Il Gattopardo (aka The Leopard) (1963)

Set in 1860 Sicily, a nobleman (Burt Lancaster) watches as history changes the landscape of his country. The aristocracy is fading while a more democratic but not necessarily better society emerges. He realizes his family must adapt to survive in the new Sicily yet he wants no part of it. Based on the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa and directed by Luchino Visconti (ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS). A genuine epic in every sense of the word and visually, one of the most stunning films ever made. Words like sumptuous and opulent come to mind. Praise to cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno for his ravishing camera work. The lengthy ball sequence which ends the film (it runs about 45 minutes long) is the highlight of the film and you've likely never seen anything like it. The logistics of filming the sequence boggle the mind. Remarkably, when the film was originally released, the reviews were mixed to middling (in spite of it winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival). Fortunately, posterity has realized the film for the sweeping masterwork it is. Piero Tosi's impressive costuming received the film's only Oscar nomination. With Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Terence Hill, Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Serge Reggiani and Leslie French.