235 The Leopard

[zitherstrings]

Difference is gigantic. Really too bad CC/BFI couldn't wait 1 + year.

Lancaster on the parapet is DVD to HD difference. Remarkable restoration!

[CSM126]

The new resto is lovely. Almost makes up for the fact that visuals are all this movie has going for it, anyway.

[Murasaki53]

The new resto is lovely. Almost makes up for the fact that visuals are all this movie has going for it, anyway.

Well I'm glad someone had the courage to post this. I apologise to those who have detected some merit in this movie but I found it incredibly dull.

[CSM126]

It wasn't courage so much as my belief in stating simple truths. The Leopard is a beautifully appointed film, but they clearly sacrificed story in the process. I sat through the whole damn thing wondering when the plot was going to start. And it just didn't. I'm sorry, people, but watching Burt Lancaster wander around dewy-eyed in pretty houses doesn't do anything for me. It's what I call the 2001 syndrome: I liked looking at it, but I resent that the filmmakers thought that was all I needed from their so-called "profound artistic achievement" of a film. Work a little harder on everything else, next time. I'd rather watch a well-written and acted film shot on a newsroom RCA brick than a lifeless, plotless bore shot in gorgeous cinemascope.

[FerdinandGriffon]

It's what I call the 2001 syndrome: I liked looking at it, but I resent that the filmmakers thought that was all I needed from their so-called "profound artistic achievement" of a film.

As someone who shares this exact sentiment about 2001, I have to speak up for The Leopard as being anything but empty. I'm too tired to mount a full defense, but I find Lancaster's goodbye to his era to be a very profound exploration of historical movement and memory, of how individuals accept and adapt to change, of the relationship between generations, of national identity, and countless other things. I think it's a film whose immense pictorial beauty and lavishness can be misleading, as the image is often so overwhelming that a viewer assumes it is complete in and of itself.

In other words, I can't wait for the theatrical re-release which is coming in a few weeks!

[Peacock]

I'm a bit closer to Domino here than the others it seems... the colors look unnaturally boosted in each frame, especially the sky! There's definitely more detail though and less contrast, but the colors look quite distractingly fake in most of those frames...

[David M.]

What are you assessing the colours on? A lot of modern PC monitors have colour gamuts wider than proper HDTV video displays, and also come with the white point pushed towards blue (to make them seem "brighter").

Any discussion of colour going off uncalibrated equipment is, I'm sad to say, pretty pointless...

[Peacock]

Very true, I was going by eye comparing the frames on a macbook, not the most scientific method
What do you think of the colors David?

[David M.]

Ah, the Macbook Pro (2008 model) screen I have has a horrible colour gamut, any saturated colours clip horribly.
Looking at it on a calibrated HDTV display, I think it looks pleasing. It's a very saturated-looking film. That means if you look at it on a display that is adding in its own colour oversaturation, it will look flat-out garish.

BTW, I see you're in Edinburgh! I'm in Glasgow - small world.

There's no doubting the technical superiority of the new version, though.

[dx23]

Anyone know why the DVD of this film is going OOP? Should I get the BD now?

[knives]

You should get the BD now, but that's besides the point. As Domino said these are probably getting a repressing with new packaging so the UPC has changed.

[Fred Holywell]

We should hear something official from CC soon enough. I suspect that the rights holder, Fox, wants to get their shiny new Film Foundation revision out in R1 sooner rather than later. That could be with Criterion support and distribution, or perhaps they'll turn to a third label partnership; or even distribute it themselves (are they still handling hard to sell classic titles?). Hope they stick with Criterion, but I'm a bit prejudiced. It would be nice to see a lower price point, and some new supplements with a focus on the piles of deleted scenes that were cut just before release, but still exist in one form or another. Plus some of the "lost" English soundtrack Visconti recorded while shooting must have survived the years; if only as a fun curio to listen to the cast speaking in multi-accented English for the eventual Fox release. For those who don't know, the English soundtrack couldn't be found after filming, and all English dialogue had to be redone in New York prior to the Aug 1963 US opening.

