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By Todd Garbarini

The great Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti’s film The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) will be the subject of a 55th anniversary screening at three Los Angeles theatres. The 187-minute film, which stars Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Terrence Hill, and Paola Stoppa, will be screened on Wednesday, December 5th, 2018 at 7:00 pm. This is the Italian language version with English subtitles.

From the press release:

Part of our Anniversary Classics series. For details, visit: laemmle.com/ac.

The Leopard (1963)

55th Anniversary Screenings at Three Laemmle Locations

Wednesday, December 5 at 7:00 Pm

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present 55th anniversary screenings of acclaimed director Luchino Visconti’s sumptuous masterpiece, The Leopard ('Il Gattopardo'). The film will close out the year for the popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program of showcasing vintage foreign-language cinema.

The Leopard is based on the historical novel by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa, an...

Luchino Visconti’s national epic looks and plays better than ever. A Southern family relocates to Milan, and each of the sons reacts differently to life in the big city. It’s one of Italy’s most emotional film experiences.

Rocco and His Brothers

Blu-ray

Milestone Cinematheque

1960 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 177 m. / Rocco e i suoi fratelli / Street Date July 10, 2018 / 39.95

Starring: Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot, Katina Paxinou, Alessandra Panaro, Spiros Focás, Max Cartier, Claudia Cardinale, Nino Castelnuovo, Enzo Fiermonte, Suzy Delair, Paolo Stoppa.

Cinematography: Giuseppe Rotunno

Film Editor: Mario Serandrei

Production Designer: Mario Garbuglia

Original Music: Nino Rota

Written by Luchino Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa and Enrico Medioli

Produced by Giuseppe Bordogni, Goffredo Lombardo

Directed by Luchino Visconti

By 1960 Roberto Rossellini was almost finished with big screen feature work, but Italy’s other neorealist pioneer Luchino Visconti was just getting started on a series of masterpieces.

Writer-director Elio Petri scores big in his first feature, the story of a heel suspected of murder. Is he a killer, or just an average guy trying to get ahead, who uses women to his advantage? Marcello Mastroianni impresses as well in a serious role, with Salvo Randone shining as the police inspector trying to pry a confession from him. Beautifully restored in HD; the show is from a time when Italian film was at its zenith.

The Assassin

Blu-ray + DVD

Arrow Video USA

1961 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date April 18, 2017 / L’Assassino / Available from Arrow Video

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Micheline Presle, Cristina Gaioni, Salvo Randone, Andrea Checchi, Francesco Grandjacquet, Marco Mariani, Franco Ressel.

Cinematography: Carlo Di Palma

Film Editor: Ruggero Mastroianni

Original Music: Piero Piccione

Written by Tonino (Antonio) Guerra, Elio Petri, Pasquale Fest Campanile, Massimo Franciosa

Produced by Franco Cristaldi

Directed by Elio Petri

Fans of Elio Petri...

Raro Video resurrects an exploitation goodie masquerading as another bit of cheap Eurosleaze, Hitch Hike (aka Autostop Rosso Sangue) a 1977 thriller from Italian director Pasquale Festa Campanile. Like a tawdry version of an early Polanski effort, it’s a significant anomaly of its ilk for several reasons, the most notable being its director, usually known as a fixture of 1970’s Italian-style comedy (aka commedia all’italiana). Adapted from the novel The Violence and the Fury by Peter Kern, it’s headlined by Franco Nero, French actress Corinne Clery (the title character from infamous The Story of O, 1975) and grindhouse staple David Hess (The Last House on the Left, 1972), while predictable story elements spiked with moments of brutal violence should be enough to rejuvenate interest in a title not often screened in the Us (despite its initial box office success in Europe).

Walter Mancini (Franco Nero), a bitter, alcoholic journalist, is...

