Historical epics like Lawrence of Arabia, Gandhi, and Cleopatra tell us stories about people who changed history. Others--what I call passive epics--concentrate on people whose worlds are changed by the history happening around them. Gone With the Wind, Ben-Hur, and Dr. Zhivago fit into this category. Luchino Visconti's 1963 film The Leopard takes this passivity … Continue reading The Leopard at the Castro