Man of La Mancha (1972)

Simply A Masterpiece

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Like the poster tamrath, I sign up for defender of this film. No, it's not brilliant, but visually it's a treat. I never saw the Broadway version, but I do have the CD of the soundtrack. Voice-wise, Peter O'Toole (or whoever daubed him, if he was daubed) is no Richard Kiley. But his acting makes up for that, as usual. And if there ever was an actor who most resembles the description of Quijote that Cervantes made I have yet to see.As for Sophia Loren, it's true, she cannot sing. Or at least, not in the key she was made to sing in the film. But IMHO, she is scarcely worse than Joan Diener's shrill, metallic, over-the-top, almost demented Broadway rendition, which never fails to grate on my nerves. And again, from the physical point of view, she is the embodiment f what I always thought Aldonza would look like. Her acting is also excellent for Loren is always at her best when she portrays peasants and lower-class women.James Coco's rendition of Sancho is acting-wise flawless, but from the standpoint of voice it elicits the same comparison as the Loren-Diener: after Irving Jacobson's high-pitched rendition, Coco's sounds sort of lusterless.The rest of the cast is OK. Ian Richardson gives us a terrific cynical/ironic/pious Padre, a bit on the lines of his House of Cards Urquhart.So again, the film is not brilliant. But until a better version comes along (and I rather doubt it, given the "revised" politically correct-sanctioned trash that the entertainment industry has made a habit of inflicting on us) I very happily settle for this.

Musical rendition upon the best literary work ever written that stands in a unique position between medieval chivalric romance and the modern novel . This ¨Man of La Mancha¨ adapted from the musical play , a hit Broadway , by Dale Wasserman , being compellingly directed by Arthur Hiller packs a nice cast such as Peter O'Toole , James Coco , Sofia Loren , Harry Andrews , John Castle , Brian Blessed , Ian Richardson and Rosalie Crutchley . Based on the classic novel written by Miguel De Cervantes , Don Quixote is considered one of the most influential works of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon and deemed to be one of the greatest novels in literature history . Miguel De Cervantes (Peter O'Toole) is framed by an issue allegedly from the thunderous life and is incarcerated by the Inquisition . Don Quixote (Peter O'Toole) is the crazy , aging nobleman who embarrasses his respectable family by his feats . It follows the adventures of a nameless Hidalgo who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry , undo wrongs , and bring justice to the world , under the name Don Quixote . To these ends, ¨Alonso Quixano¨ dons an old suit of armour , renames himself "Don Quixote", names his exhausted horse "Rocinante", and designates Aldonza Lorenzo (Sophia Loren) ,who is actually a downtrodden prostitute , as his lady love , renaming her Dulcinea del Toboso . Quijote , nearing fifty and some years of age , recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza (James Coco) , as his squire, who often employs a unique , earthy wit in dealing with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood . Adapted from the work of Miguel de Cervantes , we then follow Don Quixote on their adventures , his squire Sancho Panza and an old horse named Rocinante . On their journeys , they rescue dames in distress in honorable acts and fight giants among other perils , with Don longing to be with the love of his life , lady Dulcinea . Backed by his faithful sidekick Sancho Panza, he duels windmills and defends his perfect lady Dulcinea named Aldonza.This musical version of The Man of La Mancha starred by Peter O'Toole as Cervantes and Don Quixote giving nice acting . While Peter O'Toole was generally slated for his "singing" performance in the film, what many critics chose to overlook was the fact that this was not O'Toole's first musical ; indeed, his appearance in Herbert Ross' musical remake of Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) . This is the amazing and fun story of a Hidalgo , fanatic for chivalry novels , decides to go on imaginary adventures along with his friend , the simple farmer Sancho Panza , who becomes his squire . This enduring romantic adventure deals the enthusiast , passionate knight Don Quixote and it is paced in enjoyable as well as deliberate rhythm . The film is quite amusing with emphasis on spectacle and following freely the immortal novel scripted by MIguel De Cervantes Saavedra .At the picture occurs several known episodes , such as : when ¨the knight of sad countenance¨ arrives at an inn , which he believes to be a castle , as he calls the prostitute he meets ,"lady¨ : Sophia Loren ; Don Quixote's attack on windmills that he believes to be ferocious giants ; Don Quixote attacks 'the ¨knoght of the mirrors¨who actually results to be the Bachille Sanson Carrasco played by John Castle . Being stunningly photographed by excellent cameraman Giuseppe Rotunno and well produced by Alberto Grimaldi and Saul Chaplin . ¨The man of La Mancha¨ results to be another of uncountable versions dealing with the unforgettable novel ¨Don Quijote De La Mancha¨ by Miguel Cervantes y Saavedra and in which Quixote and Sancho take on numerous dangers and adventures . Other recounting about this notorious story are the followings : ¨Don Quixote¨ (1933) by G.W. Pabst with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. ; ¨Don Quijote De La Mancha¨ by Rafael Gil with Rafael Rivelles , Juan Calvo and Sara Montiel ; Don Kikhot (1957) Russian recounting by Grigori Kozintsev with Nikolai Cherkasov as Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quixano ; ¨Orson Welles's Don Quijote¨ with Akim Tamiroff ; ¨Don Quijote Cabalga De Nuevo¨ by Roberto Gabaldon with Cantinflas and Fernando Fernan Gomez ; and for American TV : ¨Don Quijote¨ by Peter Yates with John Lightgow and Bob Hoskins ; latterly : ¨Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha¨ (2015) by Dave Dorsey . Besides , Spanish series titled ¨El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes" (1991) TV series 1991-1992 by Manuel Gutierrez Aragon with Fernando Rey , Alfredo Landa , Aitiana Sanchez Gijon , Manuel Alexandre , among others . And for cartoon movie was made ¨Don Quijote De La Mancha¨ by Cruz Delgado and ¨Donkey Xote¨ (2007) by Jose Pozo .

