8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
In Sicily during the 1800s, as the aristocracy finds itself challenged by new democratic fervor, Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, tries to hold on tightly to the past, but it is clear his glory days are waning. This is perfectly exemplified by his dashing nephew Tancredi Falconeri and Angelica Sedàra, his gorgeous bride-to-be. As the revolt gathers steam and begins to result in real change, the aging prince must come to terms with the new world encircling him.
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Paolo Stoppa, Rina MorelliDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 75% |
Romance | 23% |
War | 18% |
Period | 15% |
History | 15% |
Epic | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.21:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.20:1
Italian: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Winner of the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, Luchino Visconti's "Il gattopardo" a.k.a "The Leopard" (1963) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features provided with this release include the film's American version; an audio commentary with film scholar Peter Cowie; "A Dying Breed: The Making of The Leopard"; interview with producer Goffredo Lombardo; "The History of the Risorgimento", a video interview with Italian culture scholar Millicent Marcus; promotional materials; and stills gallery. The disc also arrives with a 16-page illustrated booklet. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".
Tancredi and the Prince of Salina
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.21:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Luchino Visconti's The Leopard arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following texts appears in the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"Director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno supervised this high-definition digital transfer, which was created on a Spirit Datacine from the original 35mm 8-perforation negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction".
"The American version of The Leopard is presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format. The digital transfer was created on a Spirit Datacine from 4-perforation 35mm interpositive. The 4-perforation reduction was created in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio".
The Italian version of The Leopard looks absolutely stunning. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity very impressive and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. It is the film's color-scheme, however, that impresses the most. Yellows, greens, blues, reds, browns, blacks and whites are notably rich and well saturated. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are never an issue of concern. The film's grain structure is also intact, though some minor noise corrections have been applied. Furthermore, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review either. Finally, I did not see any large cuts, splices, debris, or stains. All in all, this is an outstanding Blu-ray release by the folks at Criterion, and in my opinion the best one yet in their quite remarkable catalog.
The American version of The Leopard is encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i transfer. Unlike the Italian version, the American version has a fairly inconsistent color-scheme and is plagued by a variety of minor flecks, stains, marks, scratches, and cuts. Its contrast levels are also quite shaky. Optional English subtitles are not provided for it.
(Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
The Italian version of The Leopard arrives with an Italian LPCM 1.0 audio track, which serves legendary composer Nino Rota's terrific soundtrack exceptionally well. Additionally, the dialog is crisp, clean, stable and very easy to follow. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review. Finally, Criterion have included optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The American version of The Leopard arrives with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 track. Unlike the Italian LPCM 1.0 track, the English Dolby Digital 1.0 track contains plenty of minor background hiss. The dialog appears relatively stable, but the crisp strings that are so prominent on the Italian LPCM 1.0 track are missing on the English Dolby Digital 1.0 track. There are no optional English subtitles for the American version.
Disc 1
Commentary - a very informative audio commentary by film scholar Peter Cowie, which also appears on Criterion's 3DVD set of The Leopard.
Disc 2
The American Version - the American version of The Leopard premiered in New York City on July 15, 1963, just under four months after the film's Italian release. Cut from 185 to 161 minutes, the American version version features an English-language track soundtrack, with star Burt Lancaster and supporting players Leslie French (Cavaliere Chevelley) providing their own voices. (1080i).
A Dying Breed: The Making of The Leopard - a collection of interviews with some of the principal actors in the film, crew members, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, author of The Leopard, Sydney Pollack, and others, who talk about the rich history of the film, Visconti as a filmmaker, the era he belonged to, how Italian cinema evolved after Visconti passed away. In Italian and English, with optional English subtitles for the Italian portions of the program. (62 min, 1080i).
Goffredo Lombardi interview - in this interview producer Goffredo Lombardo, whose Titanus Films was bankrupted by Visconti, recalls his involvement with the famous director. Interviewed by Luciana Migliavacca. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (20 min, 1080i).
The History of the Risorgimento - in this video interview, Italian culture scholar Millicent Marcus discusses the Giuseppe Garibaldi, Camillo Benso di Cavour, and Giuseppe Mazzini's placement in the annals of Italian history. In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080i).
Promotional materials - posters, Italian newsreels, Italian trailer, and two American trailers for the film.
Stills gallery -
Booklet - a 16-page illustrated booklet containing Michael Wood's essay "Remembrance of the Things Past" (the author teaches at Princeton).
This is a very special release by the folks at Criterion. During the last couple of months we have seen some quite remarkable releases of classic films, but Luchino Visconti's The Leopard is in a league of its own. This is clearly a prime contender for a Blu-ray release of the year. Bravo! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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