Man of La Mancha

As one who is familiar with the works of Cervantes I must say that this particular representation is among if not the best of all.

Peter O'Toole leads an ensemble of many of the best actors, and actresses of the time. Among them that classical beauty Sophia Loren, who played Aldonza/Dulcenea to perfection.

O'Toole gives what I consider to be one of his best, if not the best performance of his life. His natural style captivates audiences, totally. I have seen few actors who can act so natural, and with such eloquence. His gift of oratory is quite remarkable.

The beautiful Loren with her natural acting style, and wit gives the character of Aldonza/Dulcenea the most justice any actress can give a role.

The rest of the cast, the priest, Quijana's niece, housekeeper, play the part of self centered people fooling themselves into "they're only thinking of his (Quijana/Quixote's) well being , to the infinite degree. Equally talented were the muleteers , Pedro the head muleteer was a real card.

The audience must take into consideration the fact that almost all the actors, and actresses were playing dual roles. This in an of itself is an credit to their acting abilities.

No commentary would be complete without mentioning the music. It ranks as one of my top ten soundtracks. I listen to some of the songs on an almost daily basis.

This film is superb.

Bringing big Broadway musicals to the screen has always posed tremendous problems for film makers. The results have by and large been unsatisfactory, with few exceptions. The late 60's brought us "Camelot", (67),"Hello Dolly" (69) and "Fiddler on the Roof" (71), all films adhering to the unquestioned rule that bigger is better, be it casts, sets and orchestrations. All three were overblown bores. Arthur Hiller's concept for "Man of La Mancha" is clearly the antithesis of what had become expected of the musical on film. He decided to use the film media not as a device for augmentation in a broad sense, but rather to focus in on the characters and bring them as close to the audience as possible using naturally many close-ups. They are the crux of the film; not massive sets, huge choruses or dazzling choreography. "Man of la Mancha" boasts two fine songs; the rest are pretty mediocre, which justifies Hiller's keeping the music as a device to serve the characters and not the other way around. From the very start with the credits appearing, the audience is geared up for one of those massively orchestrated rousing overtures. Yet, what we are offered is an underscored, almost chamber music style overture setting the tone for the entire film. The message as with chamber music is clear; the focus is on the content, not the trappings.

The critics by and large hated the film. Maltin in particular is uncharacteristically savage in his criticism. They simply were not prepared to accept an unorthodox approach to a huge Broadway success. While "Dolly", "Camelot" and "Fiddler" tend to be almost impossible viewing today, "Man of La Mancha" remains astonishingly fresh, very much vindicating Hiller's concept of this much maligned and misunderstood movie.

Being so focused on character, the films success would lie with its principal players. O'Toole gives a bravura performance, one of his finest, while Loren too, is perfect in her role. Sure the soundtrack is not one to listen to in the way one would a Broadway musical. But both O'Toole's and Loren's shaky vocals are in perfect sync with the fragility of their characters and hence very human and very moving. If more Broadway musicals had been brought to the screen with such a clear concept as was "La Mancha", the movie musical may have enjoyed far greater success.

I have a difficult time grading this film. I have always been prejudiced against films of stage productions. I just find that to take one medium and try to force it into another is artistically dishonest. And this movie is very much a play. But, a play/film with Peter O'Toole, arguably the best Shakespearian actor of his generation. So, if anyone can pull this off, it's O'Toole. His performance as the madman of La Mancha is riveting, and Loren is both beautiful and brilliant in this one. They both get a 10. I can't fathom why neither received an Oscar nomination for their work in Man of La Mancha. (If not for The Godfather, O'Toole would have won an Oscar the following year for The Ruling Class.) He never made a bad movie. So, this may be the only exception to my rule against cross-genre productions, and it rightfully should be considered a must-see Classic.

The users on this board seemed to concur that this was somehow a bad musical but I disagree. I'm really particular when it comes to people just bursting out into song for no apparent reason and this was one of those few times where I actually liked it. I've always enjoyed the Don Quixote story and this was a fantastic turnaround. I can see why some viewers say that the singing wasn't nearly as extraordinary as it was on Broadway but few film adaptations are. Besides the acting was stellar and it drew out extreme emotions of happiness, sorrow, or laughter out of me at times. Though dirty and ragged I found Sophia Lauren to still be beautiful and her body is absolutely perfect in every way I can fathom. Peter O'Toole was great as a crazy old man set forth on an unattainable quest for glory and at the end someone who had to once again face the harsh life of reality. For those of us who haven't seen it on the stage I feel it is a wonderful performance that was thoroughly enjoyable for persons of all ages that are looking to be whisked away by a tiny bit of magic! I'm positive that I'll have some of the songs stuck in my head for at least several days now.

Final Blaze:

Movies: I don't usually see musicals on the big screen.

DVD Purchase: If my budget ever increases to a more desirable level.

Rental: An awesome choice!

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. It saddens me that there are those out there who think this movie was horrible. How can you watch O'Toole give his speech: "Maddest of all: to see life as it is and not as it should be!" and not be brought to emotion? This movie is not exactly like the theater version. However, if you note who made the screenplay changes, the song changes, etc., it's the same men who worked on the play. There are some good songs cut out. And Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren are not the world's best singers. But this movie is brilliant. Coco is a wonderful Sancho, I love his voice and his expression. O'Toole is a fabulous actor and I felt like the prisoners in the end singing "The Impossible Dream." I own this movie. I encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to go get it and watch it. It has inspired me to try to do better in everything I do, and I often watch it and sing the songs to remind me to "see life as it should be." And if this movie needs a defender, I sign up for the job.