Don Quixote

I wasnt surprised of John Lithgow's brilliant performance in this movie, because just as I heard that he's starring I understood right away that he'd be a perfect Don Quixote. There is a TINY little bit of Dick Solomon in him, if you pay close attention, you might notice it, and I think that's why the directors invited him for this role. Bob Hoskins is also a perfect Sancho, the whole character of his here (as well as Lithgow's) is as it was classically presented to us in books and pictures. Although he has a thick british accent, although he has no problems changing it, he speaks with it through the movie which is kind of unusual for a spanish man. :) Anyway, Mr. Lithgow, if youre reading this, I want you to know that youre the most perfect Don Quixote Ive ever seen on the movie screen!

Alonso Quixano eats dinner with the Mayor once a month, walks to church once a week and is shaved by the barber every other day. He longs for more than this and it is his love for the tales of knights and adventures that sees him rename himself as Don Quixote and set out with sidekick Sancho Panza, to whom he has promised an island. Promising his love to the beautiful maid Aldonza (who he has renamed Dulchinea), Quixote sets out for four years of adventure, to spread his fame and prove himself worthy of the hand of Dulchinea.

I wasn't sure quite to expect from this film. Primary in my thoughts was the fact that the source material is one of those things that is difficult to bring to film – and indeed I have recently seen the documentary on Gilliam's failed attempt to do so. That this was a TVM with a cast more famous recently for their television work, a director whose best work is behind him and a writer famous for Rumpole of the Bailey. All this conspired to suggest that what I would watch would be little more than a very slight romp for everyone involved in the south of Spain. To some degree this is true but I actually enjoyed the film more than I expected.

Which is not the same as saying it is brilliant (as many have done here). Rather I found the film to be too long and deliberate, which did rather leave the material exposed as wanting. At its core I did find that the world of fantasy and aspiration around Quixote was pretty engaging for stretches of the film but it frustrated me the way that it seemed in no rush to really go anywhere. Had it had more depth and complexity in the characters then this might have been worth it, but as it was it left too much to the actors and didn't really bring up people beyond the obvious narrative development thereof. This was a shame because the performances were actually pretty good and deserved more to work with. Lithgow is the best example of what I mean. He gets the mix of madness and hope just right, producing a figure that is fun and engaging at the same time. However without the material to work with, he is left working as hard as he can but superficially – nothing wrong with that in itself but as the time runs on it does wear thin. Hoskins is similar – he is fun but his one-note turn does run out of steam with a lot of the film left to go. Rossellini and Williams are not that great and sort of drift around the edges, with the rest of the support doing so-so work.

The direction is solid if not spectacular – perhaps showing a lack of imagination across the material as he tends to go for the easy effect when it comes. The use of southern Spain is a good choice and does give the film a sense of place that helps cover up for other faults. Overall then this was better than I expected but still not a great telling. It lacks complexity and plays a straight bat throughout – which becomes more and more of a problem as the overly-long running time exposes the weaknesses.

Though ideal for a family audience, the tale is perhaps too slow to entice most young people today. No car chases. No sex. No unwarranted violence. It takes place in Spain at the end of an era where noble thoughts and deeds were rewarded instead of scoffed. It will bore the less cultured, who may find it laughable. Still, anyone not presented this story, especially in the way it is told here, is cheated. It is worth the experience, and I beg you to give it a chance to steal your heart as it did mine. Don Quixote 2000 is filled with humor and soul; a rare gem in today's violent and amoral cinema.

Yes I know this was made for television. Still, it should be seen as a work of art, and a presentation of wondrous acting. It cannot be put in the same category with reruns of Starsky and Hutch. This version of Don Quixote has the makings of a classic.

Of the many retellings of this story, this latest version for the new millennium is perhaps the most heartfelt and moving. The casting is extraordinary. John Lithgow was born for this role. He has repeatedly proven himself worthy for the part of a man of noble virtue and undying spirit, with eyes simultaneously clouded by dreams and crystalized in truth. Lithgow has proven himself worthy of the role of a man seen mad by those around him, while showing the audience he is more sane in what his heart and mind reveal. From Garp to Solomon, every day of learning for this actor has been working up to this performance, and he is still a powerful talent showing no signs of waning.

