The Leopard (1963 film)

Updated: 12/20/2025, 2:49:37 PM Wikipedia source

The Leopard (Italian: Il Gattopardo, lit. 'The Serval' [il ˌɡattoˈpardo]) is a 1963 epic historical drama film directed by Luchino Visconti. Written by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Enrico Medioli, Pasquale Festa Campanile, and Massimo Franciosa, the film is an adaptation of the 1958 novel of the same title by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Burt Lancaster stars as Don Fabrizio Corbera, an aging Sicilian prince caught up in the sociopolitical turmoil of the Risorgimento (Italian unification) during the mid-19th century, with Alain Delon as his opportunistic nephew Tancredi, and Claudia Cardinale as his goddaughter. Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli, Romolo Valli, Serge Reggiani, and Terence Hill play supporting roles. The film was an international co-production between Italian studio Titanus and French studio Pathé. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically in Italy on March 28, 1963, and in France on June 14. It was a critical and commercial success in Europe, but reception was more lukewarm in the United States, where a truncated, English-dubbed cut was released. Retrospective reviews—of the film's longer original cut—have been more positive, and the film is now widely regarded as a classic and one of the greatest movies ever made. In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."

Infobox

Italian

Il Gattopardo

Directed by

Luchino Visconti

Screenplay by

mw- Suso Cecchi d'Amico Pasquale Festa Campanile Enrico Medioli Massimo Franciosa Luchino Visconti

Based on

The Leopard(1958 novel)by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Produced by

Goffredo Lombardo

Starring

Burt Lancaster Claudia Cardinale Alain Delon Paolo Stoppa Rina Morelli Romolo Valli Serge Reggiani

Cinematography

Giuseppe Rotunno

Edited by

Mario Serandrei

Music by

Nino Rota

Distributed by

Titanus (Italy) Pathé (France) 20th Century Fox (international)

Release dates

27 March 1963 (1963-03-27) (Italy) 20 May 1963 (1963-05-20) (France)

Running time

205 minutes (workprint) 195 minutes (Cannes cut) 185 minutes (Italian cut) 171 minutes (European cut) 161 minutes (U.S. cut)

Countries

ItalyFrance

Languages

ItalianEnglish

Box office

$1,800,000 (US/Canada rentals)3,649,498 admissions (France)

