The Leopard () is an award-winning 1963 film by Italian director Luchino Visconti, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel of the same name.

The film features an international cast including the American Burt Lancaster, the Frenchman Alain Delon and the Italians Claudia Cardinale and Terence Hill. It is generally seen today in the Italian language version, in which Lancaster's lines are dubbed into Italian by another actor; however, an English dubbed version was also produced at the time, in which Lancaster's own voice is heard.

When Visconti was told by producers that they needed to cast a star in order to help to ensure that they'd earn enough money to justify the big budget, Visconti's first choice was one of the Soviet Union's preeminent actors, Nikolai Cherkasov. Learning that Cherkasov was in no condition, healthwise, to take the part, Visconti then set his hopes on getting Laurence Olivier, but he already had another commitment. The producers chose legendary Hollywood star Burt Lancaster without consulting Visconti, which insulted the great director and caused tension on the set, but the director and Hollywood star ended up working well together, and their resulting friendship lasted the rest of their lives.

The film has circulated in numerous versions. Visconti's first cut was 205 minutes long, but this was regarded as excessive; he cut it down to 185 minutes for the official release, and regarded this version as his preferred length. The version shown in the English speaking world was a 161-minute dubbed version edited by 20th Century Fox. A 151-minute version was released in Spain.

Awards

• Cannes Film Festival
  • Winner: Palme d'Or - Luchino Visconti
• Nastro d'Argento
  • Winner: Silver Ribbon - Luchino Visconti
  • Winner: Best Cinematography, Color (Migliore Fotografia a Colori) - Giuseppe Rotunno
  • Winner: Best Costume Design (Migliori Costumi) - Piero Tosi
  • Winner: Best Production Design (Migliore Scenografia) - Mario Garbuglia
• Academy Awards
  • Nominated: Best Costume Design, Color - Piero Tosi

DVD availability

There are several DVD editions available.

• Region 2 Medusa Home Entertainment (released in 2001) is an Italian disc offering an unrestored print and several interviews and featurettes.
• Region 2 BFI Video offers a restored print with a commentary by David Forgacs and Rossana Capitano
• Region 1 The Criterion Collection is a 3-disc set offering a restored print of the 185-minute version (English subtitles), with a commentary by Peter Cowie, several interviews, an hour-long documentary, and also includes the 161-minute English language dubbed version as an extra.

External links

• The Leopard (1963) - A review by Roger Ebert
• The Leopard at Rotten Tomatoes
• 1963 review in TIME magazine
• Criterion Collection essay by Michael Wood

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