Lost in La Mancha (2002)

Terry Gilliam's doomed attempt to get his film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), off the ground.

Directors:

Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe

Stars:

Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Jeff Bridges

2 wins & 11 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:

low budget filmmaking | don quixote | filmmaker | actor | director | 

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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

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:

£42,824 (United Kingdom), 4 August 2002, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$63,303, 2 February 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$734,514, 22 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

On June 4, 2017, Terry Gilliam announced that production of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote had finally wrapped. A few days later, he posted on Facebook that he had accidentally deleted the film.

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Quotes

[watching a screen test of the giants - three hefty topless Spanish men running in slow motion]
Terry Gilliam: [giggling] That's the trailer for the film, right there. "Coming soon"!

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

Although the U.S. home video version has a listed running time of 93 minutes, the version on the tape runs only 89 minutes.

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Connections

References A Trip to the Moon (1902)

User Reviews

A good proof of Murphy's laws

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong… But to start at the beginning. There was finally something in the cinemas from the background of movie-making, about how the movies are made and what are the costs. They were high in this case… It was really fascinating to see the project falling apart so quickly. I think it would have been a wonderful movie if made, proof of this are all former Gilliam's works. But I also think that there could have been more about the movie itself (not just the catastrophes) like storyboards, and definitely more about the plot. Because at least I would rather hear Gilliam talking about the plot than hear him saying f*** for the umpteenth time. I just think that little bit more details would have been fine. But maybe Gilliam didn't say more on purpose, maybe he still wants to make the movie so he keeps it secret yet. We'll see. But if he ever does make it, I'll make sure not to miss it.