The Leopard

1963
Italy
187 min
PG

Directed by: Luchino Visconti
Written by: Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, Massimo Franciosa, Luchino Visconti, Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Serge Reggiani, Mario Girotti, Pierre Clementi
Language: Italian, German

Characteristically lavish Visconti adaptation of Giuseppe De Lampedusa's classic novel of the Italian Risorgimento has a splendid Lancaster as the prince of Salina reflecting mournfully on the rise of the bourgeoisie when his nephew Delon marries merchant's daughter Cardinale. It's undeniably overlong and rather slow-moving but Visconti's handling of the epic final ball sequence is a further demonstration of his mastery of composition for the wide screen and his later conception of film-as-opera.