I always wondered about the high reputation of this film - a really rich family realises the world is passing on... Is that the stuff of grand cinema? It's epic and stately and deals with the passing of time. It was like The Magnificent Ambersons I guess. You can feel its influence on The Godfather films with its rich tapestry of period detail, family scenes, country rituals.
It's extremely well made - you can feel the love and care and detail. The acting is beautiful - it took a while for me to get used to Burt Lancaster being dubbed but he has the gravitas the part needs, he has weight and can act... at the end his face is very moving.
I'm just not sure I cared. Lancaster inherited his position. People get where they are because of nature and God as opposed to what they actually do. I guess Alain Delon and Terence Hill at least fight in the army.
Claudia Cardinale is stunningly beautiful as the daughter of the nouve riche though Visconti packs the film with more beautiful young men - Alain Delon, Terence Hill and that random relative who gets all these close ups.
It's stately and beautiful and all that. I absolutely recognise its quality -the big screen, the period recreation, the battles, the ball. I'm just not sure it was for me.
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