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Don Quixote

Play trailer Poster for Don Quixote 1957 1h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 39% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
In the 17th century, an aging Spanish nobleman (Nikolai Cherkasov) becomes so caught up in novels of chivalry that he convinces himself he is knight-errant Don Quixote. Riding forth to carry out noble deeds, with the dimwitted peasant Sancho Panzo (Yuriy Tolubeyev) as his squire, Don Quixote is thought crazy due to his passion to do good. When the old man fights wine bags, windmills and a herd of sheep, believing them to be enemies, a duke summons him to provide entertainment at his own expense.

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 03/11/2013
This assemblage of Welles's footage by Jess Franco, from 1992, is crude, gappy, and slapdash, but it hardly matters: the pathos of Welles's thinly veiled self-portrait is almost unbearable. Go to Full Review
Todd McCarthy Variety 04/06/2007
[The] result is a travesty that will please no one, least of all Welles enthusiasts. Go to Full Review
Quentin Curtis Independent on Sunday 12/01/2017
The film is an essay on Spain, and also an essay on Welles. Welles shared the Don's magniloquence, boundless self-esteem, ruinous generosity, romantic illusions and moral fervour. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Parallax View 08/19/2008
[Jess] Franco's version is not even an approximation, never mind a reconstruction.... But even as a visual record of Welles' raw footage it's a travesty. Go to Full Review
Shane Burridge rec.arts.movies.reviews 04/01/2004
The least of Welles' features, but just as intriguing as his major works Go to Full Review
Phil Hall Film Threat 12/08/2002
4/5
Long-delayed reconstruction of Welles' unfinished Cervantes project. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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09/25/2018 This film is underrated. The current print provides more than a hint of how Welles' would have rendered the story. Welles directing is mischievous. It is possible to argue that the editing is flawed; however, the use of Welles recorded dialog (where it exists) demonstrates good faith. Equally, the quality of the print and dubbing detract from the film and suggest that a remastering (and re-dubbing) is long overdue. Whether the assembly is true to Welles intention is debatable; however, the film provides a useful insight into Welles other unfinished film - 'The Other Side of The Wind'. In fact, the themes Welles explores in his Don Quixote seem to be reflected in this later film that was completed in 2018. This is a film worth preserving. See more 10/05/2015 Yes, the film is a mess but it is an interesting mess. The actor playing Don Quixote certainly looks the part. Besides that, there are some nice shots but nothing complete, no unity. I would recommend it only to those who have read Don Quixote, love film, and can set their expectations lower. See more 10/13/2010 Wonderful classic fantasy. See more 09/29/2010 This movie is an oddity. Welles' unfinished movie sees Don Quixote and Sancho Panchez traversing the Spanish countryside (fighting windmills, of course) but then walking into 1950s' Spain, meeting people and running into Pamplona's running of the bulls. The staging is uneven (unrehearsed, some may say) but the filming of the main character (with the camera looking up to him in a medium shot, and the sky as background) is cleverly done. The two main actors are a delight to watch, but with the film hard to grasp and rambling, we'll never know how Welles would have wanted this movie to be. See more 08/28/2010 (***): Thumbs Up Interesting but only for cinema fanatics who want to see a glimpse into what Welles was trying to make (this movie was cut and put together after his death). Not great but I didn't mind seeing it. See more 08/25/2010 I had to stop watching this. I admit, I didn?t finish this movie. From what I saw, it gets the half-star review. It is a bad mashup that looks like someone took a home video and edited it together with a staged production from an old home video camera and dubbed over it. None of the genius that Orson Wells had in his films is present. It?s a bad use of his name. If I took home footage from a Kubrick, Scorsese or either Kurosawa and took any of their movies and talked over an edit of them, that would be this movie. Do not watch this unless you want to stare at a car wreck, but not a spectacular kind, just a fender bender where all parties are gone. See more Read all reviews
Don Quixote

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the 17th century, an aging Spanish nobleman (Nikolai Cherkasov) becomes so caught up in novels of chivalry that he convinces himself he is knight-errant Don Quixote. Riding forth to carry out noble deeds, with the dimwitted peasant Sancho Panzo (Yuriy Tolubeyev) as his squire, Don Quixote is thought crazy due to his passion to do good. When the old man fights wine bags, windmills and a herd of sheep, believing them to be enemies, a duke summons him to provide entertainment at his own expense.
Director
Grigori Kozintsev
Screenwriter
Evgeniy Shvarts
Production Co
Lenfilm Studio
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 9, 2017
Runtime
1h 40m