“The Leopard” The extraordinary spirit of “authenticity” that pervades Visconti’s masterpiece

The extraordinary man that is Burt Lancaster

The main cast includes Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, and Burt Lancaster. When it comes to Lancaster, who is also known for his physicality, playing the role of an elegant "aristocrat" in Hollywood movies, the gap in image is so large that one wonders, "Will it really work?"

However, the essence of this work may be the presence of the Duke of Salina, which far exceeds the conventional image of an aristocrat. This situation can also be seen in the original work written by Lampedusa. The opening line, when he finishes his prayer, is very impressive, so I'll excerpt it here.

``Soon, the person in question, the duke, stood up. The floor shook under the weight of his gigantic body, and in that moment, his clear eyes flashed with pride, knowing that his prestige towards people and buildings had been confirmed. It floated.”

"He wasn't obese. He was just reckless, stupid, and extremely powerful." (From "The Leopard" translated by Akira Kobayashi/Iwanami Shoten/2008 )

Although he had "rosy skin and honey-colored hair," he was tall enough that "in a house where the average person lived, his head would touch the rose-shaped ornament at the bottom of the chandelier" (Lancaster himself was 190 cm tall). (He was very tall), and when he became even more angry, he bent the fork and spoon in his hand. Even if the revolutionary army led by Garibaldi approached him, he could have easily mowed down about 100 people by himself.

At the same time, he excels in astronomy and mathematics, is an authoritarian, has ethical rigor, and is more optimistic than anyone else about his own position and what will become of him in the future. A realist who can analyze. At times, we also see glimpses of benevolent kindness and unexpected sentimental expressions.

It doesn't shake anyway. However, he is a person with various expressions. That is Duke Salina. Looking at this point, you can understand how perfectly Lancaster was cast for this role, or indeed, there was no other actor in the world more suitable than him. Before we know it, those of us living in 2019 have become completely captivated by his humanity, just like the audience when the movie was released in 1963.

In fact, director Visconti was initially skeptical about this casting, which was pushed out by the producers. However, once filming began, that impression was completely reversed.

"I believe that Lancaster developed this character not only through his extraordinary qualities and professional talent, but also through his serious and thorough study of his role and of Lampedusa's work." "He gradually became more involved as the shooting progressed, and he got bigger and bigger as the shoot progressed."

(Visconti Masterpieces Collection 3 “The Leopard” translated by Hiroo Mizoguchi, 1981, Shinshokan)

After this, Lancaster was invited to play the lead role again in `` Family Portrait '' (1974). It is often said that ``The Duke of Salina is also Visconti's alter ego,'' but it may be that Visconti and Lancaster had a deep connection in terms of expression that makes people think so.

Things depicted in the ball scene, which occupies one-third of the total.