Burt Lancaster was 61 at this time and 11 years earlier he had been in The Leopard. Luchino Visconti after a stroke in 1972 he had to direct by sitting in a wheelchair. It is great that both should have been so good and interesting character's in such very difficult situations. The property is having the ceiling falling in, where an atmosphere of incest fear pervades of brothers with and sister, fight and sex with each others and their mother who seems impossible. Although Lancaster also loves the life and it seems that he had been all his time as every thing he can control and then wonders if it is more interesting.

From disrespect without size, from total inelegance, apart from the unreasonable aggression of the gigolo, drug addict and leftist, and the jet set fell on the floor, that renovation in a (centenary) property that was extremely unpleasant... However, what follows is exquisite, a beautiful ménage à trois, poetic even, in the final rites a debate that is valid for every film, social criticism, social inequalities, and politics, questioning Franco's tyranny, a melancholic and exquisite outcome, adorable... "The character of the teacher played by Burt Lancaster is openly inspired by the figure of Mario Praz." "The role of Marquise Bianca Brumonti was initially proposed by the director to Audrey Hepburn, who refused to declare that she did not want to link her name to a murky and immoral role like that." "People get married to form a family, and divorce to get rid of it. - And get married again. - No! To be free."

Possibly due to illness of director Luchino Visconti, but Conversation Piece no way is up there with other of his work that I've seen like The Leopard, The Damned, and Death In Venice. It was interesting to learn how star Burt Lancaster's contract called for him to step in and direct if Visconti wasn't up to it.

Lancaster plays an American classics professor, retired living a well ordered existence among paintings and books and other such Conversation Pieces. But his palazzo which looks like a museum has a big upkeep and he's hammerlocked into renting his top floor to a rather course and vulgar widow Silvana Mangano and her daughter Claudia Marsini. Marsini comes along with boyfriend Stefano Patrizzi and Mangano has tagging along after her boy toy Helmut Berger.

The subject of Conversation Piece is decadence, a topic that Visconti loved to make movies about. Still those other films I cited really showed it well. Conversation Piece was aptly named as what we did in a beautiful setting is talk about it.

Helmut Berger has the most interesting part and he springs quite a surprise on Lancaster toward the end of the film.

Conversation Piece is a beautifully photographed film, but quite static.