[Stefan Andersson]

Hi Fred! Thanks for the info about the lost English track.

Off topic: it´s been said the English track for Ludwig is at least partially lost due to the shortening of the film. Do you know anything else about this?

[Fred Holywell]

Stefan, I saw the 137min. UK version about 20 years ago. Looking back on it now, it seemed totally different from the reconstructed version that's now on DVD. The whole piece seemed to be more lush and frantic with quick, unexplained flashbacks and flashforwards, that don't really come together till the last half hour or so when Ludwig is arrested and taken away. For that reason alone, the conclusion of the film seemed to play especially well with a tremendous rhythm and suspense that I don't find in the restructured version.

The UK cut trims the 173 minute US release by 40 minutes or so. I can't remember for certain all the cuts that were made, but I seem to remember less time spent on Ludwig's relationship with Sissi and her sister, as well as the young actor (Josef Kessel?) he moves into one of his castles. The primary focus of the British version is, not surprisingly, Trevor Howard in the role of Richard Wagner; and a magnificent performance it is, too. (Hearing Howard playing the part in English is absolutely essential, in my opinion.) At times, the character so dominates the narrative that it seems more like Visconti's "Wagner", rather than "Ludwig", which isn't necessarily a bad thing when you have actors of the calibre of Howard, and Silvana Mangano (as Wagner's wife Cosima). This shorter version might even be considered more operatic and sensual than the full-length one, perhaps. But when you cut the film to focus on all the Wagner/opera scenes, all (or almost all) the homo love/lust/orgy scenes, plus much decadent whining and pining for this or that (a happy hetero relationship; sanity; more chocolate)... Well, you get the picture.

Unfortunately, I've never seen the 173 min. English language version that played briefly in the US. I'd like to think it still survives somewhere, but you never know. It's unlikely there was ever an English language version of the full 240-odd minute cut Visconti prepared. Though most of the cast were recorded speaking their lines in English on set, some spoke in their native Italian or German and would have needed dubbing. The UK version runs occasionally at the Harvard Film Archive in Cambridge, Mass. (They own a print.) Do see it if you have an opportunity. Berger is much better than you'd expect in English. Really good. Visconti may have had to direct his every gesture and line reading, but Berger definitely pulls it off.

[aox]

Is there any chance Criterion will reissue the BD?

[knives]

Why would they need to? The present BD is perfectly fine with many extras and a perfect transfer.

[andyli]

Why would they need to? The present BD is perfectly fine with many extras and a perfect transfer.

Are you kidding?

[knives]

Too red. Anyways wasn't this very thing discussed earlier in the thread?

[andyli]

Too red. Anyways wasn't this very thing discussed earlier in the thread?

Hey. Too red or not, that's beyond the point you are making. You stated Criterion's transfer is perfect. That's what I'm coming at. So the new Film Foundation may be too red in color, but what about details? Scan resolution? Artifacts?

Even if there is no new restoration to compare, a transfer created about half a decade ago can hardly be 'perfect'.

[dx23]

Criterion is only changing the packaging, hence the lack of availability of the DVD:

Thanks for your email! These titles have not gone out of print. The packaging for both films is being changed over, hence the temporary back order.

I hope this information is helpful! Please let me know if you have any more questions and thanks for supporting Criterion!

Best,

Jon Mulvaney

[MitchPerrywinkle]

I still really want to see the new transfer (to not want to simply because of some oversaturation in a scene or two would be plain snobbery). Does anyone know if this is touring the country and if there's a schedule online? Thanks!

[kinjitsu]

It will be playing a little later in the month at the Castro in San Francisco, and next month at the AFI Silver in LA.

[Ishmael]

Well, assuming the country you mean is America, it will be playing on March 13 at the National Gallery of Art in DC.

[MitchPerrywinkle]

You are correct, sir. Know of any showings in the frigid tundra of Minnesota?

[eerik]

Blu-ray coming out in Japan. User comment says it's the restored version.

Still waiting tor an English-friendly release...