Man of La Mancha (1972)

Some things just shouldn't be filmed. I saw "Man of La Mancha" when it opened in 1965 at the ANTA Theater in New York. What made the show a hit was the inventive staging, in which the world of Don Quixote was created out of the imagination, making the whole experience reasonably magical. Film-wise, it made sense to open the story up and show real plains, horses, taverns and wenches, but at the same time there went the magic. It turns out that "Don Quixote" is not all that interesting, especially when told in such a plodding way and with such drab sets and costumes. When the knight of the woeful continence tilts at his first windmill and the intended humor falls flat, you know you're in for a long, dull show. A second salient point of the stage musical was the semi-operatic score, full of Spanish-sounding music that rose above the pedestrian lyrics and gave the show what little passion it has. Casting people who can barely sing in the starring roles was unwise. Peter O'Toole seems to sing some parts but is dubbed in others, and the effect is none too pleasing. Sophia Loren seems like obvious, perfect casting as Dulcinea, and she is amazingly beautiful, but sings in a low, tense voice that suggests nothing of inner fire. James Coco plays Sancho Panza in an awkward, sad and lifeless way. Coco started out as a star in "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers," and then his career sank as it became increasingly clear that his acting talents were limited. Lots of talents were used to no good purpose here.

Peter O'Toole made a minor splash several years before this when he appeared in the movie version of "Goodbye Mr. Chips". At least there, he had Petula Clark to take the audience's mind off his weak singing voice, managing to still garner an Oscar Nomination for that part. With "Man of La Mancha", he killed his movie musical career forever, but this movie also helped kill the movie musical altogether with the help of a few others.Nobody expected a musical about Don Quixote to become a smash hit on Broadway in the mid 1960's, but thanks to the moving production and a memorable hit tune ("The Impossible Dream"), the show ran for years with many major actors dying to step into the role. The movie version was greatly anticipated but even with some beautiful photography and an all-star cast, it was considered one of the greatest misfires of its time.Dramatically, the two stars seem perfect. O'Toole makes himself up to look every bit the old man chasing windmills, and Sophia Loren is sultry and bitter as the prostitute, Aldonza. But great stars aren't always magical in musicals, and neither of them are able to handle the score. Loren, as hard as she tries, hits a sour note trying to sing, and it is pretty embarrassing to watch her warble in a key that doesn't suit her. James Coco adds some humor to the role of Pancho and Harry Andrews, John Castle and Brian Blessed are also very good. But your eyes will be on the two stars, and like Lucy in "Mame", you just wish that the producers would have just relented and cast the leading roles with its original stars, in this case, Richard Kiley and Joan Diener.It comes fairly obvious to me that while there is certainly a well-meaning intention of getting the story on screen, the plot actually works better on stage. Having seen the recent Broadway version (with an outstanding Brian Stokes Mitchell) years after having seen this movie proved that what had disappointed me on screen (and did so again after I gave the film a second chance) really belonged beyond the footlights inside a theater where substance overshadowed style and the real impossible dream could be discovered.

This is one of the best musicals ever written! But did they cast ANYONE who could. Carry a tune? No! The Impossible Dream , a fabulous song , spoken? Really? Aldonza/Dulcineas songs . All but destroyed. The closest thing to a singer they had was James Coco? Really? They 'looked' the part ,so Dub them if you won't hire singers! They did it for Natalie Wood ,Deborah Kerr and Audrey Hepburn , so do it again . I hate when they destroy a musical, hello, Little Night Music, and it is then doomed forever? Man of La Mancha is a very difficult musical vocally. This is no easy operetta. This requires some true vocal chops to perform. But this movie decides that beautiful voices should take a back seat to Hollywood image. This needs to be redone, and done well. For the sake of the music and Cervantes. DO OVER,PLEASE.

Judging from the reviews here there are obviously two camps the reviews fall into- people who saw some production of the play on Broadway(as I did) and those who have not. The people who have are admittedly a little harsh on the film- i myself would never have actually watched more than twenty minutes of it had I not been recently been laid up for a week and a half in the hospital. I watched it to try and remember what it was about the story that I loved so much when I was young impressionable boy. While the film did allow me to recall what it was that grabbed me so long ago- it has a gigantic obvious flaw. I always felt that of all the musicals that benefited from the immediacy of the theater-La Mancha was at the top of my list. It was magical and otherworldly and yet I suspended my disbelief readily and was swept away by the story and songs. The films big flaw, to me, is that it's "flat" and never really comes alive- I can live with bad-dubbed singing or miscast performers- but a flat LaMancha makes for a hard recommend. The question then becomes: Is it better for someone not to ever see it at all if this is their only alternative? Very tough call. It might be best to wait for a new production- it depends on if you're the kind of person who can have an inferior production ruin a better one that awaits down the road. The people who have never seen this done well on stage don't know what they're missing- sadly. But it's not as tragic as Camelot the film with Richard Harris as compared to Camelot on-stage with Richard Burton- when I think of it I could actually weep- there is no way to rescue the play without him. Lamancha is a play best seen in person, I think.