Il Gattopardo

Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo (The Leopard, 1963) is widely regarded as one of the great masterpieces of Italian cinema. Visconti’s meticulous direction, combined with an unforgettable score by Nino Rota and stunning cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno, gives the film a grand, operatic scale.

But Il Gattopardo has had a complex life beyond its visuals, particularly when it comes to its multiple versions and the dubbing process.

The film was originally shot with an international cast speaking different languages: Burt Lancaster (Prince Salina) spoke English, Alain Delon (Tancredi) spoke French, and Claudia Cardinale (Angelica) spoke Italian. For the Italian release, all actors were dubbed into standard Italian to maintain consistency and clarity—Lancaster, for example, was dubbed by actor Corrado Gaipa. In contrast, the English-language version allowed Lancaster to use his own voice, while Delon and Cardinale were dubbed by English-speaking actors.

Adding to the complexity, the film exists in several cuts. Visconti’s full Italian version shown at the Cannes Film Festival runs for approximately 205 minutes. Visconti edited this down to 185 minutes for release in Italy. However, when Il Gattopardo was released in the UK and the United States by 20th Century Fox, it was trimmed down to 161 minutes. This shorter version lost much of the film’s deliberate pacing and thematic depth. The translation was inaccurate and the dubbing inaccurate. When Visconti saw this version he was furious and disowned it completely, threatening to sue 20th Century Fox. They, in response, claimed that Lancaster had approved the edit.

It is our view that the original 185 minute Italian release with subtitles remains the gold standard. We have obtained this version, added subtitles, and uploaded it to the Italian Stories platform for you to watch.

If you do decide to set aside the 3 hours needed, go to the Movies section and select the film, make sure you select the full screen and subtitle options in our player!

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