Cardinale starred with Burt Lancaster in The Leopard, a 1963 epic historical drama about the turbulent times in Italy during the 19th century. When a film is called "epic," it means it's really long.
When director Luchino Visconti hit the stopwatch after the credits, it read 3:25. That's hours and minutes, by the way. He said, "Whoops," or whatever whoops is in Italian, and trimmed ten minutes off. Like that made a big difference. I mean, there's a 46-minute ballroom dancing scene! Oof, madone!
Every time someone takes control of the reels of this movie, another ten minutes disappears, like witness protection. I think it's down below three hours now. Don't let that cable sports channel get hold of it. They condense Dodger games down to an hour. Come to think of it, trimming a Dodger game so the bullpen doesn't appear is not a bad idea.
Well, so it's a long movie. That means all the more time we get to look at Claudia Cardinale, so I'm not complaining. I hear that some people really like the way Burt Lancaster looks, too.
If it doesn't seem like you've been sitting down for three damn hours, it may be because the film is so damn beautiful to look at. One of our more enlightened TFH gurus said, "Every frame is a painting." At least not one of those paintings with eyes that follow you around the room.
The Leopard is set in Sicily, so you can probably guess where my wine pairing is headed. About a year ago I had the pleasure of sipping the 2020 Regaleali Lamùri Nero d'Avola, made from Sicilian grapes, dark and powerful, for just $16.
1968's Once Upon a Time in the West was directed by the great Sergio Leone. Not only do we get Claudia Cardinale here, we also get a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. Finest kind.
Uh oh, another epic movie. It's more like epic-lite. The Italian version of this one clocked in at nearly three hours, but the American release was just over two hours. There's probably no intermission, so let's all go to the snack bar before we take our seats.
The wine pairing for Once Upon comes from the wild west of Italy. At least the wild northwest. Riva Leone's Barbaresco has its Nebbiolo roots in Piedmont. Retail: $25.
It would be great if 8 ½ was the middle part of Federico Fellini's Numbers Trilogy, the one between 8 and 9, wouldn't it? But I'm not allowed to just make up stuff here. Who am I, Il Presidente?
The film was shown at Cannes in 1963 to what is described as "almost universal acclaim." Almost? I guess he got screwed by the fascist judge.
Fellini used this film as a mirror, albeit a sort of funhouse mirror. It's a movie about making a movie, but the movie they're making is the one you're watching. Always remember, if you want people to think you're a genius, make yourself as incomprehensible as possible.
Varvaglione 12 e Mezzo Primitivo Salento, a bright red wine from Puglia, the sun-soaked heel of Italy's boot. Twelve e mezzo is Italimerican for 12 ½, which makes it the biggest stretch yet for a wine and movie pairing in this space. But records are made to be broken. Drink it, dream it, get lost in it. It's a $15 trip.
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