The Leopard

Last night I watched Luchino Visconti's 1963 film 'The Leopard' Il Gattopardo on DVD. In some ways the star of the film is the Sicilian landscape, the whole film being a pageant of Sicilian culture. Burt Lancaster acts the lead as a Prince Salina, a Sicilian aristocrat. The highlight of the 178 minute film is a 45 minute ballroom sequence in which the world-weary Prince dances with the bride-to-be. Visually stunning in its photography, Visconti makes a political statement about the era in which the film is set, namely the Italian unification of 1870. To see a video clip of the Ball-room scene with Bert Reynolds speaking fluent Italian while waltzing go to Modern Dance and Ballet Video page.