"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

There are some superstars whose work remains timeless, seemingly ahead of their times in many ways. American acting legend Burt Lancaster was a dark and brooding Everyman who could reach the audience's heart, even in the most seemingly sinister of roles. He could add a twist into the characterizations of the darkest of men and make them suddenly identifiable. Actors like Lancaster, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Marlon Brando were a refreshing change as America exited the war years into a dark domestic period and lead the way for modern cinema as we know now.

Veterans by the 1960's, these actors kept their artistic ideals alive by becoming in international celebrities, working in Europe as well as in Hollywood, and "The Leopard" is Lancaster's masterpiece of what was driving early 60's cinema, telling old fashioned stories in different ways and adding a touch of class in the way they were told outside the American studio system. Whether you decide to watch this in Italian or in English, you will be enchanted by the beauty in which the story of how these Italian aristocrats adapt to change. Lancaster is the family patriarch, a charming but powerful baron who can be kindly and charming one moment but vicious and domineering the next. He gets pretty much what he wants from his family, and it is apparent that he is both admired and feared, thus a commanding presence rather than demanding.

The extremely handsome Alain Delon is marvelous as Lancaster's free spirited nephew, scandalous in his determination to marry only the woman he loves, and rather shocking in his verbose demeanor. Pretty much the rest of the actors outside of Lancaster speak in Italian and are dubbed in the English language version, which I chose for my first viewing of the film just to hear Lancaster's voice in his native English. I bet this is sumptuous to watch on a big screen, and I wouldn't hesitate to spend three hours reading subtitles to catch every glorious detail put out by director Luchino Viscoti.

I just don't understand how this film is so highly rated. Although VERY beautifully filmed, it is, in my opinion, one of the MOST ponderous and boring films I have ever seen. Seeing this film, especially due to its length (I saw the restored version) was like seeing Lawrence of Arabia AFTER 9 hours of additional desert footage was added! It just seemed to go on and on and on. The final segment of the movie was set at a dinner party and it lasted about an hour when it easily could have been done better in about 10 minutes! Now there are some films that are three or more hours long and they are captivating throughout (such as "Ben Hur" or "Gone With The Wind"),but this film merited, at best, about two hours worth of film. Normal scenes that could have been done in seconds or just a few minutes seemed to take an eternity. I STRONGLY disagree about the notion of restoring the lost footage, as despite this the characters generally seemed very wooden and the action and intrigue were minimal. Perhaps the original American version WAS edited poorly BUT adding all this additional footage just didn't help.

Do NOT assume I dislike Italian films. I have really enjoyed many--just not this one.