Playwright Miguel de Cervantes (O'Toole) and his assistant Sancho (Coco) are thrown into jail and set to face the Inquisition. The other prisoners, led by the Governor (Andrews) take all of their possessions, except a manuscript, which they intend to burn. Cervantes asks the prisoners to allow him to defend himself, and the manuscript, before they pass judgement. They agree, and Cervantes weaves the tale of Don Quixote, using the other prisoners to help act out the story.
Alsonso Quijana (O'Toole) is an eldery man, who lost touch with reality and thinks he is knight named Don Quixote. With his neighbor Sancho (Coco) as a squire, Quixote battles dragons disguised as windmills. After a difficult battle, they seek refuge at an inn, which Quixote sees as a castle. At the inn, Quixote becomes enchanted with a serving girl / prostitute Aldonza (Loren). He calls her Dulcinea, and vows to fight for her name.
Meanwhile, his family is concerned with how Quixote behavior affects them. His niece, Antonia (Gregg), worries about her future and her fiance, Sanson Carrasco (Castle), worries about marrying into a crazy family. But in the end, they take the advice of the Padre (Richardson), and decide to play along.
The musical version of the 1959 play I, Don Quixote, which is based on Miguel de Cervantes novel Don Quixote. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1965 and garnered Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Actor (Richard Kiley), Best Direction, Best Score and Best Scenic Design. With the show a huge success, Hollywood decided to adapt the show to film. Despite an incredible show and score, and and excellent Broadway cast, the film doesn't live up to the hype.
The first problem: casting non singers in the lead roles. Peter O'Toole is an excellent actor, and makes Cervantes / Quixote well-defined characters, he is no singer and his voice was dubbed. Then they cast actress Sophia Loren... which required alterations to all of Aldonza's songs. According to IMDb.com, some of the issues with the casting came from having multiple production teams with different visions for the end film: one wanted to eliminate most of the songs and have a non-singing cast, while the other team planned to keep the songs and cast singing actors (including some of the Broadway cast). The result is watered down version of the show, that works... but doesn't come close to it's potential.
The songs are disappointing... check out the songs from the Original Broadway Cast and any of the 4 Broadway revivals. The leads are good actors, so you feel the emotions... but the songs just aren't strong enough. The film isn't bad, it's just disappointing after you see or hear any live (or Broadway) version of the show.
The story is interesting... with a nice mix of humor and serious, heartbreaking moments. I want to find the novel to see how much of the dialogue is taken from the story.
Man of La Mancha (1972) 132 minutes
Director: Arthur Hiller
Starring: Peter O'Toole as Miguel de Cervantes / Alonso Quijana / Don Quixote de La Mancha
Sophia Loren as Aldonza / Dulcinea
James Coco as Sancho Panza
Harry Andrews as the Governor / the Innkeeper
John Castle as The Duke / Sanson Carrasco
Brian Blessed as Pedro
Ian Richardson as the Padre
Julie Gregg as Antonia Quijana
Rosalie Crutchley as the Housekeeper
Gino Conforti as the Barber
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