Lost in La Mancha (2002)

one last chance to raise money

This film is, basically, about an effort to raise money. In that the film failed, literally due to circumstances beyond the film maker's control, doesn't alter the fact that the film failed in production. The lead actor, playing the elderly Don Quixote, simply is too old and broken to carry the film to completion. In that the initial scenes are of this particular actor, the film simply doesn't have the money to start over again. Tragic, really, because a great film about the tragicomic Don Quixote is long in coming.

Anyway, the film failed and, in my humble opinion, 'Lost' is truly lost and is an awkward and embarassing effort to raise a few more Euros. Although Gilliam's final 'Don Quixote' may have been fascinating, this documentary of its failure simply isn't.

Nevertheless, I wish Gilliam well and hope he can raise the funds to make an even better film of the fabulous mad man, El Hombre de la Mancha.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico August 20, 2008

Dreams washed away ...

Yes, Lost in La Mancha is the documentary that you've heard about and seen snippets of on TLC and IFC late at night. It's the film that chronicles the misadventure of Terry Gilliam and his crew trying to reclaim ground over one of the most seemingly cursed film projects in cinema history.

Lost in La Mancha was supposed to be the big budget film that was going to showcase Johnny Depp, who, during the documentary says that he supports his friend, but very wisely keeps the whole production at arms length. This was probably the vehicle Depp wanted to launch himself into blockbuster-dom, but would have to wait for Pirates a few years later. But, no worries, I'm sure Johnny will manage just fine without Terry Gilliam.

What the viewer does learn from all of this is that terry Gilliam isn't the flamboyant hack that everyone in the movie business tries to make him out to be, but a serious and dedicated filmmaker who has an incredible and very intense vision of the world in which he tries to bring to life through a community process called filmmaking. It does seems a bit strange regarding Gilliam's string of really bad luck that follows him from pillar to post, especially with the recent death of heart-throb Heath Ledger.

While the documentary isn't that long at all and will end just as you're heavily intertwined within the story, you're left searching the DVD for extras and more information, which is probably how it should be. February 25, 2008

The 'Burden' of Terry Gilliam's Quixotic Dreams.

This film reminds me of Les Blank's Burden of Dreams, a documentary about the many hardships director Werner Herzog encountered in making Fitzcarraldo. Many directors have tried to adapt Don Quixote to film, and at least several (Orsen Welles, for example) have lost their shirts in the process. Lost in La Mancha is a documentary (narrated by Jeff Bridges) about Terry Gilliam's very own failed Quixotic quest in filming The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a movie adaptation of the novel. As Gilliam (known for Brazil, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys) soon discovered, the episodic adventures of Don Quixote and his dim-witted squire, Sancho Panza, do not translate easily into film. Gilliam's film was to be set in Spain, and French actor Jean Rochefort was to play Don Quixote, Johnny Depp was to play Toby Grisoni (a Hollywood marketing executive, whom Quixote mistakes for Panza), and Vanessa Paradis (Depp's real life partner) was to play Toby's love interest. On their first day of filming, Gilliam's crew discovered their outdoor location was beneath a NATO jet flight path and near a target range. On the second day of shooting, their set was destroyed by a flash flood and hail of almost Biblical proportions. Several days later, Rochefort suffered a herniated disc, leaving him unable to mount his horse. This plague of problems ended the production, resulting in a $15 million insurance claim. As a result, Gilliam's Quixotic vision as a filmmaker only became further overshadowed by his reputation for being a financially out-of-control director. Both Herzog and Gilliam are true film geniuses. Just as Burden of Dreams offers Herzog fans a fascinating window into his work as a director, Lost in La Mancha reveals the behind-the-scenes "Burden" of Terry Gilliam's own dreams as a Quixotic director.

G. Merritt January 17, 2008

If anything could go wrong,IT DID!

LOST IN LA MANCHA is a rare look at the production team's struggles to bring Cervantes' THE MAN OF LA MANCHA starring Johnny Depp to the silver screen.EVERYTHING GOES WRONG! Knowing people in the film industry, I realize that this kind of scenario happens over and over;weather cancels days of shooting,sickness ensues,mechanical and technical devices malfunction,scripts need to be rewritten and plans need to be scrubbed and be taken back to the drawing board.This is is a very interesting,but quite specific documentary that may have very limited appeal.If you open your minds, though,it easily expresses the proverb:"Even the best laid plans can go array".Recommended as a curiosity viewing on the realistic workings of the film industry. October 2, 2007

Required viewing for every project manager

I loved this film because it really takes you behind the scenes of how a movie is really made, if a normal film is just half as hard as this than any movie that makes the screen is a miracle.

I wanted to send Terry Gilliam a sympathy letter and contribution, he's rich enough so I just sent the letter.

Movie production is really the epitome of project management, you deal with supply chain issues, site allocation, resource banding, timelines...THEN THE ECCENTRICITIES OF THE ARTISTS !

September 16, 2007

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