Conversation Piece(1977)

Name: Conversation Piece
Director: Luchino Visconti
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: Jan 23, 2026
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Helmut Berger, Silvana Mangano, Claudia Marsani

Kino Lorber

R
2h 1m
- Drama
- Romance

Release Date: Jan 23, 2026

A reclusive retired professor is faced with confronting modernity when a group of vulgar youths led by an obnoxious marchesa take up residence in his unused upper residence.

Official Website

Note: Distributed by Raro/Minerva in association with Kino Lorber

Release Details

2025 Re-release | Jan 23, 2026 | Limited

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$3,568
Total US & Canada:
$22,678
Total International
$11,751
Total Worldwide:
$34,429

Current Showtimes

orround

Wed Sep 2
Thu Sep 3
Fri Sep 4
Sat Sep 5
Sun Sep 6
Mon Sep 7
Tue Sep 8

Director & Top Cast

Luchino Visconti
Director

Burt Lancaster
Il Professore

Helmut Berger
Konrad Huebel

Silvana Mangano
Marchesa Bianca Brumonti

Claudia Marsani
Lietta Brumonti

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Mono

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: Italy, France

Language: Italian,English

Summaries

Plot Summary

A 60-ish American art collector and former scientist (the Professor) lives beautifully and alone in Rome but his life is radically disrupted when the wife of a rightist industralist, the Marchesa Brumonti, her young lover, Konrad, teen-aged daughter, Lietta and her daughter's boyfriend, Stefano lease the upper apartment of the luxurious palazzo he has inherited from his Italian mother. Against his judgment, the Professor becomes involved in the affairs of these distasteful strangers who begin to hold a strange fascination for him. The Marchesa is beautifully dressed and coiffed, but her behavior is loud and vulgar. Konrad describes a leftist activist past in contrast to his degenerate present which may involve drug dealing. Lietta and Stefano are sexually precocious, and they are all very stylish. They encroach more and more upon the Professor's privacy and thoughts until they become like the family he wants to disown but can't because they are his kin. The Professor's memories of his mother and wife intervene and his art collection and bedside reading hold clues to the violent psycho-drama that ensues. The sumptuous interiors are ravishing.

Storyline

A retired American professor lives a solitary life in a luxurious palazzo in Rome when he is confronted by a vulgar Italian marchesa and her companions (her lover, her daughter, and the daughter's boyfriend) and forced to rent them an apartment on the upper floor of his palazzo. From this point his tenants' machinations turn his quiet routine into chaos and everybody's lives take unexpected but inevitable turns. — Alex Asp