*** Welcome to piglix ***

Man of La Mancha (film)

Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha film poster.jpg
Directed by Arthur Hiller
Produced by Arthur Hiller
Saul Chaplin
Alberto Grimaldi
Screenplay by Dale Wasserman
Based on Don Quixote de la Mancha
by Miguel de Cervantes
Starring Peter O'Toole
Sophia Loren
James Coco
Harry Andrews
John Castle
Ian Richardson
Music by Mitch Leigh (musical)
Laurence Rosenthal (incidental music)
Cinematography Giuseppe Rotunno
Edited by Robert C. Jones
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • December 11, 1972 (1972-12-11) (New York City)
  • September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08) (Italy)
Running time
132 minutes
Country United States
Italy
Language English
Budget $12 million

Man of La Mancha is a 1972 film adaptation of the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. The musical was suggested by the classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, but more directly based on Wasserman's 1959 non-musical television play, I, Don Quixote, which combines a semi-fictional episode from the life of Cervantes with scenes from his novel.

The film was financed by an Italian production company, Produzioni Europee Associates, and shot in Rome. However, it is entirely in English, and all of its principal actors except for Sophia Loren are either British or American. (Gino Conforti, who plays the Barber, is an American of Italian descent.) The film was released by United Artists. It is known in Italy as L'Uomo della Mancha.

The film was produced and directed by Arthur Hiller, and stars Peter O'Toole as both Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote, James Coco as both Cervantes' manservant and Don Quixote's "squire" Sancho Panza, and Sophia Loren as scullery maid and prostitute Aldonza, whom the delusional Don Quixote idolizes as Dulcinea. Gillian Lynne, who later choreographed Cats, staged the choreography for the film (including the fight scenes).


...
Wikipedia

...