The Leopard

"Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure"

1963 3h 6m IT

🙌

7.7

BANGER

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

100

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.7TMDB · 984🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes●100Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 34,309

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

As Garibaldi's troops begin the unification of Italy in the 1860s, an aristocratic Sicilian family grudgingly adapts to the sweeping social changes undermining their way of life.

“Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure”

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Cast

Burt Lancaster
Prince Fabrizio Corbera of Salina
Claudia Cardinale
Angelica Sedara / Bastiana
Alain Delon
Tancredi Falconeri
Paolo Stoppa
Don Calogero Sedara
Rina Morelli
Princess Maria Stella Corbera of Salina
Romolo Valli
Father Pirrone
Terence Hill
Count Cavriaghi
Pierre Clémenti
Francesco Paolo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Luchino Visconti
Writers: Luchino Visconti, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Enrico Medioli
Languages: French, Italian, Latin
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 186 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Italian, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Luchino Visconti, shot by Giuseppe Rotunno. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nino Rota. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Mario Serandrei shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Luchino Visconti directs. Giuseppe Rotunno behind the camera. Nino Rota scores. Mario Serandrei cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in French, Italian, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 186 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
263 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Italian, Latin.
4International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
5Directed by Luchino Visconti, shot by Giuseppe Rotunno. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Nino Rota. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Mario Serandrei shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure".
10IMDB entry: tt0057091 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 18 themes, including "plan", "civil war", "sicily, italy", "praise".

The technical file

Cinematography: Giuseppe Rotunno
Original score: Nino Rota
Editing: Mario Serandrei
Production design: Mario Garbuglia
Costume design: Piero Tosi
Makeup / hair: Amalia Paoletti
Runtime: 186 min · 3h 6m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Leopard (1963)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 100/100
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 34,309 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 10 wins & 6 nominations total

Palme d'Or

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Luchino Visconti

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 8/10
I was given the blu-ray of this as a gift recently and what a lovely, thoughtful present that proved to be. The photography is glorious - the light is brilliant. Visconti delivers a truly captivating period piece but with none of the shallowness of many other costume/historical dramas. It features a magnificent performance from the gently aristocratic, classy Burt Lancaster as a Sicilian Prince coming to terms with the absorption of his kingdom into the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. The trials of love, war, the lavish and the poverty are all expertly and delicately portrayed and I really did get a sense of the fragility of the times. Alain Delon and Rina Morelli are superb, as is Claudia Cardinale and Nino Rota provides some sumptuous orchestrations to help all along. Knowing much about the history of the time isn't essential, it all unfolds wonderfully...
deepkino2025-10-07
★ 7/10
Elegy for the Aristocracy Luchino Visconti's 1963 masterpiece, Il Gattopardo, does not merely narrate the historical transformation of an era; it is also a death hymn for a class. On the hot, dusty soil of Sicily, as the elegance of an age slowly turns to embers, Visconti invites his audience to history's most sorrowful ball. Prince Fabrizio Salina (Burt Lancaster) is the representative of a glorious past: with his nobility, wisdom, and dignity, he is both the honor and the last scion of his lineage. However, the world's order is changing. As kings, revolutionaries, and the nouveau riche take the stage, the aristocracy represented by Salina is in a state of elegant collapse. The Prince knows he cannot stop this change; he cannot slow down time, he cannot preserve his values, he can only watch what is happening. This observation—with melancholy, acceptance, and a touch of grace—is the heart of the film. Drawing from his own aristocratic origins, Visconti offers neither praise nor hatred. His camera portrays the aristocracy not as an ideology, but as a state of mind: one where beauty, discipline, and refinement converge with pride and helplessness. In the film's magnificent ball scene, the weary expression on the Prince's face summarizes everything: the music still plays, the dance continues, but he has already passed into history. Il Gattopardo combines the aesthetics of the aristocracy with the weight of its downfall. The sounds of the waltz echoing through the ballrooms are now merely the echo of a bygone era. As new generations——like Tancredi, portrayed by Alain Delon—rise, the old generations are compelled to make a graceful retreat. Visconti's rendering of these scenes is as dignified as a funeral rite, almost like a painting. The film's pace is slow because downfalls are not experienced in haste. Each frame lingers to make one feel the texture of an era; the costumes, facial expressions, and beads of sweat merge with the weight of the Sicilian sun. These details create the film's sense of "grandeur." Here, slowness is not an aesthetic choice, but a form of mourning. In the end, The Leopard is like the funeral ceremony not only of the Italian aristocracy but of an entire "old world." As modern times advance, nobility and moderation give way to ambition, self-interest, and new forms of power. Visconti narrates this inevitable transformation not with tears, but with an elegant acceptance—as if echoing Tancredi's words: "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change!"