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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Peter O'Toole and Sophia
Loren dared to dream the impossible dream with
this musical film version of "Man of La Mancha."
"Don Quixote" set to music must have seemed like a
good idea to director Arthur Hiller at the time,
but on screen it's about as painfully shocking as
seeing one's own mother drunk.
Quixote (O'Toole) is a crazy nobleman who is an
embarrassment to his respectable family. Together,
with faithful sidekick Sancho Panza, he duels
windmills and defends his "lady" (Sophia Loren),
who is actually the town whore. The songs,
including "Impossible Dream" had their merits
steeped in the theatricality of Broadway. But on
screen -- and sung by actors to whom the concept
of melody is clearly as foreign as the subject
matter -- we get a cackling of melodies that is
genuinely painful on the ears. All this would be
forgivable if the production values didn't herald
the coming of some lavish masterpiece that, sadly,
vaporizes the moment any of the principals open
their mouths. Such a waste of money and talent is
malicious, but unfortunately was quite common in
musical undertakings from this vintage.
Presumably because this film didn't get that much
play time in theaters, the DVD picture exhibits
striking image quality. Colors are rich, bold and
vibrant. Black levels are solid. Fine details are
fully realized. There are no age-related artifacts
or digital anomalies; and edge enhancement,
pixelization, shimmering of fine details, are
rarely present. The audio is 5.1 is made strident
and shrill by the deplorable lack of musical
talent belting out some truly horrific tunes.
Extras include a photomontage -- as if reliving
the film experience wasn't scary enough.
Though the transfer is stunning, the film is a
disaster. Like "One from the Heart," "Man of La
Mancha" is a misguided attempt to capture the
magic of musicals of old. It fails miserably on
all levels as entertainment and isn't recommended
for anyone who isn't tone deaf! |
