David Weir

Luchino Visconti's The Leopard (Il Gattopardo, 1963) tells the story of an aristocratic Sicilian family adjusting to the realities of political and commercial modernity after the unification of Italy during the Risorgimento. The film, starring Claudia Cardinale, Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon, met with success upon its initial release, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and having a successful theatrical...

Ernst Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise (1932) was released at a critical moment in cinema history, just after the advent of synchronised sound technology and just before the full implementation of the production code. By the time of its release, Lubitsch had already directed more than 50 films, but it was unlike anything he had done before. Aside from being his...