The Leopard | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Lancaster's portrayal is fantastic throughout. The man bleeds gravitas from his bewhiskered face to his shiny shoes... Even though the sets are some of the most spectacular and lavish ever committed to celluloid, he manges to usurp them.

[Burt Lancaster's] confidence, his gravitas, and his understated cat-like grace as he walks through the world as if he owned it, creates a character of great authority and even greater melancholy.

The film aches with regret over a crumbling empire, but its feelings are complicated by the wise prince, who recognizes his place on the wrong side of history.

[VIDEO ESSAY] Lancaster's every movement and facial expression transmits the text and subtext of his Italian character with a sense of regional authenticity that is beguiling.

A fine drama that Tolstoy would endorse, remarkable for relying not on conflict between the uncle and the nephew but rather on their thorough devotion to each other.