Tables

· Reception › Awards and honors

Award

Association Awards

Award

Association Awards

Year

Association Awards

References

Variety
Box office information for The Leopard at Box Office Story
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?anno=2&depth=2&hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/box-office-alain-delon-c22669761/14&usg=ALkJrhjkdwnzJDktQOTQcXhdq4233ZpFAg
The Conversation
https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-the-leopard-133443
The Leopard at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/23932
BFI
https://web.archive.org/web/20160302130803/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6aadb03d
Chicago Tribune
"Critics' top 100 | BFI"
https://web.archive.org/web/20160207035347/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics
"Scorsese's 12 favorite films"
https://web.archive.org/web/20131226091025/http://www.miramax.com/subscript/scorseses-favorite-films
Corriere della Sera
https://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/08_febbraio_28/elenco_cento_film_d83cacd8-e5ce-11dc-ab61-0003ba99c667.shtml
Italian-U.S.Film Set On Garibaldi: ' Leopard,' di Lampedusa's Novel, to Be Produced in Sicily by Titanus of Rome By Euge
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1961/05/07/archives/cinema-safaris-on-the-sicilian-landscape.html
A conversation with Visconti Gilliatt, Penelope. The Observer 10 Sep 1961: 17.
The New York Times
Burt Lancaster: An American Life
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1961/11/08/archives/next-rossen-film-to-be-coco-beach-carnival-atmosphere-of-cape.html
Burt Lancaster Discovers a Sicilian Prince By Derek Prouse. The Christian Science Monitor July 18, 1962: 6.
Burt Lancaster: Circus Acrobat Changes Spots For 'Leopard' Waldo, George. Los Angeles Times October 21, 1962: p. 6-7. Cl
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/157136850/
Filmink
https://www.filmink.com.au/claudia-cardinales-ten-top-hollywood-films/
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1962/04/18/archives/2-shorts-chosen-for-film-festival-pictures-on-sea-and-speed-will.html
Society To Show Films In Queens: Programs of Shorts Planned for 23 May and 19 June By Howard Thompson. New York Times 12
'The Leopard' In Its Original Lair: Care and Authenticity Mark screen Version of Modern Classic By Herbert Mitgang. New
"Origine, filiation et famille dans l'oeuvre de René Barjavel (Clermont-Ferrand)"
https://www.fabula.org/actualites/origine-filiation-et-famille-dans-l-oeuvre-de-rene-barjavel_84565.php
"Biographie | René Barjavel - Écrivain, journaliste, scénariste | Futura Sciences"
https://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/personnalites/science-fiction-rene-barjavel-1546/
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/05/archives/noted-on-the-italian-film-scene-overextension-blamed-by-industry.html
Filmmaking by the Book: Italian Cinema and Literary Adaptation
https://books.google.com/books?id=lu11g489AegC
Luchino Visconti
https://books.google.com/books?id=N-XxDwAAQBAJ
When Movies Mattered: Reviews from a Transformative Decade
https://books.google.com/books?id=ZGgPCODtVZsC
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/11/movies/film-view-at-20-the-leopard-is-fleeter-than-ever.html
Sight and Sound
Variety
Chicago Tribune
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1963/08/18/archives/artful-odyssey-of-an-aristocrat.html
Offscreen
https://offscreen.com/view/the_leopard
Los Angeles Times
Variety
Box Office Story
http://www.boxofficestory.com/france-1963-c22750377
Senses of Cinema
https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2016/cteq/the-leopard/
Burt Lancaster: An American Life
Newyorkmetro.com
https://books.google.com/books?id=J9gBAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA101
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/11/movies/film-view-at-20-the-leopard-is-fleeter-than-ever.html?searchResultPosition=1
The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael: A Library of America Special Publication
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Age_of_Movies_Selected_Writings_of_P/tkShTL84MrcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+age+of+movies+the+selected+writings+of+pauline+kael&printsec=frontcover
Compulsive Reader – Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism
https://compulsivereader.com/2012/08/19/luchino-viscontis-the-leopard-a-great-film-focused-on-sicilian-aristocracy-and-cultural-change/
Senses of Cinema
https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2021/feature-articles/dreams-of-italys-past-giuseppe-rotunnos-cinematography-in-amarcord-and-the-leopard/
"In the 2002 Sight & Sound Directors' Poll, Pollack revealed his top ten films in alphabetical order"
https://web.archive.org/web/20120626191807/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/voter.php?forename=Sydney&surname=Pollack
Rotten Tomatoes
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_leopard_1963
The Leopard (re-release)
https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-leopard-re-release
Official website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
https://web.archive.org/web/20120422064928/http://old.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml
festival-cannes.com
http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3122/year/1963.html
fashionandrunway.com
http://www.fashionandrunway.com/fashion/article.cfm?id_articolo=21519
The Leopard
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2010/05/scorsese-restores-the-leopard-and-revives-canness-golden-age.html

Association Awards
Award	Year	Category	Nominee	Result
Academy Award	1964	Best Costume Design, Color	Piero Tosi	Nominated
David di Donatello	1963	Best Producer	Goffredo Lombardo	Nominated
Golden Globe Award	1964	New Star of the Year – Actor	Alain Delon	Nominated
Nastro d'Argento	1964	Best Director	Luchino Visconti	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Romolo Valli	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Rina Morelli	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Luchino Visconti, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Enrico Medioli,Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa	Nominated
		Best Cinematography, Color	Giuseppe Rotunno	Won
		Best Production Design	Mario Garbuglia	Won
		Best Costume Design	Piero Tosi	Won
Sant Jordi Awards	1964	Best Foreign Film	Luchino Visconti	Won
Sant Jordi Awards	1991	Special Award	Luchino Visconti	Won
Critics Awards
Association	Year	Category	Nominee	Result
National Board of Review	1963	Top Foreign Films	The Leopard	Won
Film Festivals
Festival	Year	Category	Nominee	Result
Cannes Film Festival	1963	Palme d'Or	Luchino Visconti	Won