Il Gattopardo (1963)

Film: Il Gattopardo

Director: Luchino Visconti

Country: Italy

Released: March 1963

Runtime: 195 minutes

Genre: Historical Drama

Studio: Titanus

Influenced: Francis Ford Coppola, Scorsese, Kubrick, Tarkovsky, Peter Greenaway

Perhaps better known in the UK for biscuits rather than for fomenting the revolution that brought about a unified Italian state (the "risorgimento") in 1861, Garibaldi is the most important (offstage) character in Luchino Visconti's epic historical drama, Il Gattopardo. Both the film and the book upon which it is based – Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's bestselling novel of the same name – were the creation of former Italian nobles, and the sense of nostalgia for this fallen world can be seen in the loving way it is recreated in both. I read the novel as part of my Italian university course and it's as mesmerising as the film. Visconti spent months recreating the grand house of the Salina family, researching the architecture and interior design of Sicilian aristocratic homes from the mid-19th century and consulting with experts on historical furniture and décor. Visconti also worked with production designer Mario Garbuglia to construct the set for the Salina house, built on a soundstage in Rome, including multiple rooms and levels to allow for complex camera movements.

Il Gattopardo's plot revolves around the changes taking place in Sicily during the unification of Italy. The ageing Prince Don Fabrizio Salina (played by Burt Lancaster) realises that the aristocracy is losing its power and that the rising middle class is taking over, but tries to preserve his family's position and influence by allowing his nephew, Tancredi (played by Alain Delon), to marry Angelica (Claudia Cardinale), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy bourgeois landowner. The film portrays the social, political and cultural changes of the era through the eyes of the Salina family – while Prince Don Fabrizio struggles to come to terms with the changes in his society and his own place in it, Tancredi embraces the new order and seeks to take advantage of the opportunities it presents.

One of the film's major strengths is the screenplay, thanks of course to Lampedusa's original material, which was honed by Visconti and his writing team, including Suso Cecchi d'Amico. There is a lot of musing on class differences, such as when the prince's priest Don Ciccio remarks in private: "The nobility, as you call them, aren't easy to understand... I don't mean the nobles are bad, on the contrary. They're different. They don't care about certain things which are very important to us and maybe they have fears we're ignorant of." Later in the film, the prince himself reflects: "We were the servals [not leopards!], the lions. Those who replace us will be the jackals, the hyenas. And all of us, servals, lions, jackals and sheep will continue to think we're the salt of the earth..."

Throughout the film, there's a strong sense of fiddling while Rome burns – as the revolution is unfolding, the Salina family all go on holiday to Donnafugata, located on the southern tip of the island of Sicily, which at that time was divided into two kingdoms. Visconti meticulously recreates the look and feel of the era, from the costumes and sets to the use of regional dialects. Another innovation is the film's use of music with the score, composed by Nino Rota, an integral part of the film, providing a rich and emotional backdrop to the action. The film also features a memorable ballroom scene, which showcases the contrast between the elegance of the aristocracy and the energy and vitality of the emerging middle class.