Luchino Visconti’s 1963 masterpiece “The Cheetah” has flourished through the decades. It has established itself as one of the director’s iconic films, in particular thanks to its ball sequence. Representative of the monumental means deployed, it is at the heart of this film that has blown away the greatest filmmakers.
Luchino Visconti’s Delusions of Grandeur
Cheetahthe unmissable success of Italian director Luchino Visconti, has inspired the greatest with its sublime. period costumes, majestic scenery and cosmopolitan cast give the film dating from 1963 all its letters of nobility. Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale share the poster there, in a Sicily distraught by riots and the decline of the aristocracy.
In this 19th century Italy, the revolt is just as present as the habits and customs of the nobles. Thereby, Cheetah offers us great battle scenes as well as ballroom scenes. The shooting, which lasted seven months – putting in passing Alain Delon late for the filming of Melody in the basement – required monumental means. One hundred and fifty decorators worked on the film, accompanied by numerous hairdressers, make-up artists and florists, as mentioned in Telerama.
A mythical ball scene
The film ends with an iconic sequence, taking almost one third of the three hour film. Shot in a real Italian building (the palace of Gangi), this finale impresses with its majesty, and for good reason. Partly lit by candles – specifically composed of purified fatty acid so as not to melt under the spotlights – the sequence required forty nights of filming to achieve.
Like the rest of the film, the director’s desire for authenticity resulted in the use of period furniture. Like Barry Lyndon (1975) by Stanley Kubrick, entirely shot by candlelight, great ambitions seem to make great films…
It is for this hard work that the film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1963. He also received theOscar for Best Costumes the following year, justly deserved after the use of the three hundred suits for the final sequence. Cheetah knew how to inspire many directors after him, including Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.
