Remembrance of Things Past:
The Leopard
By June 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 »
- 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 Salina | Burt Lancaster |
| Angelica Sedàra | Claudia Cardinale |
| Tancredi Falconeri | Alain Delon |
| Don Calógero Sedàra | Paolo Stoppa |
| Maria Stella Corbera, Princess of Salina | Rina Morelli |
| Father Pirrone | Romolo Valli |
| Count Cavriaghi | Mario Girotti |
| Francesco Paolo Corbera | Pierre Clémenti |
| Concetta Corbera | Lucilla Morlacchi |
| Cavaliere Chevelley | Leslie French |
| Don Ciccio Tumeo | Serge Reggiani |
Credits
| Director | Luchino Visconti |
| Screenplay | Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Enrico Medioli, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa and Luchino Visconti |
| From the novel by | Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa |
| Director of photography | Giuseppe Rotunno |
| Editing | Mario Sarandrei |
| Music | Nino Rota |
| Art direction | Mario Garbuglia |
| Costumes | Piero 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:
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 »
