush locations, sumptuous costumes - no expense was spared for this film. Burt Lancaster is magnificent, delivering humorous lines ("Angelica is not a slut. She might become one, but right now..."/ on marriage: "Ah, yes, one year of flame and 30 years of ashes," and my favorite, "I've had 7 children with her and I've never seen her naval."

Toward the end of the film, he gives a wonderful speech about leopards and lions and hyenas. This is followed by a scene of peasants, with the sounds of the party in the distance. The classes are going to mingle. Lancaster also says a prayer that is poignant and magnificently delivered. A very successful performance despite being dubbed in Italian.

This is the kind of films most Americans find difficult. It has three characteristics that many European films have: It's long, it's slow, and it's multilayered. And for me, it was over the top without giving us a sense of the actual revolution. Even the battle scenes for some reason did not convey it -- everyone seemed outside of it, like a quiet overthrow. Visconti was trying to show the aimlessness of the rich by having them twirl and dance, but it was too much.

Not enough happens to show us the political fight and a contrast between the new and old worlds.

But it does capture the theme that this particular leopard, Fabrizio, cannot change his spots or refuses to, feeling too old, out of touch, and seeing himself become a relic. People past a certain age can connect with this. When my sister turned 65, she said, "It's not my world anymore." I said, "It hasn't been your world since you were 49." And it's tough to take.

Tancredi, on the other hand, changes his spots more than once - he likes to be where the power is. But he's young, and he can go with the tide or be a relic starting at the age of 28.

Some classic themes couched in a beautiful-looking film, the type of movie some people look at and, when it's over, say "what was that about?"

"Il Gattopardo" is another fantastic and grandiose movie of the aristocratic Marxist artist Luchino Viscontti. The story of the decadence of the Italian aristocracy with the unification of Italy, "Il Risorgimento", in 1860, is presented in Sicily through the eyes of the noble and clever Prince Don Fabrizio Salina, magnificently played by Burt Lancaster. It is amazing to see the cinematography and costume design, the details of each scene, which give me the sensation of being in a museum watching pictures at an exhibition, indeed paintings in movement. The shinning beauty of Claudia Cardinale dancing with the elegant Burt Lancaster is simply wonderful. The DVD released in Brazil by Versátil Distributor has 185 minutes running time, was completely restored and has more than two hours of Extras, honoring respectfully the memory of Luchino Viscontti. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Leopardo" ("The Leopard")