Burt Lancaster in The Leopard
It is a shame that a great film like The Leopard should go unsung for so long. A short-sighted English language version, poorly dubbed, surely sank this story back in the '60s. Ironically, an '80s revival, in the original Italian, started this film on a road to revival and fame. For that, and The Criterion Collection, I am thankful. It's a great film.
Burt Lancaster's character of the Prince is at the end of a royal era. The next generation brings "new money" and a populist movement. Lancaster referred to this as his greatest work and I see no reason to disagree with him. His nuaned performance is spectacular.
The Leopard influenced Scorsese in The Age of Innocence as well as Coppola with The Godfather. The opulence on screen is certainly cause to behold. I've included two screenshots instead of my normal single in order to give a taste for the ornate images. Peter Cowie mentions in the commentary that this film bankrupted the production studio. It's easy to see why.
Claudia Cardinale dances with Burt Lancaster in The Leopard
1 comments:
Through the years and across belief systems, I send this comment to you. I also was impressed by The Leopard and went on to read the book because of it. I also much approve a lot of your film tastes, but I am a determinist atheist. However, I've always found that believers and atheists have a lot more in common than people who have not thought much about beliefs.
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