The Leopard
Director: Luchino Visconti
Genre: War film, Historical drama, Romance Film, Drama, History
Year: 1963
Country: Italy, France
Language: English Language, Italian Language, French Language, German Language
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Rina Morelli, Lucilla Morlacchi, Serge Reggiani, Ida Galli, Ottavia Piccolo, Pierre Clémenti, Carlo Valenzano, Terence Hill, Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli
The Leopard (Italian: Il Gattopardo) is a 1963 Italian film by 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 Corrado Gaipa; 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 Hollywood star Burt Lancaster without consulting Visconti, which insulted the director and caused tension on the set; but Visconti and Lancaster ended up working well together, and their resulting friendship lasted
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