Obscure and hyper-violent thriller Hitch-hike coming to Blu-ray. Director Pasquale Festa Campanile’s brutal Italian exploitation masterpiece is coming to Blu-ray on February 16th via a partnership with Raro Video and Kino Lorber, totally uncut and uncensored and presented in a stunning new HD transfer. And trust us, this is a picture you’ll want to see…

The post Raro and Kino Lorber to Release Uncut Version of David Hess Thriller Hitch Hike on Blu-ray appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

'Million Dollar Baby' movie with Hilary Swank and Clint Eastwood. 'Million Dollar Baby' movie: Clint Eastwood contrived, overlong drama made (barely) watchable by first-rate central performance Fresh off the enthusiastically received – and insincere – Mystic River, Clint Eastwood went on to tackle the ups and downs of the boxing world in the 2004 melo Million Dollar Baby. Despite the cheery title, this is not the usual Rocky-esque rags-to-riches story of the determined underdog who inevitably becomes a super-topdog once she (in this case it's a “she”) puts on her gloves, jumps into the boxing ring, and starts using other women as punching bags. That's because about two-thirds into the film, Million Dollar Baby takes a radical turn toward tragedy that is as unexpected as everything else on screen is painfully predictable. In fact, once the dust is settled, even that last third quickly derails into the same sentimental mush Eastwood and...

As time marches on, more and more of our favorite cult home video distributors are making the expensive and risky jump to Blu-ray. One of the latest is the inimitable purveyors of "Holy Shit I've Never Even Heard Of That" awesomeness, Mondo Macabro. Mm have been quietly releasing classics of exploitation, horror, sleaze, and general weirdness for over a decade, and their recent upgrade to Blu-ray releases has been met with universal acclaim. Here we take a look at the first pair of films, Sean Hogan's 2011 Fantastic Fest alum, The Devil's Business, and Pasquale Festa Campanile's '70s "erotic drama" The Slave....

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Italian composer of film scores and musicals

Armando Trovajoli, who has died aged 95, was a prolific composer for Italian films and stage musicals. He worked with many of Italy's leading directors, including Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Vittorio De Sica, for whom he composed music for La Ciociara (Two Women, 1960) and Matrimonio all'Italiana (Marriage Italian Style, 1964), both of which starred Sophia Loren, who became a friend. When Loren was going to Hollywood for the first time in the mid-1950s, Trovajoli composed and recorded with his orchestra a song in Neapolitan for her, Che M'è Mparato a Ffà (What Did You Teach Me to Do?), which did much to launch her in the Us.

Trovajoli was born into an upper-middle-class family in Rome. He learned to play the violin as a boy and, in the 1930s, studied piano at the Santa Cecilia conservatory. By 1939 he was playing with a leading jazz band.

Chicago – Many great films have been made about the changing of eras and the passing of power from one generation to another. But few are as masterfully conceived and as lovingly detailed as Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti’s 1963 classic “The Leopard.” Gorgeously restored on Blu-Ray, this near-masterpiece was sliced and diced by Hollywood for American audiences, but is now presented in its original three-hour running time.

As one of the founders of Italian neorealism, Visconti is well known for his depictions of upper-class life, which are somewhat inspired by his own upbringing in one of Italy’s wealthiest families. Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s 1958 novel of “The Leopard,” published a few months after the author’s death, was an ideal fit for Visconti’s stylistic and thematic obsessions. The story centers on members of the Sicilian aristocracy during the Risorgimento (Italian unification) of the early 1860s. The aristocracy’s delicate...

Salma Hayek, an Academy Award nominee back in 2003 for Frida, attends the premiere of the restored Luchino Visconti classic The Leopard / Il gattopardo, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale. The event was held at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Annual International Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2010, in the south of France. Both Delon and Cardinale were present. (Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage.) Adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, from Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s novel, The Leopard (1963) also features Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Visconti was one of the [...]...

Kate Beckinsale shows up the premiere of the restored Luchino Visconti classic The Leopard / Il gattopardo, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale. The cinematic event was held at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Annual International Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2010, in the south of France. (Photo by Venturelli/WireImage.) The Leopard (1963) also features Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Both Delon and Cardinale were in attendance at the premiere. Adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, The Leopard is based on Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s classic novel. Among Luchino Visconti’s other film classics are [...]...

