Il gattopardo
"Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure"
Director: Luchino Visconti
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli
The Leopard — Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Se vogliamo che tutto rimanga come è, bisogna che tutto cambi.
Context
Spoken by Tancredi to his uncle while shaving, explaining why he is joining the rebels.
Meaning
"If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change." This is the film's central thesis. It encapsulates the strategy of the aristocracy: to accept superficial political revolution (unification) to maintain their underlying social dominance.
Noi fummo i Gattopardi, i Leoni; quelli che ci sostituiranno saranno gli sciacalletti, le iene; e tutti quanti gattopardi, sciacalli e pecore, continueremo a crederci il sale della terra.
Context
The Prince speaking to the Piedmontese official, Chevalley, refusing a seat in the new Senate.
Meaning
"We were the Leopards, the Lions; those who'll take our place will be little jackals, hyenas; and the whole lot of us, Leopards, jackals, and sheep, we'll all go on thinking ourselves the salt of the earth." A prophetic lament about the decline of greatness and the rise of mediocrity.
L'amore? Fuoco e fiamme per un anno, cenere per trenta.
Context
Spoken during a conversation with Father Pirrone.
Meaning
"Love? Fire and flames for a year, ashes for thirty." Reflects the Prince's cynicism regarding romantic love and his own passionless marriage.
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