Don Quichotte (I) (1933)

The French version of G.W.Pabst's monumental three-language (English, French and German - separate versions each) filming of Cervantes' classic novel. The German version seems to be lost, ... See full summary »

Director:

Georg Wilhelm Pabst

Writers:

Alexandre Arnoux (dialogue), Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (novel),

Stars:

Feodor Chaliapin Sr., Dorville, René Donnio

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Feodor Chaliapin Sr.	...	Don Quichotte
Dorville	...	Sancho Panza
René Donnio	...	Carrasco (as Donnio)
Renée Valliers	...	Dulcinée
Mady Berry	...	Sancho Panza's Wife
Mireille Balin	...	The Niece
Jean de Limur	...	The Duke
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Gypsy King (as Wladimir Sokoloff)
Charles Martinelli	...	The Chief of Police
Arlette Marchal	...	The Duchess
Genica Athanasiou	...	The maid
Léon Larive	...	Innkeeper
Pierre Labry	...	Innkeeper
Louis Mafer	...	(as Mafer)
Charles Léger

Storyline

The French version of G.W.Pabst's monumental three-language (English, French and German - separate versions each) filming of Cervantes' classic novel. The German version seems to be lost, but it is spoken of in three books, "The Film Till Now", and two of Pauline Kael's books of movie criticism.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

France UK

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 November 1935 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Dom Quixote

Filming Locations:

Haute-Provence, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nelson Film, Vandor Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Alternate-language version of Adventures of Don Quixote (1933)

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Soundtracks

"Chanson du départ"
Music by Jacques Ibert
Sung by Feodor Chaliapin Sr.

User Reviews

Great film with a touching ending, superb music and a brilliant Chaliapin

Don Quichotte is quite simply a great film, that has a lot going for it. I saw the film in all three of its versions, and while all three of them are well done on their own terms, the French one I feel is the most effective, but the English lyrics are wonderfully poetic. The only real problem is that some scenes are a little jumpy and perhaps the film is a little too short, but other than that it is fine. Being a fan of the great Russian bass Chaliapin and a lover of the legendary story by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, I wanted to see Don Quichotte after seeing a part of it featured on the outstanding documentary The Art of Singing:Golden Voices of the 20th Century, and after finally seeing the film I was not disappointed.

The visuals here are stunning, with some truly effective framing scenes and the effects of light and shade. The scenery and costumes are also really authentic and don't look fake. The music is absolutely superb, the score is a gem, and the lyrics are simply wonderful. The dialogue is very good, as is the direction and staging. The ending is very effective, beautiful and touching, the story is very coherent and the performances are really good. Chaliapin practically becomes Don Quichotte here, I do agree that his French is marginally better than his English and I do prefer his Boris(where he practically is the Russian tsar), but he has a towering presence and a robust singing voice. Dorville, Rene Donnio, Renee Valliers and Jean de Limur all give great supporting turns, but it is Chaliapin's show all the way.

Overall, this is a great underrated film with many good things about it. 9/10 Bethany Cox