Cinematography:
Louis PepeComposer:
Miriam CutlerCast:
Tony Grisoni, Terry Gilliam, Jean Rochefort, Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis, Christopher Eccleston, Bill Paterson, Miranda Richardson, Nicola Pecorini (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, LOST IN LA MANCHA documents Terry Gilliam's disaster-prone attempt to make THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE, a film largely based on the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The movie first encounters difficulties in its preproduction stage, starting with an uncomfortably small European-funded budget. Then Gilliam must wait for the lead actors, Johnny Depp and French actor Jean Rochefort, to show up on location in Spain. When Depp and Rochefort finally arrive, shooting commences, but within the first few days a torrential rainstorm hits the set, washing away much of the equipment and significantly altering the dry desert landscape. And to make matters much worse, Rochefort, who plays the central role of Don Quixote, falls ill and returns to Paris for medical treatment. As the days of the Quixote-less production go by, tensions among the crew members increase and Gilliam faces the frustratingly real prospect of scrapping the film. LOST IN LA MANCHA provides a fascinating look into both the mind and the method of maverick director Terry Gilliam. No stranger to film production problems (most notably with BRAZIL and THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN), Gilliam sets out to make DON QUIXOTE with imagination and determination that echoes the noble delusions of its title character. As in the story, however, fantasy finds a fierce opponent in the form of reality, and Gilliam and his crew must decide what to do with a production that seemed jinxed from the start. The fly-on-the-wall footage, candidly captured by Fulton and Pepe, makes for an intriguing film within a film that combines behind-the-scenes frustration and heartbreak with genuinely funny moments. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Tony Grisoni
UK
Terry Gilliam
USA
Best movies:
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) (theatrical recording)
Life of Brian (1979)
Not the Messiah: He's a Very Naughty Boy (2010) (theatrical recording)
Jean Rochefort
France
Best movies:
My Mother's Castle (1990)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) (series)
I Sent a Letter to My Love (1980)
Johnny Depp
USA
Best movies:
Platoon (1986)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Vanessa Paradis
France
Best movies:
Girl on the Bridge (1999)
Café de Flore (2011)
Elisa (1995)
Christopher Eccleston
UK
Best movies:
The Others (2001)
Young Woman and the Sea (2024)
Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989) (series)
Bill Paterson
UK
Best movies:
Hilary and Jackie (1998)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Chaplin (1992)
Miranda Richardson
UK
Best movies:
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Crying Game (1992)
The Hours (2002)
René Cleitman
France
Jeff Bridges (narrator)
USA
Best movies:
K-PAX (2001)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
José Luis Escolar
Spain