The Leopard - Criterion Collection

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Summary: THIS DVD IS NOT CUT!!! SOME OF THE REVIEWS ARE ALL WRON
Review: criterion gives a real royal treatment to this movie and it is higly earned by it...in some reviews people say that the movie is cut and italian version is better blah blah...what they dont know is this 3 disc set has all two of them...check that out yourself:
DISC ONE
*The Film - Visconti's original Italian version (185:52)
Audio commentary by Peter Cowie (film scholar)
English HoH subtitles (removable)
2.21:1 Anamorphic NTSC (Super Technirama OAR)
Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono

DISC TWO
"A Dying Breed: The Making of The Leopard", a new documentary featuring interviews with Claudia Cardinale, screenwriter Suso Ceccho D'Amico, cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno, filmmaker Sydney Pollack, and many others (61:31)
Interview with producer Goffredo Lombardo (19:30)
Video interview with professor Millicent Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania on the history of the Risorgimento (13:36)
Promotional Materials:
- Stills gallery of rare behind-the-scenes production photos
- Italian newsreel footage (3:11)
- Italian theatrical trailer (3:40)
- American theatrical trailers (2) (3:46)

DISC THREE
*The Film - alternate American release (161:23)Subtitles:NonePicture format:2.35:1 Anamorphic NTSC Soundtrack(s):English Dolby Digital 1.0 MonoCase type:Special CaseNotes:Black Triple Alpha case
Disc 1 is region-free (R0); discs 2 and 3 are encoded R1

Rating:
Summary: Reply to some reviews -The Leopard - Italian full version ??
Review: Take a look at www.bfi.org.uk (official site for the British Film Institute). It appears that they are going to release the uncut Italian version on DVD on 27th September 2004.

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Summary: Aristocracy's decline and compromises in 19th century Italy
Review: Several years ago I read this book and then discovered that it was made into a movie in 1963. I searched for the video or DVD and was not able to find it at that time. Therefore, I was really delighted when I found out that the film had recently been released on DVD.

This is the story of the decline of aristocratic power in the late 19th century in Italy, and the effects of this on one particular family. The film was made in Italy and stars Burt Lancaster as the Prince of Salina and Claudia Cardinale as young lady from the emerging middle class who wins the heart of the prince's nephew. The film is a full 185 minutes long. But it held my interest throughout and I was even sorry there wasn't more because I remember the book covered a larger span of time.

There certainly is pageantry here. We see the palatial estates in all their glory. We get an understanding of the family dynamics as well as the influence of the Church. There are wars and glory and disappointment in love. There is pomp and pageantry and a glimpse into the privileged life of the privileged few. Mostly, the wars take place off screen but we do feel their impact. We see the first elections and the competition for power. And, most of all, we watch Burt Lancaster, in a role that calls for a wide variety of subtle emotions, as he watches his structured world fall apart and is forced to make compromises.

I learned a lot about the history of Italy as the film transported me to Italy for a very personal glimpse of an era I knew little about. And, it spite of it being made more than 40 years ago, the cinematography is excellent, even by today's standards. Definitely recommended.