Amazon.com: Man of La Mancha: Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco, Harry Andrews: Amazon Instant Video

Man of La Mancha

Arrested and thrown into a dungeon for having offended the Spanish Inquisition with his supposedly heretical writings, Miguel de Cervantes busies himself by writing the outlandish, delightful tale of knight Don Quixote. Based on the popular Broadway musical.

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren
Directed by: Arther Hiller
Runtime: 2 hours 9 minutes
Release year: 1972
Studio: MGM

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Synopsis: Arrested and thrown into a dungeon for having offended the Spanish Inquisition with his supposedly heretical writings, Miguel de Cervantes busies himself by writing the outlandish, delightful tale of knight Don Quixote. Based on the popular Broadway musical.

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren

Supporting actors: James Coco, Harry Andrews, John Castle, Brian Blessed, Ian Richardson, Julie Gregg, Rosalie Crutchley, Gino Conforti, Marne Maitland, Dorothy Sinclair, Miriam Acevedo, Dominic Barto, Poldo Bendandi, Peppi Borza, Mario Donen, Fred Evans, Francesco Ferrini, Paolo Gozlino, Teddy Green, Peter Johnston

Directed by: Arthur Hiller

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Musical

Runtime: 2 hours 9 minutes

Captions and Subtitles: Details

Release year: 1972

Studio: MGM

ASIN: B000W4TZBO (Rental) and B000W4SE0W (Purchase)

Rights & Requirements

Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details

Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars

(138)

See all 138 customer reviews

“ Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren are no great singers. ” R. Wells | 15 reviewers made a similar statement

“ The acting and singing are timeless and amazing. ” Mark Petersen | 14 reviewers made a similar statement

“ Received DVD a day late, but in great shape and a real classic, must see movie. ” Jenn P | 5 reviewers made a similar statement

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest madness of all is to see the world as it is March 3, 2000

By "conflans"

Format:VHS Tape

While I understand the spanish gentleman who wrote the first reviews comment about the film not being accurate I must say I find this musical one of the best I have ever watched. The essence of the film is best expressed in the words "The greatest madness of all is to see the world as it is and not as it should be". Thus the film illustrates that Don Quixote is the only sane man in a mad world. He alone sees the beautiful, noble, and serene qualities in everything. He is the last chivalrous and truly good man in a world that no longer has any place for nobility and chivalrous ideals. In this sense it is not important if the film is entirely accurate as Peter O'Toole is brilliant in portraying the haunted blue eyes of a man who will always be a knight in his soul. One has to be a romantic to appreciate this perhaps, but it is a great film. The reason for the story about Don Cervantes being arrested by the inqusition is in my opinion that the Author of the musical who must himself have felt kinship with Don Quixote would like to illustrate that Don Cervantes must have felt that kinship himself and probably possesed many of the same qualities. Regardless if one still wants to fight for what is true, good, and beautiful, this is a superb film about a man, whom if he had existed, I would have been hounoured to call my friend.

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40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Musical December 17, 1999

By A Customer

Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Man of la Mancha" contains as much of the Don Quixote legend as could be expected in a reasonable-length movie. And it is wonderfully acted. Having taught Theatre Arts for twenty years, I do not understand why people complain that every non-operatic voice isn't looped by Carreras or Brightman. "Man of la Mancha"s actors are just that -- actors. Actors who happen to sing with the appropriate emotion. I'd much rather listen to Peter O'Toole sing "Impossible Dream" with all his passion, than to hear an unemotional operatic version. "Man of la Mancha" is the best possible musical that could have been made from Cervantes' classic.

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite Musical November 14, 2004

By Confederate

Format:DVD

Generally many people regard musicals as silly, combining the worst elements of drama and song. OKLAHOMA's singing and dancing cowboys, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and other ridiculous productions; even so, there are notable exceptions. JOSEPH AND HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT and MAN OF LA MANCHA are just two of my favorites. The latter was a success because it never lost track of the story and the music was nothing short of inspirational.

The production, rendered only so-so in conversion to DVD, is worth the price of admission, however, because of its excellent acting, subtle humor, wonderful characters and, most importantly, its lofty moral values. The music doen't require great voices to be effective (in fact, it helps if they're a bit earthy). I've read a number of unfavorable professional reviews by writers who were disappointed that the singing wasn't up to par when compared to singing gang members in New York; but it only shows they missed the point.

The production here is fabulous. I only wish greater care had been given in cleaning up the muddy colors and sound track. Still, this is well worth the price until someone wakes up and releases it with dazzling saturation and crisp sound.