[2] It stars Burt Lancaster, Helmut Berger, Silvana Mangano, and Romolo Valli; with cameo appearances by Claudia Cardinale and Dominique Sanda.

Konrad's past as a gigolo and as a leftist radical in the protests of 1968 who then slipped into drugs, is alluded to—a sharp contrast to the Professor's former completely different life that had been shaped by an upper-class upbringing and the experiences of World War II.

The Professor invites the Countess, Konrad, Lietta, and Stefano to a dinner, at which he calls them his "new family" and at the same time expresses satisfaction that they have brought liveliness to his measured life with their move-in.

The English film title is a nod to Praz's book Conversation Pieces: A Survey of the Informal Group Portrait in Europe and America.

Few, if any, would regard this as his masterpiece, but Conversation Piece is still a fascinating slice of cinema from a master filmmaker, and though minor by his standards, I’d much rather watch it than anything currently showing at my local multiplex.

"[7] A reviewer for Time Out London stated: "If the dolce vita-style intrusion is given distinctly Jacqueline Susann-like overtones by the rather dissociated dialogue in the English language version, Conversation Piece nevertheless comes across as a visually rich and resonant mystery, far more fluid and sympathetic than Death in Venice.

"[8] A reviewer for Variety wrote: "Conversation Piece eschews the usually operatic, museum-like pix of Luchino Visconti for a touching tale of the generation gap and the loss of life-contact of an intellectual.

"[9] James Evans of Starburst gave the movie eight points out of ten, noting: "As he approached the twilight of his career, Burt Lancaster had made the switch from youthful action star to subtle character acting and that’s in clear evidence here in his sad-eyed, melancholic performance.

"[10] Adrian Turner of Radio Times gave the film three stars out of five, adding: "All the usual Visconti themes—the collision of cultures, the clash between old and new, the imminence of death—are covered in his customary opulent fashion.

"[11] Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, writing: "Mr. Lancaster, fine old professional that he is, is awful, adopting that humble, Birdman of Alcatraz manner he uses when employed in what he apparently thinks is serious movie-making.

Conversation Piece is the kind of fatuous film that the professionally pragmatic Burt Lancaster, the action movie hero, would snort at and leave in the middle of.