The Leopard - Criterion Collection
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Movie Reviews of The Leopard - Criterion Collection
Movie Review: The Nauseating Paternalism of a Sicilian Noble
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent film. It is well acted, directed, photographed, and has no aesthetic weaknesses. The Leopard, however, unintentionally reveals the reactionary attitudes that have kept many Sicilians impoverished even in our present era. Burt Lancaster brilliantly portrays the no longer young 19th Century nobleman who is something of a benevolent dictator to those within his cultural milieu. Yes, he is open to change---but is primarily motivated by self-preservation. The Prince of Salina seriously doubts if anything good will come out of it. Lower class Sicilians presumably enjoy their destitution and believe it is the will of God. The Catholic Church is to do its part to preserve the status quo and offer them their reward in the hereafter. At most, the priests might entice the royal families of Italy to throw the poor a few scraps off their tables. I am a convinced capitalist, but there were times in this film, alas, when I was tempted to become a Marxist class warrior and cease adhering to the libertarian doctrines of the great Ludwig Von Mises (Human Action: A Treatise on Economics). Thankfully, I still possess half a brain and can adequately control my emotions.
You should obtain a copy of Edward Banfield's sociological work published in 1958: MORAL BASIS OF A BACKWARD SOCIETY. It pulls no punches and describes the Southern Italian culture as mostly amoral and dysfunctional. This should surprise no one. These people are the progeny of leadership provided by men like the Prince of Salina. The odds were stacked against them. Another book you might also desire to read is Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Dover Value Editions).
Movie Review: The Fall of the Kingdom of Sicily
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Leopard" is the story of the fall of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, based upon the novel by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. In 1963 the haunting and subtle masterpiece premiered as a film, starring Burt Lancaster. Directed by Milanese aristocrat (and Communist) Luchino Visconti, it is perhaps, in the opinion of some film critics, one of the most skillfully crafted and films of all time. Lancaster regarded it as his finest performance, although initially he drew back from the role of Prince Fabrizio, feeling himself to be too American. Lancaster, however, emanates a calm and collected nobility as well as animal magnetism; no one else could have played so well the Sicilian prince who was known as "the leopard."
I watched "The Leopard" frequently while I was writing the novel "Madame Royale," about the decline of another branch of Bourbons. While no Bourbons make an appearance in the film, the passing of the old order is epitomized by the Lancaster character, Prince Fabrizio, who must make compromises in order to save his family. While Fabrizio and his once powerful clan incarnate the decadence, frivolity and inbreeding of the old aristocracy, they also exemplify the courtesy, noblesse-oblige and Catholic culture which were about to fade into oblivion. From the opening scene when the prince and his family are saying the rosary to the final shot of Fabrizio kneeling in the street as the Blessed Sacrament is carried to a dying man, the film shows how faith was woven into all aspects of life. There is a sense of the presence of God, to whom Fabrizio, and everyone else, must render an account. Death seems to haunt the dusty corners of the great palace, even while a new era is being born.
The plot revolves around the betrothal of Fabrizio's nephew Tancredi (Alain Delon) to the beautiful and wealthy daughter of the mayor, Angelica. Angelica (Claudia Cardinale) is a young girl who in former times would never have been considered eligible to marry into a princely house, but in the trying times of the Italian unification her money and political connections confer eligibility upon her. Her forward and slightly vulgar manner are softened by her earthy charm; Tancredi is completely in love with her. He has forgotten his cousin, Fabrizio's daughter, who had hoped to marry him; the scorned maiden's heartbreak permeates the movie.
Fabrizio is smitten with Angelica as well, although he gives no indication of any attachment except when he waltzes with her at the ball. Roger Ebert describes the dance thus:
"Finally the prince dances with Angelica. Watch them as they dance, each aware of the other in a way simultaneously sexual and political. Watch how they hold their heads. How they look without seeing. How they are seen, and know they are seen. And sense that, for the prince, his dance is an acknowledgment of mortality. He could have had this woman, would have known what to do with her, would have made her his wife and the mother of his children and heard her cries of passion, if not for the accident of 25 years or so that slipped in between them. But he knows that, and she knows that. And yet of course if they were the same age, he would not have married her, because he is Prince Don Fabrizio and she is the mayor's daughter. That Visconti is able to convey all of that in a ballroom scene is miraculous and emotionally devastating, and it is what his movie is about."
