The Italian Risorgimento in Film — The Leopard (1963) by Luchino Visconti

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 mid-19th century 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. The film was recently voted the 90th greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound's international survey of film critics and scholars.

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For the discussion, please watch the film in advance, available here or find it on other streaming platforms. (Note the movie is about 3 hours long.)