I think this is the last straw in terms of period-piece films for me - especially a 3+ hour period epic like Visconti's The Leopard. Granted, I blind-bought this at a Criterion sale knowing nothing other than it was a major release and a significant international film. I really have no one to blame other than myself.

This is a film about a dying aristocracy of Sicily in the 1860s - something I know nothing about going in. Many names are dropped, very little character depth is given, and outside of the impending marriage of Tancredi (Alain Delon) and the stunning Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), I was confused throughout. Seems like I should've done some research beforehand! The film is led…

Note: This review is based on the original 185 minute Italian version.

I hate to admit it, but about 2 hours into Luchino Visconti's widely acclaimed and imitated historical epic, The Leopard, I was seriously considering turning it off and abandoning it. The pace is swifter than the I had expected, but the film demands far too much knowledge from the audience of the history of the Risorgimento and the old Italian aristocracy, inevitably alienating many modern viewers who know nothing of its historical background. In World History Honors class we learned about the Risorgimento for 5 minutes and quickly moved on without mentioning it again, so as you can imagine I was baffled for most of the runtime by…

I’m rather amazed that there is no comparative analysis of The Leopard and Dr. Zhivago that I could easily find. Within the first 20 minutes what struck me was that this was the Italian Dr. Zhivago. Both are stories of the aristocracy facing revolutionary change in their beloved countries. Another similarity is the sumptuous cinematography, the directors un-afraid to dote on pictorial landscapes to set the mood. Both films clock in at almost the same length .. 195 minutes for the Cannes release of The Leopard, and 197 minutes for Zhivago. Finally, both novels were picked up by the same publisher. Interestingly, both films are rated 8.0 on IMDB.

This is where the stories diverge. While the film version of…

I think this is the last straw in terms of period-piece films for me - especially a 3+ hour period epic like Visconti's The Leopard. Granted, I blind-bought this at a Criterion sale knowing nothing other than it was a major release and a significant international film. I really have no one to blame other than myself.

This is a film about a dying aristocracy of Sicily in the 1860s - something I know nothing about going in. Many names are dropped, very little character depth is given, and outside of the impending marriage of Tancredi (Alain Delon) and the stunning Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), I was confused throughout. Seems like I should've done some research beforehand! The film is led…

Note: This review is based on the original 185 minute Italian version.

I hate to admit it, but about 2 hours into Luchino Visconti's widely acclaimed and imitated historical epic, The Leopard, I was seriously considering turning it off and abandoning it. The pace is swifter than the I had expected, but the film demands far too much knowledge from the audience of the history of the Risorgimento and the old Italian aristocracy, inevitably alienating many modern viewers who know nothing of its historical background. In World History Honors class we learned about the Risorgimento for 5 minutes and quickly moved on without mentioning it again, so as you can imagine I was baffled for most of the runtime by…

Certain films draw you immediately into their worlds, while others take a little while for the viewer to get acclimated to their style and pace. Luchino Visconti's 1963 film adaptation of the Giuseppe di Lampedusa's novel is more the latter than the former, but once it starts to gain momentum, it doesn't let up. For anyone unfamiliar with the history of 1860s Sicily, and I would include myself in that group, the material in the early going, with the introduction of the characters and the focus mainly on the country's political situation, is somewhat hard work. It isn't until the second hour that the film settles down and finds its focus. The narrative follows a respected but aging prince who…