Movie Review: Italy's version of "Gone with the Wind"
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Leopard" is director Luchino Visconti's sprawling epic on the decline of the aristocracy in late 19th century Sicily.
At 3 hours in length it will certainly test your patience. The cinematography is magnificent with wonderful depth to many shots with both foreground and background in sharp focus. Replete with a lush musical score by Nino Rota this is indeed an Italian "Gone with the Wind".
Burt Lancaster delivers one of his best performances as the Prince of Salina.
The picture and sound quality was excellent on this DVD but the sound synchonisation drifted in and out (this applies to the Region 2 release).
Movie Review: Great epic that also works as a moving family drama
Summary: 5 Stars
"Il Gattopardo" (1963) is a stunning 3+ hours film that is one of the best epics ever made by the only director who could've made it. The film is a rare example of epic that also works well as a moving family drama.
Prince Fabricio Salina (Burt Lancaster, magnificent in this performance which almost did not happen) is the great man full of energy and power who knows that his world of noble aristocrats is doomed to disappear in new Italy united as republic. He is a Leopard of the title, and these are his words, "The leopards and lions are being replaced by jackals and hyenas ... and they all think they're the salt of the earth." Lancaster is one of reasons I loved the film so much.
The film also features two of my favorite actors, young Alain Delon who played Salina's favorite nephew, Tancredi, and heavenly beautiful Claudia Cardinale as Angelica, Tancredi's beloved.
Each moment and each frame of the film are breathtaking, and the final act, an hour-long ballroom extravaganza, ranks among the grandest cinematic set pieces of all time.
Movie Review: Epic in every sense of the word.
Summary: 4 Stars
Il Gattopardo (Luchini Visconti, 1963)
Luchino Visconti's three-hour epic of the fall of the Italian aristocracy still rings as powerfully today as it did in the sixties. Burt Lancaster stars as Prince Salina, aging patriarch of a clan of the rich and powerful. His nephew, Tancredi (Alain Delon), is attempting to turn his back on his heritage and embrace the new power-to-the-people mindset sweeping the nation. His position is complicated when Prince Salina attempts to subvert Tancredi's romance with Concetta (Lucilla Morlcchi) by arranging a marriage to Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), an eligible daughter from a rival family.
It pretty much goes without saying that an epic of this scope is going to be beautifully shot, and this one is. Visconti's large and talented stable of actors perform, almost to a one, to the finest of their ability; Demon, especially, was never better than he was here; the brash, bold Tancredi, at odds with both his upbringing and his own nature, constantly testing the limits of both in order to prove-- or, perhaps, only to understand-- himself, seems the role Delon was born to play. Lancaster also shines here. The Prince is old and set in his ways, and the change in his character as the film progresses is utterly illusory. Lancaster chose to play the role in elegantly cynical manner, representing this supposed change of heart to the other characters in the film, but always winking behind his hand at the audience. (After all, when does he soften? After he gets what he wants.)
What's truly amazing about the film is its mastery of pace. In a world where certain studios are well-known for their reluctance to put out movies that stretch longer than ninety minutes, one might expect a movie of this length wouldn't hold the interest of the average moviegoer. Twentieth Century Fox, its American distributor, did in fact think just that; as with a depressing number of truly excellent foreign films in the sixties and seventies, it was released in America only after extensive cuts had been made. While the effect of these cuts was not as devastating as it was with, for example, Profondo Rosso or The Wicker Man, you have to see the full movie to get the full effect. (The Criterion Collection 2DVD set thoughtfully includes both cuts so you can judge the effect for yourself.) The fact of the matter is that Visconti's original three-hour cut (three hours and five minutes, to be exact) is a masterpiece of pacing. It does tend to come off as episodic at times because of the length of certain scenes (the movie's sole weakness), but each of those scenes is paced such that it's thoroughly absorbing. You might wonder how a dinner party with people sitting around and talking can be riveting. (You've never seen My Dinner with Andre if you do, I'm guessing.) It is, easily as much as the cast-of-thousands battle scene.
If you've never seen Il Gattopardo-- and you probably haven't, especially in its original cut, which wasn't available on DVD in America until a few years ago-- you should, if you're at all a film buff. It's a perennial entry on hundred-best lists for very good reason. **** ?