Posted on 03/15/2025 10:08:51 AM PDT by buwaya
THE only real film production of Don Quixote YET, in spite of many attempts over decades. Which should be telling as to the difficulty of the task. That said -
This is sprightly, true to the protagonists exuberant madness, and does yield much of the intricate structure of fantasy, irony and hypocrisy of the original. A taste only, as the real thing is...more, much more. But one will have to crack the book for that. Lacking that, this is much better than anyone has a right to expect. The songs really do reflect the ethic of the original and are great fun.
The theme of sentimentality, the love interest, etc., btw, does not exist in the original. That is Hollywood.
Possibly the best role Peter O'Toole ever had. The rest of the cast ain't bad.
The conceit used to frame this all is clever, of a play within a play produced in prison, though it smacks of a bien-pensant excuse for, well, approving of seventeenth century Spain, in this oh-so modern world. Cervantes himself had no problems with it. His real complaints (or comments really) were against human nature, and he would have given his 20th century audience a few lumps!
To dream, the impossible dream...
I liked the film and most of the music.
I like that line by Sancho “Yes, I hit her back, your grace; but she is much harder than I am. And you know what they say, whether the stone hits the pitcher or the pitcher hits the stone, it’s going to bad for the pitcher.”
I saw a stage production about 30 years ago with Raul Julia as Don Quiote. It was great.
Little known fact: Man of LaMancha is a one-act play.
In high school I played Sancho Panza in said play!
Cervantes was a galley slave on a Muslim ship, he knew something about human nature.
So very true.Required reading traditional H.S. curriculum (when Latin was required as well-which served for a lifetime in aiding English language spelling and learning other Romance languages. Made much easier).
One has to know the Don Quixote classic, in order to understand other major literary creations.
And in film there is a satirical movie (Graham Greene- no fan of the faith fairly certain) titled: “Monsignor Quixote”. put on by BBC (who else but anti-Catholic). Starring Alec Guinness small town Spanish priest elevated to Monsignor by chance helping of a stranded Papal legate (Ian Richardson), the Marxist defeated mayor of El Toboso in La Mancha who tours post Franco Spain with the elevated priest as his “Sancho” in their little auto “Rocinante”.
The dialogue in the film on Catholicism vs. Communism is extremely sharp and well done—requires knowledge and focus to keep up with the sharp differences. Not a light play— the ending is incredibly emotional.
Would recommend it— the good days of BBC’s “Great Performances”. Free on youtub iirc.
Oops- left out— Leo Mckern who plays the dedicated anti-Franco Communist loser of the last El Toboso mayoral election who travels as the “Sancho” to the Monsignor Quixote.
An emotional production— sharply written and played. The current day El Toboso has tourist guided locations of the tilm in the real provinces of La Mancha (Manchego no doubt a very fine Spanish sheep cheese).
Will look, thanks!
In re La Mancha and cheese -
Manchego is a DOP, or protected trademark for a form of sheeps cheese. Like the French appellations. However very similar (identical really) is THE Spanish basic cheese, seen on darn near all tapas and etc., made anywhere but La Mancha. Think cheddar in Britain.
The Peter O'Toole movie is one of my favorites, and one that I watch at least once a year.
"Life, as it is."
I have lived for over 40 years and I've seen "life, as it is": pain, misery, cruelty.
I've heard all of the voices of God's noblest creature: moans from bundles of filth in the streets.
I've been a soldier and a slave.
I've seen my comrades fall in battle or die more slowly under the lash in Africa.
I've held them in their last moments; these were men who saw "life, as it is".
But they died despairing. No glory. No bray of last words. Only their eyes filled with confusion, questioning "Why?"
I do not think they were asking why they were dying, but why they had ever been born.
Life itself seems lunatic. Who knows where madness lies?
Perhaps to be too practical is madness.
To surrender dreams, this may be madness;
To seek treasure where there is only trash.
Too much sanity may be madness.
But maddest of all, to see "life, as it is" and not as it should be!
(Courtesy of "Man of La Mancha")
I think people’s perception of history would be better if it was known how many famous white people were slaves, just knowing that ‘Amazing Grace’ was written by an ex-slave would make people think about life and history, as would them knowing that Saint Patrick was a slave.
Don Quixote. I have read it twice. Well worth a read but lo-o-ng. Cervantes must have gotten paid by the word.
I remember a lot about the musical Man of La Mancha. Several TV plots were written about it.
A made-for-TV movie with Rex Harrison in which I can find no listing of, yet I still remember it.
BONANZA in which a crazy man thinks he is a knight.
HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL in which a crazy man thinks he is a knight.
Found it! Made for TV Don Quixote. I knew I wasn’t “loosing it.”
THE ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE 1973 Rex Harrison - directed by Alvin Rakoff - novel by Cervantes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Eyg75eSzRE
Originally it was quite reasonable!
It quickly became so vastly popular on publication of the First Part that there was soon a tide of what we would call fanfic, so Cervantes felt obliged to fill out “the rest of the story” to preclude these opportunists. At some length. As you see.
Wasn’t there a cartoon made?
One of the worst movies of all time. Love the musical but the movie was hideous.
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