Written by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Enrico Medioli, Pasquale Festa Campanile, and Massimo Franciosa, the film is an adaptation of the 1958 novel of the same title by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.[4] Burt Lancaster stars as Don Fabrizio Corbera, an aging Sicilian prince caught up in the sociopolitical turmoil of the Risorgimento (Italian unification) during the mid-19th century, with Alain Delon as his opportunistic nephew Tancredi, and Claudia Cardinale as his goddaughter.Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli, Romolo Valli, Serge Reggiani, and Terence Hill play supporting roles.A new national assembly calls a plebiscite and the nationalists win 512–0, thanks to the corruption and support of the town's leading citizen, Don Calogero Sedara.The Prince sees the wisdom of the match because he knows that, due to his nephew's vaulting ambition, Tancredi will be in need of ready cash, which Angelica's father will happily provide.Noticing Tancredi shift his allegiance from Garibaldi to King Victor Emmanuel's newly-formed army, the Prince wistfully judges that his nephew is the kind of opportunist who will flourish in the new Italy.However, the Prince demurs and refuses this invitation, observing that, in his view, Sicily prefers its traditions to the delusions of modernity because its people are proud of their ancient heritage.The Corberas, including Tancredi, attend a great ball at the villa of a neighbouring prince, and the event marks the debut of Angelica in high society.[13] Visconti was told by producers that they needed to cast a star in order to ensure they would earn enough money to justify the big budget.[15] Lancaster said he had been "long fascinated" with The Leopard, even before being offered the role, saying: "I think it is the best written and most perceptive study of a man and his background that has appeared for many years."[32] The New York Times wrote: "The reappearance of this enchanting work proves that, under the right circumstances, two decades make no difference whatsoever but 25 minutes can transform a very good film into a possibly great one.[7] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 50 reviews, with an average score of 9.1/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Lavish and wistful, The Leopard features epic battles, sumptuous costumes, and a ballroom waltz that competes for most beautiful sequence committed to film.[38] The original 8-perforation Technirama camera negative for The Leopard survives and was used by The Criterion Collection to create their video master for DVD and Blu-ray, with color timing supervised by the film's cinematographer, Giuseppe Rotunno.
The ballroom of Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi, where the ballroom sequence was shot.
Villa Boscogrande, one of the film's primary locations.