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, one of the greatest Bollywood stars, attends the premiere of Luchino Visconti’s restored classic The Leopard / Il gattopardo, a period drama starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale. The screening was held at the Palais des Festivals during the 2010 Cannes Film Festival on May 14. (Photo by Getty Images.) In addition to Lancaster, Delon, and Cardinale, The Leopard (1963) also features Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Both Delon and Cardinale were in attendance at the premiere. Adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, The Leopard is based on Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s [...]...

Martin Scorsese, Best Director Oscar winner for The Departed and ardent movie lover, attends the premiere of the restored Luchino Visconti classic The Leopard / Il gattopardo, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Claudia Cardinale. The event was held at the Palais des Festivals during the 2010 International Cannes Film Festival on May 14. (Photo by Getty Images/WireImage) The Leopard (1963), which some consider Visconti’s masterpiece, also features Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Both Delon and Cardinale were in attendance at the premiere. Adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, The Leopard is based on Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s [...]...

Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, and Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob (mostly hidden behind Delon’s outstretched arms) at the Il Gattopardo / The Leopard premiere held at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2010 on the French Riviera. (Photo by Venturelli/WireImage) Directed by Luchino Visconti, and adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, from Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s novel, The Leopard (1963) is considered one the greatest Visconti’s films. Also in the period drama’s cast: Burt Lancaster, Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Other Visconti efforts include Ossessione, Bellissima, Senso, Rocco [...]...

Claudia Cardinale arrives at the premiere of Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo / The Leopard, which was held at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2010. (Photo by Venturelli/WireImage) Adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, from Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s sprawling novel, The Leopard (1963) also featured Alain Delon (you can see part of him in the above photo), Burt Lancaster, Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Other Visconti efforts include Ossessione, Senso, Rocco and His Brothers (in which Cardinale has a small role), Sandra (starring Cardinale), Death in Venice, Conversation Piece, Ludwig, and [...]...

Anouchka Delon and Alain Delon — and Claudia Cardinale’s arm — attend the premiere of Luchino Visconti’s restored 1963 classic Il gattopardo / The Leopard at the Salla DeBussy during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2010 in Cannes, France. (Photo: Swarovski / WireImage.) Adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, from Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s novel, The Leopard is considered by some the greatest among Visconti’s films. Also in the cast: Burt Lancaster, Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Other Visconti efforts include Ossessione, Senso, Rocco and His Brothers, Death in Venice, Conversation Piece, and The Innocent. Click on the photo to [...]...

Anouchka Delon, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale attend the Il Gattopardo / The Leopard premiere held at the Palais des Festivals during the 2010 edition of the International Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2010 in Cannes, in the south of France. (Photo by Venturelli/WireImage) Directed by Luchino Visconti, and adapted by Visconti, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Enrico Medioli, and Massimo Franciosa, from Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa’s novel, The Leopard (1963) is considered one the greatest Visconti productions. In addition to Delon and Cardinale, Visconti’s sumptuous historical drama features Burt Lancaster, Paolo Stoppa, Romolo Valli, Pierre Clémenti, Terence Hill, and Giuliano Gemma. Among Visconti’s other film classics [...]...

The newly restored version of director Luchino Visconti’s "Il Gattopardo" debuted @ the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival, thanks to support from Gucci.

Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini was joined on the red carpet by the film’s original cast members Alain Delon ('Tancredi Falconeri') and Claudia Cardinale ('Angelica Sedara'), with producer/director Martin Scorsese, Founder and Chair of The Film Foundation, introducing the film.

"Il Gattopardo" first screened @ Cannes in 1963, winning the festival's top award, the 'Palme d'Or'.

With Gucci's support, the film has undergone an extensive 4K digital restoration at Sony’s Colorworks Digital Facility through a partnership of Cineteca di Bologna, L'Immagine Ritrovata, The Film Foundation, Pathé, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé, Twentieth Century Fox, and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia-Cineteca Nazionale.

"Il Gattopardo" (The Leopard), based on the novel by author Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, was first released March 1963, directed by Visconti, produced by Goffredo Lombardo/Pietro Notarianni...