The Leopard

Luchino Visconti

 
The Leopard Criterion Blu-Ray

29 Jun 2010

Blu-Ray

2 Discs

SRP: $49.95

Criterion Store price:$39.96

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  • Italy
  • 1963
  • 185 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.21:1
  • Italian

SYNOPSIS: Making its long-awaited U.S. home video debut, Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) is an epic on the grandest possible scale. The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama, and opulence, the tumultuous years of Italy’s Risorgimento—when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Burt Lancaster stars as the aging prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew (Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancée (Claudia Cardinale). Awarded the Palme d’Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, The Leopard translates Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel, and the history it recounts, into a truly cinematic masterpiece. The Criterion Collection is proud to present the film in two distinct versions: Visconti’s original Italian version, and the alternate English-language version released in America in a newly restored special edition.

Cast & CreditsOpen

Cast

Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of SalinaBurt Lancaster
Angelica SedàraClaudia Cardinale
Tancredi FalconeriAlain Delon
Don Calógero SedàraPaolo Stoppa
Maria Stella Corbera, Princess of SalinaRina Morelli
Father PirroneRomolo Valli
Count CavriaghiMario Girotti
Francesco Paolo CorberaPierre Clémenti
Concetta CorberaLucilla Morlacchi
Cavaliere ChevelleyLeslie French
Don Ciccio TumeoSerge Reggiani

Credits

DirectorLuchino Visconti
ScreenplaySuso Cecchi D'Amico, Enrico Medioli, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa and Luchino Visconti
From the novel byGiuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Director of photographyGiuseppe Rotunno
EditingMario Sarandrei
MusicNino Rota
Art directionMario Garbuglia
CostumesPiero Tosi

Disc Features

SPECIAL EDITION:

  • High-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno, with restored image and sound and presented in the original Super Technirama aspect ratio of 2.21:1 (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
  • The 161-minute American release, with English-language dialogue, including Burt Lancaster’s own voice
  • Audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie
  • A Dying Breed: The Making of The Leopard, an hour-long documentary featuring interviews with Claudia Cardinale, screenwriter Suso Ceccho D’Amico, Rotunno, filmmaker Sydney Pollack, and many others
  • Video interview with producer Goffredo Lombardo
  • Video interview with professor Millicent Marcus on the history behind The Leopard
  • Original theatrical trailers and newsreels
  • Stills gallery of rare behind-the-scenes production photos
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film historian Michael Wood

From the CurrentView the Current »

Film Essays

Remembrance of Things Past:
The Leopard

By Michael WoodJune 07, 2004

Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard had a hard time finding a publisher but was well-known by the time Luchino Visconti began working on his Read more »


Press Notes

Press notes: The Leopard

June 29, 2010

“It’s hard to imagine The Leopard looking much better on home video than it does in the new high-definition version,” writes Dave Kehr in the New York Times this week Read more »

Other Editions

The Leopard Criterion DVD

DVD

3 Discs

SRP: $49.95

Criterion Store price:$39.96

Add to Cart