The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) (Italy, 1963) June 26, 2010

The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama and opulence, the tumultuous years of Italy's Risorgimento - when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Burt Lancaster stars as the aging prince watching his culture and fortune wane in the face of a new generation, represented by his upstart nephew (Alain Delon) and his beautiful fiancee (Claudia Cardinale). Awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, Visconti's spectacular adaptation of Giuseppe di Lampedusa's international bestseller is one of the cinema's greatest evocations of the past.