Anyone seen 'The Leopard'?

[Dene]

I was thinking of going to see this in Dublin some time...I take it it's great? One of the best films ever made, by all accounts, but hardly ever on telly, and not even available on VHS let alone DVD (well, maybe there's a DVD release somewhere in the world).

I imagine it as a Once Upon a Time in America-style masterpiece -- would I be disappointed or not?

[Mike]

It's more intimate than "OUATIA" and more subtle but it's a wonderfully rich film with staggering visuals and a great performance from Burt Lancaster. However, the sense of poignancy for things past and emotional desolation are not a million miles away from Leone's film.

It was a huge influence, along with Visconti's "Senso", on Martin Scorsese's "The Age Of Innocence".

The new print is apparently gorgeous so see it in the cinema while you have the chance. I don't think the full version has ever been shown on TV - I seem to recall that the 1994 showing on BBC2 was cut.

[jonathan.e]

Italian DVD from the restored print is available from www.dvd.it or www.dvdland.it

[ian turner]

there is a UK release expected at some point at a fairly cheap price of 8 or 9 pounds but its currently listed as TBA so maybe they're waiting for the end of the theatrical run or have changed their minds (this is Fox appartently).
The UK release will be dubbed and will have 10 minutes cut from it but there is an Italian release in Italian with english subtitles but that seems to have had 30 minutes cut from it. Plus considering Burt lancaster doesn't speak Italian as far as I know it would be a bit like Dellamorte Dellamore with the English and Italian versions being dubbed to some extent.

[ChetLee]

I've seen "the snow leopard". It used to be popular on these forums a couple of years ago.

:norty:

[John Hodson]

There was some talk of a BFI release in this thread (http://thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=2424361) (and there was a little confusion, I recall, in the bargain forum over whether play were advertising the proposed BFI release or the Fox disc)

I suppose we'll know more from the BFI once the theatrical run is out of the way.

---
So many films, so little time...

[DCH]

Ian, where did you hear about the cuts/dubbing?

[Narshty]

The BFI are planning a huge two-disc special edition of this later in the year - patience, patience!

[ian turner]

Originally posted by DCH
Ian, where did you hear about the cuts/dubbing?

If you look at the italian websites listed higher up you'll see that it lists the time as 180 minutes and theres a comment on one complaining that the dvd is shorter than the VHS. The english DVD listed is the UK cut at 195 minutes and is dubbed into english. The full length version is 205 minutes.
Hopefully the comments about the BFI are correct but according to the BBFC web site the current theatrical release is only 187 minutes long.
Mind you the film is quite slow moving and if you read the book you'll find that not alot happens, its all about style and atmosphere. An old Sicilian family trying to hang onto the old ways while recognizing that things will change and they will fade into the past. Possibly a shorter cut would be better

[Gary Couzens]

A 180 mins DVD would be the same as a 187-min cinema print, given PAL speed-up.

That running time for the cut, dubbed English-language version is no doubt a typo for 165 mins.

I don't know about previews or trade screenings, but <i>The Leopard</i> has never been otherwise longer than it is now, i.e. 187 mins. The 205 mins often quoted is a widespread inaccuracy: the film has never been commercially shown at that length. There's more on this if you can track down one of Brad Stevens's columns in <i>Movie Collector</i> in the early 90s - I don't have them around any more and I wish I did!

I don't know about the 1994 showing Mike refers to, but the late 80s Film Club showing was a half-way house: the English-dubbed version with some but not all of the cut footage restored. If memory serves it ran about 170 mins on TV, so would be about 10 mins shorter than the full version.

<i>Senso</i> is another Visconti that exists in multiple versions, and some footage (which the Italian authorities considered brought the army into disrepute) was cut and is now lost. The BBC showed the longest-available print (from an archive) on the Film Club in the late 80s.