The Leopard (Il gattopardo) (1963) Changes His Spots on Criterion
The Criterion Collection released The Leopard to Blu-ray on June 29, 2010. Luchino Visconti directed the film starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale.
‘The Leopard’ Movie 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 and his beautiful fiancée . 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.
Read the full summary, listen to our Movie House Concessions film review on 7/7/21, and our Criterion Critics review.
Special Features
- New high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno 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 a new essay by film historian Michael Wood
New cover by Lucien S. Y. Yang
Also available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
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Twentieth Century Fox released The Leopard (Il gattopardo) (1963) on August 12, 1963. Luchino Visconti directed the film starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale.