Skip to main content

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Trailer Released After Almost 20 Years

By April 6, 2018Adaptations, News, Video

Don Quixote is one of the most famous books ever written and is widely considered to be one of the most important works of Western literature and one of the earliest canonical novels. It comes as no surprise that Don Quixote has inspired and influenced countless works of art that have followed it, though none as infamous as Terry Gilliam’s ill-fated film adaptation.

Best known for directing films such as Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as well as being a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python, Terry Gilliam first attempted to film his version of Don Quixote almost 20 years ago back in 1998. Numerous attempts to get the project off the ground all resulted in failure and the film has become synonymous among movie fans with the idea of ‘development hell’.

Over the past 19 years, Gilliam has attempted to shoot the film over eight times but every time the project has met significant issues from sets being destroyed by bad weather, lack of insurance, and actors pulling out due to illness. Since the film’s inception, a number of high profile names have been attached including John Hurt as the titular character as well as the likes of Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Robert Duvall, and Vanessa Paradis. The film became so notorious for its numerous calamities that a documentary about the ill-fated project was released called Lost in La Mancha.

Despite the overwhelming setbacks, Gilliam has pressed on and it looks like the film is finally complete. It now stars Jonathan Pryce as the famed knight, Adam Driver as Sancho Panza, and Olga Kurylenko as the female lead. The original novel was set in the early 1600’s but Gilliam’s film appears to take place in the present day, making Quixote’s belief of being a knight all the more amusing. A trailer for the film has been released and the film is set to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in May.

We applaud Gilliam for his perseverance and we hope the film lives up to the greatness of Cervantes’ novel.



Leave your vote

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.