Directed by Luchino Visconti
An underappreciated masterpiece from the mature Luchino Visconti, Conversation Piece stars Burt Lancaster as a retired art historian settling into a life of virtual seclusion in a picturesque Roman palazzo. His self-imposed solitude, however, is swiftly disrupted by the intrusion of unruly new neighbors—namely Silvana Mangano, as an imperious upper-crust matron, and Visconti mainstay Helmut Berger, glamorously sullen as the conflicted left-wing lover Mangano installs in the apartment above Lancaster's.
Screenwriters: L. Visconti, Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Enrico Medioli. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Helmut Berger, Claudia Marsani, Silvana Mangano.
35mm, color, in Italian with English subtitles, 126 min
Print Courtesy of Cinecitta Luce
