Editorial Review:Amazon.com:It's hard to imagine a finer Don Quixote than Peter O'Toole, who's spent most of his career with a slightly mad, dreaming look in his marvelous eyes. O'Toole's suitability for the role is tested by the Broadway treatment of
Man of La Mancha, the film version of the hit stage musical. Everybody knows 'The Impossible Dream,' that indomitable hymn to, well, quixotic questing, and it is indeed the best of the Spanish-inflected songs. Despite the location shooting in Italy,
Love Story director Arthur Hiller can't elude the stagey concept (in which Cervantes, imprisoned by the Inquisition, acts out the tale of Don Quixote for his fellow prisoners). James Coco, as Sancho Panza, is overshadowed by the film's irresistible Dulcinea: Sophia Loren, at her mature peak. (Her singing, alas, is not as ripe as her beautiful self.) If you love Cervantes for his earthy ironies, this movie will seem a curious slice of inspirational shtick.
--Robert Horton
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Excellent movie, very enjoyable.
I love the storyline, the acting, and all. It is a wonderful movie for people of all ages.
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Man of La Mancha by Peter O'Toole
It was okay. I was expecting more action. I fell asleep on some parts of the movie.
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A Classic...sort of...
A fine representation of the Broadway musical on film, but not a great film. It's no "Fiddler on the Roof". The sets are obviously on a sound stage, and the choreography is predictable, frequently "Mickey Mousing" the words.
But I think the thing that bothered me most is, since the film was produced in England, the characters (who are supposed to be Spanish) all pronounce the author's name "Sir-VAN-tees" (van like the thing you drive in), instead of even trying to say it with a Spanish pronunciation. It totally defeats the illusion of the acting.
I used this film in conjunction with my class' discussion of "Don Quixote" by Cervantes, and they enjoyed it and said it clarified the tale a bit for them.
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As good today as so many years ago.
I really like being able to get just about anything on DVD. This classic is a good example. Now if they'd just put "No Highway in the Sky" on DVD I'd be a happy camper-but I'm on the wait list.
I highly recommend this DVD. It brings back poignant memories for me of a time in my life when I was dreaming an impossible dream but she said no. I never forgot the song or the lyrics since they seemed so appropos. Thanks Amazon for making this DVD easy to buy and easy to afford. Darn,don't you all just love Amazon.com!
"To be better far than you are....." etc.
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Stage comes to life for the rest of us
Seems that Miguel de Cervantes (Peter O'Toole) was caught performing a politically unhealthy play during the time of the Spanish inquisition. So he gets tossed in a dungeon to await trial. There he is put on trial by the others also awaiting their trial. They threaten to burn his manuscript. He explains his story by putting on a play that involves the people listening. It is the story of Alonso Quijana who in a fever becomes a great knight (Don Quixote de la Mancha); he seeks adventure and the "impossible dream."
It is the nature of plays that when preformed one tries to get the best stage actors. In film they strive for the best know movie actors. This movie has accomplished the feat. Each actor brings the character that he/she is playing alive and just as in the movie when they transit from telling the story to being the story, we go from watching the movie to being the story. The music will stay with you long after the movie has finished.
Lawrence of Arabia (Single Disc Edition)