As Garibaldi's troops begin the unification of Italy in the 1860s, an aristocratic Sicilian family grudgingly adapts to the sweeping social changes undermining their way of life.
Cinematography
Every frame is a painting—literally, Visconti planned them that way.
Direction
The ballroom sequence: cinema's most exquisite funeral for a way of life.
Costume
200 costumes, all historically accurate, all dripping with doomed grandeur.
Director
Luchino Visconti
Burt Lancaster
Prince Fabrizio Corbera of Salina
Claudia Cardinale
Angelica Sedara / Bastiana
Alain Delon
Tancredi Falconeri
Paolo Stoppa
Don Calogero Sedara
Rina Morelli
Princess Maria Stella Corbera of Salina
Romolo Valli
Father Pirrone
Terence Hill
Count Cavriaghi
Pierre Clémenti
Francesco Paolo
Lucilla Morlacchi
Concetta Corbera
Giuliano Gemma
Garibaldi's General
Ida Galli
Carolina
Ottavia Piccolo
Caterina
Brook Fuller
Little Prince
Anna Maria Bottini
Mademoiselle Dombreuil, the Governess
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lancaster made his Italian debut here and learned his lines phonetically; Visconti initially wanted Laurence Olivier.
The novel was banned by the Vatican and Fascists alike—Visconti's adaptation became a touchstone for Italy confronting its own aristocratic nostalgia.
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