Lost in La Mancha (2002)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Directors:

Keith Fulton
Louis Pepe

Writers:

Release Date:

2 August 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

They've got a story...but have lost the plot.

Plot:

Fulton and Pepe's 2000 documentary captures Terry Gilliam's attempt to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote off the ground. Back injuries, freakish storms, and more zoom in to sabotage the project (which has never been resurrected).

Plot Keywords:

Don Quixote | Storm | Film Making | Flood | Airplane

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Tony Grisoni	...	Himself - Co-Writer
Philip A. Patterson	...	Himself - First Assistant Director (as Phil Patterson)
René Cleitman	...	Himself - Producer
Terry Gilliam	...	Himself - Writer & Director
Nicola Pecorini	...	Himself - Director of Photography
José Luis Escolar	...	Himself - Line Producer
Bárbara Pérez-Solero	...	Herself - Ass't. Set Decorator
Benjamín Fernández	...	Himself - Production Designer (as Benjamin Fernandez)
Andrea Calderwood	...	Herself - Former Head of Production, Pathé
Ray Cooper	...	Himself - Longtime Gilliam Colleague
Gabriella Pescucci	...	Herself - Costume Designer
Carlo Poggioli	...	Himself - Co-Costume Designer
Bernard Bouix	...	Himself - Executive Producer
Fred Millstein	...	Himself - Completion Guarantor
Jeff Bridges	...	Narrator (voice)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

93 min | Canada:89 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:89 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Zurich) | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Czech Republic:12 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Bardenas Reales, Navarra, Spain

Company:

Quixote Films

Trivia:

Originally, this film was going to be a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the film to be included on the DVD. When the project was abandoned, the producers of this documentary decided to release it as a document of the production's failure.

Quotes:

[Upon watching a screen test of the giants]
Terry Gilliam: That's our trailer, right there!

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

This Film Is No More! This is an Ex-Film!

"Lost in LaMancha" is a fascinatingly brilliant documentary about the aborted film project "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" and the problems faced by its writer/director Terry Gilliam. The two documentarians who followed Gilliam's "Twelve Monkeys" to produce "The Hamster Factor And Other Tales Of Twelve Monkeys" have done the same again here only this time there is no film to complement the documentary.

Gilliam is no stranger to controversy. Books, made for dvd documentaries and now this feature have been produced about his troubles in the tv and film industry. He has been labeled as a director who goes over budget though in this case the weather, the noise of overhead fighter planes and an ailing lead actor all come together to halt filming.

Gilliam's "The Fisher King" co-star Jeff Bridges narrates the doco which details pre-production through to its troubled shoot. "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" was to be the most expensive independently produced film in Europe with an international cast including Johnny Depp. Filming only lasted about a week before the insurance company closed down production. The insurance company now own Gilliam and Tony Grisoni's screenplay plus the surviving footage from the shoot.

People believe that the story of "The Man Of LaMancha" is cursed and the documentary mentions in minor detail another troubled genius, Orson Welles, and his unfinished Don Quixote project.

There has been other documentaries of this type such as "Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" about the lengthy production of Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" but in the case of this film there is no happy ending. No cultural masterpiece that rises from a problematic shoot. This film is the cinematic equivalent of a train wreak. You know things are going to get ugly but you can't take your eyes off it. You have to admire Gilliam for signing off on this doco. It's a constant reminder of a time in his life wasted with nothing to show for it. It's terribly depressing but the crew's sense of humor and commitment to the project shine through.

If you're a fan of Gilliam's or interested in film production then this entertaining documentary is for you.