Adventure. The film adaptation of the novel of the same name by the Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes, which the author of this review read with great interest, therefore he became interested in this film adaptation, and since he is familiar with the book source, he will evaluate the film adaptation with the book. But not only is this picture famous for its release year and country of origin, but also for the fact that the role of Don Quixote is played here by a real chameleon of Soviet cinema and the best actor on planet Earth, Nikolai Konstantinovich Cherkasov (this was one of his last roles both on screen and in life), so pass by the author of this review. I couldn't. And here is a brief opinion - The best film adaptation about the Knight of the Sad Image. There are no flaws in the picture, so you should focus on the merits of this masterpiece of Soviet cinema, and therefore you should finish this important introduction.
So, here they are:
1. The scenario - picture, as the name suggests, will tell and show us the adventures of Don Quixote, who, after reading chivalric novels, decided to become a knight errant himself, and his faithful squire Sancho Panza, who complements his master well, commenting caustically on the events taking place, and he often finds himself beaten along with his master, since they don't care about knights errant, like Trump cares about greatness, that is, in no way! Despite the fact that it is impossible to reflect all the events of the novel in the picture, so the creators focused on only a few important events (rearranging some of them altogether), which greatly influenced the fate of our characters. The ending is practically the same as the book ending. But in general, the picture gives the most vivid picture of Don Quixote. One can even say more - Soviet cinematographers even ennobled the book Don Quixote, giving him an even greater touch of tragedy than Cervantes himself did.
2. The personality of Don Quixote - in this picture, his tragedy was enhanced, because not only representatives of the aristocracy, but also ordinary people laugh at his ideals, for both of them our Don Quixote is just crazy. Although nothing compares to the joke in the duke's castle on Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Although there are more details in the book, in the picture it was done briefly and very cruelly towards the characters. Of course, the social commentary (very typical of Soviet cinema) has not gone away, but it is very relevant and appropriate. At the same time, madness was removed from Don Quixote, but he had this character trait. There is no remorse in the finale, only regret for missed opportunities. Many reasonable dialogues and monologues from the book have been removed, it is especially sad that Don Quixote's instruction to Sancho Panza was removed before assuming the governorship.
3. Reworking the key events of the novel - we were shown several key events, some were mentioned in the conversation, and some were simply not even mentioned. The scene with the mill takes place after the duke's castle, but it should be at the beginning, the events with the convicts had far-reaching consequences, there is no final repentance of Don Quixote, the Bachelor did not confess his deception to Don Quixote, and there are many things not. It's just that this is a film adaptation of the novel, but not verbatim, so you should definitely read the original source, but the film adaptation is beautiful, although not quite perfect.
4. Costumes and decorations - the Crimea was the setting, because its climate resembles hot Spain, and the costumes are just great. You'll immediately recognize the fashion of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
A little bit about the main characters:
1. Don Quixote, performed by Nikolai Cherkasov, is a kind hidalgo who fancies himself the last knight errant and performs feats for which he often gets bumps and mutilations. The last romantic of a bygone era. These words perfectly characterize both Don Quixote and Nikolai Konstantinovich himself, who brilliantly got used to the image of the hero. It just needs to be seen. Bravo! And a long standing ovation to the great actor!
2. Sancho Panza, played by Yuri Tolubeyev- is Don Quixote's cheerful squire, a sharp-witted peasant who hisses with sayings like a cornucopia. It complements the image of Don Quixote in many ways. He has been beaten more than once and has been rewarded for his service more than once. Yuri Vladimirovich also fit perfectly into the role of Sancho. Bravo! And a long standing ovation to the actor
Besides them, Bruno Freundlich, Lidia Vertinskaya, Galina Volchek, Georgy Vitsin and many others played here. All of them have earned recognition for this work.
This film, without fooling around, is the best film adaptation of the immortal novel about the last romantic knight errant Don Quixote of La Mancha, directed by the talented Soviet director Grigory Kozintsev, based on the script by the famous Soviet playwright Evgeny Schwartz, and played by the legends of Soviet cinema. It's sad that almost no one knows about this film adaptation, and with this review, the author would like to remind you about it and once again advise you to read the immortal novel (which is a million times better than the book about Schweik). This is not just a book - it is a vivid statement about the chivalric era, which had long since disappeared into history by the time of Miguel Cervantes' life, but this does not mean that it should be forgotten.
A 10 out of 10 rating and a recommendation for viewing!