This is not an easy role to perform. It takes someone with both Shakespearean and modern experience in acting. For it is very easy to present this character two-dimensionally as a madman, and to do so cheapens the role and the audience, as well as the actor. Lithgow rises to this challenge superbly. The tale of Don Quixote is not a tale of a mad man. It is the tale of a man crawling in a desert of mediocrity. His disillusionment is like that of a man crawling through a landscape of sand, reaching for mirages just at the horizon. He craves the sustenance of chivalry and adventure just as a man dying of thirst craves for water. He has drunk the glory of the library, and his mind seeks more adventure than can be found between the covers of a book. THIS is what the actor must reveal to his audience for this role to breathe true life. Quixote thirsts for knowledge, history, and rebirth of humanity, and prays to God that it be found in each one of us. This is the tale of the Last True Renaissance Man. Lithgow presents Quixote to us like a rare jewel in a golden crown, placed delicately upon a velvet pillow. He kneels before us and begs us to take the crown, and revel in the grandness and sadness of this most noble soul. His eyes! Lithgow's performance is so real and filled with emotion, humor, and wisdom. His eyes twinkle and awe at the true majesty of life and thought. We insult his honor as an actor and a gentleman were we to turn away.

Hoskins is by contrast equally well-cast in his role as a simple man of simple ways and means, who falls into the disillusionment of Quixote's world. He does so willingly, and perhaps for the first time in all presentations of this story, we see a performance that does not put into question why Sancho tarries along with this alleged madman. He does so for the hope of a reward, but in the end he does so for the love and friendship of a comrade. For this role it would have been easy for Hoskins to coast and not show us more than the surface, but like Lithgow, Hoskins is an actor of rare breed. Seeing these two great talents working together is a cherished experience, not to be missed.

The tale is always a painful one to experience, because we all long for a fulfillment of our dreams. Quixote does not listen to the naysayers surrounding them. He takes the bull by the horns, and stares down windmills in a way that we all wish we had to courage to share.

It is slow. The pacing of this film is the weak link. The cinematography is point and click. The special effects revealing what Quixote sees are often unnecessary, and the apparent limitations of financial budgeting to the visual and auditory aspects of the presentation make it less than it could have been. However, this allows us to revel in the performance of the leads and supporting cast, which is where the true magic of this production lay. I have seen this story told with more exuberance and energy, but never have I seen it told so lovingly, like a mother wiping the sweat from a fevered baby's face. I strongly recommend this for family viewing. In a world where children's fare is rare to find, even the most conservative and religious among society could find no fault in this film.

This is a visually sumptuous film which treats its central characters with a gentle quirky humour that never completely destroys their dignity and humanity.It is an almost impossible task to reduce Cervantes classic novel to film, but I doubt if there will be a better attempt. The success is primarily due to the outstanding performances of John Lithgow as the Don and Bob Hoskins as Pancho Sanza and John Mortimer's script. Lithgow's Don has a dignified strength which balances his over active imagination while Hoskins tongue in cheek interpretation owes much to the human weaknesses that so many of us share.It took a little while for the film to gain pace but as compensation this adult production had an imaginative energy that brought to mind Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and a Midsummer Night's Dream-it was indeed a good "Knight's" entertainment!Not for the action film addict but willingly suspend your disbelief and connive with its reality as the Duke eventually did and you will certainly enjoy.

Who would have thought John Lithgow would make such a great Don Quixote? He and the rest of the cast of this TV version are simply amazing. One of the best all-around jobs of acting by a cast I've seen in any movie. Plus, its the #2 selling story of all time after the Bible- can only get 1 better than that. All that said, there are some flaws in this TV version that are rather annoying. The most annoying of which is the "Ride off to the Sun" scene. I thought the way it was produced was completely wrong. And while the movie in general had good effects, that part's effects stunk. Also, the movie moves very slow at times. I gave it a 6/10, but without that one major mistake it would probably be about an 8.