Lost in La Mancha (2002)

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).

Directors:

Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe

Stars:

Tony Grisoni, Terry Gilliam, Jeff Bridges

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Director Terry Gilliam is the latest filmmaker to try and bring Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra's "Don Quixote de la Mancha" to the big screen, the movie to be called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Before filming even begins, Gilliam, who has moved from Hollywood studio to European financing, will have to scale back his vision as his budget has been slashed from $40 million to $32 million, still astronomical by European standards. But Gilliam is a dreamer, much like his title character, and his vision for the movie is uncompromising, meaning with the reduced budget that there is no margin for error and that some of his department heads may have to achieve miracles with their allotted moneys. During pre-production and actual filming, what Gilliam does not foresee is contractual and health issues with his actors, and the effects of Mother Nature. The question is does Gilliam have a Plan B if/when things go wrong.

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Plot Keywords:

don quixote | filmmaker | storm | director | actor | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official page Official site [us]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

2 August 2002 (UK)

Also Known As:

Don Kihotis horis telos...

Filming Locations:

Monasterio de Piedra, Nuévalos, Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$63,303 (USA) (31 January 2003)

Gross:

$34,514 (USA) (20 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quixote Films, Low Key Productions, Eastcroft Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fulton and Pepe embarked on their second feature about director Terry Gilliam intending to make a television documentary about the development and pre-production of Gilliam's long-awaited passion project. Having intimate knowledge of Gilliam's chaotic working methods, they knew they were in for something dramatic. But they had no idea that the story would develop into its own quixotic tragedy. After the failure of Gilliam's production, Fulton and Pepe were wary of finishing their film. Gilliam assured them that "someone has to get a film out of this. I guess it's going to be you."

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Quotes

Terry Gilliam: At least if we're going to be fucked, let's know we're fucked ahead of time.

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Crazy Credits

Special Thanks to The Cast and Crew of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote"

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Connections

References Brazil (1985)

User Reviews

This is one of the saddest, most painful films I've ever seen.

I thought I had it bad on the set of my little student film in college.

Whew!

Watching this documentary was very difficult and very interesting at the same time. I enjoyed it, despite the tragedy that played out on the screen.

What makes the film so heartbreaking is that you know that the film will inevitably fail. So the entire movie-watching experience is steeped in dramatic irony. We, the viewers, know the outcome of this ill-fated film project known as "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote." But the filmmakers themselves, at the time of the filming, obviously do not know that all their actions are essentially in vain.

A great film, and a powerful warning to those who thinking making movies is easy.