Along with the plaudits and praise, MAN OF LA MANCHA is getting a lot of bad reviews here. The reason is clear.If you look at ANY work written for the stage that was transformed into a film, you're going to see exactly the same sort of wildly divergent opinions listed.IT'S BECAUSE WE'RE COMPARING APPLES AND ORANGES. TO THOSE WHO SAW A LIVE STAGE PERFORMANCE, NO CINEMATIC VERSION WILL EVER COMPARE FAVORABLY! At the same time... for those who never saw the work on stage, the film can and WILL stand on it's own merits.I'm of the generation that saw and emotionally connected with HAIR, and remember live performances well.HAIR was interactive. In the opening number, "Aquarius", the cast literally converged on the stage from all parts of the audience and theater.During the first act, protesters in the audience (actually cast members) disrupted the flow of the performance and interacted.In the closing number (FLESH FAILURES / LET THE SUNSHINE), the cast literally returned to it's origin, leaving the stage and mixing in with the audience.Over time, even the script itself evolved; periodically the worldwide casts received mimeographed sheets of changes to the script (sometimes, MAJOR changes to the story line).How could a movie version of HAIR ever hope to compare favorably with that? A film HAS to look inadequate by comparison, because we're looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the particular MEDIA EMPLOYED, and not the productions themselves.By comparison... the film version of HAIR looks pale and amateurish when placed beside the stage version. But in and of itself, the film isn't a bad representation of the script.Film versions of Broadway productions DO serve a valid and valuable purpose tho.Not every kid grows up in an urban area like New York City. Millions of youngsters never have the chance to attend a live symphony concert, an opera, or a Broadway play.A film or video version of a play can expose them great literature.I once saw a classroom full of high school freshmen in the north woods of extreme northern Wisconsin who were absolutely captivated and fascinated by a videotaped production of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN. I've seen live stage productions of it many times, and the video struck me as not nearly on a par with any of them... but these kids hadn't. The nearest theatrical company was over 300 miles away, so it was all new and unique to them.Maybe that videotape will, sometime down the road, inspire them to actually attend a live performance.MAN OF LA MANCHA has to be viewed in that same context. Take it for what it is... film making. Comparison with the Broadway stage is unfair and unproductive.

The material of Man of La Mancha is so perfect, not even bland direction and poorly staged musical numbers can ruin it. It remains completely watchable and entertaining.What peeves me is much of Aldonza's songs have been cut. Sophia Loren did well with the songs and she should have been allowed to sing the entire songs.Overall, this movie musical lacks the charm and sparkle of the big musicals that preceded it. It failed to match the box office success of Fiddler on the Roof (over 80 million dollars in grosses), Hello, Dolly! (38 million) and Camelot (over 35 million).While three musicals won several Oscar nominations, Man of La Mancha won just a couple. Yet I'm glad there's a film version of Man of Lamancha and this version, while not perfect is quite acceptable and far from the disaster critics say it is.