Lost In La Mancha [DVD] [2002]

Lost in La Mancha is not so much a "making of", more an "unmaking of" documentary which follows director Terry Gilliam through eight weeks of pre-production, six days of filming and finally the aftermath as his long planned feature The Man Who Killed Don Quixote falls apart. Documentarians Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe--the team who produced the excellent feature-length The Hamster Factor about Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys--reveal a tragi-comedy about the director's struggle to bring to life another of his wondrous stories of madness and sanity, fantasy and reality. Unfortunately Gilliam's take on Spanish classic Don Quixote is mirrored all too closely by reality, as everything goes wrong, from noise-ridden locations to flash-flooding to a seriously ill star, Jean Rochefort. Gilliam goes from boyish enthusiasm to bad tempered frustration to near despair, the victim of circumstances beyond his control which turn a cherished dream into a farcical nightmare. Meanwhile, we get glimpses of what could have been and are left hoping that someday, somehow, Gilliam will realise his remarkable vision. --Gary S Dalkin

This DVD has no subtitles.

New interview with Terry Gilliam
New interviews with Johnny Depp
10 deleted scenes
2 alternative openings
6 video portraits
Storyboard material from The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Costume design material from The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Terry Gilliam's full storyboards, including the puppet, giants and windmill scenes
Additional auditions and rehearsal material
Extra crew interviews
2 Alternative openings
Theatrical trailer

Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (The Hamster Factor and Other Stories), Lost in La Mancha documents the tragic and collapse of Terry Gilliam's epic $32 million feature film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which was to have starred Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis and Jean Rochefort. This critically acclaimed documentary - heralded as the first "unmaking" of a feature film - premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was selected to play at San Sebastian. It has also received nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and European Film Awards.

When filming began on Gilliam's Don Quixote in September 2000, the production had already suffered ten years of development, a series of producers and two false starts. Lost In La Mancha tells the tale of this ill-fated production, beset by difficulties from day one, including electrical thunderstorms and unbelievably, a main film location that was being used as target practice for deafening F16s. The project finally disintegrated after just 6 days of actual filming under the strain of Jean Rochefort's illness and his inability to continue working.

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), WIDESCREEN, SPECIAL FEATURES: Alternative Footage, Biographies, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, LOST IN LA MANCHA documents Terry Gilliam's disaster-prone attempt to make THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE, a film largely based on the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The movie first encounters difficulties in its preproduction stage, starting with an uncomfortably small European-funded budget. Then Gilliam must wait for the lead actors, Johnny Depp and French actor Jean Rochefort, to show up on location in Spain. When Depp and Rochefort finally arrive, shooting commences, but within the first few days a torrential rainstorm hits the set, washing away much of the equipment and significantly altering the dry desert landscape. And to make matters much worse, Rochefort, who plays the central role of Don Quixote, falls ill and returns to Paris for medical treatment. As the days of the Quixote-less production go by, tensions among the crew members increase and Gilliam faces the frustratingly real prospect of scrapping the film.
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, British Independent Film Awards, European Film Awards, ...Lost In La Mancha