Lost in La Mancha - worth seeing?

Looking for some input from discerning dopers who might have seen “Lost in La Mancha”. I have time and money for maybe one video this weekend. Help me decide if this should be the one.

In three words: yes, yes and yes. “Lost in La Mancha” is on my short list of favourite documentaries. What can I say, I was moved by it. You really get a feel for what a driven and visionary director Gilliam really is, and you genuinely feel sorry for him when everything starts going wrong. I really have the feeling Gilliam’s Don Quichote would have been an exceptional film, and the few “outtakes” they show that were actually filmed before production stopped are reason enough to see the documentary. If you’re a Gilliam fan, or if you want to be astounded by the sheer volume of things that can go wrong in making a film, I strongly recommend it.

I second what Short Guy said 100%. Johnny Depp was set to knock one out of the park. If nothing else, it will answer the question: “How do you burn through $35 million in six days?”

It’s one of the best behind-the-scenes glimpses into the moviemaking process I’ve seen. If that intrigues you, or if you’re a Gilliam fan, then Lost in La Mancha is highly, highly recommended.

On the other hand, if Legally Blonde is your favorite movie, and you thought Bad Boys II was too complicated to follow, then you’ll probably want to give this one a pass. :stuck_out_tongue:

Hi & thanks to you three for the feedback. Looks like this will be my weekend choice. A completely unlooked-for benefit: my Johnny Depp video festival continues unabated.

And Cervaise, tho I can’t cite a fave film to prove my movie-going worth (and I freely admit LOTR and POTC are my current movie obsessions), I am an old (50 years) woman who fell in love with Dr. Zhivago as a little girl, and who lists “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” - an obscure Eastern European flick - as one of my top 10 movies. (I was forced to watch Legally Blonde with my 11 year daughter…when she’s older she appreciate my sacrifices…right?)

I should mention that my dad was of the opinion that Gilliam never actually intended to make the movie and the documentary was the actual goal. I don’t agree and everything i’ve heard about the how it got made leads me to believe that it is bone fide.

However,

He does make a good point when he mentions the part where everything floods. He said he took one look at where they were filming anf thought “it’s going to flood”. Apparently it is very obvious to anyone who knows what to look for that the place will flood if it rains. You’d think that someone would pick up on the problem before it raind. On the other hand, I could believe that none of them new much about geology.

I put a spoiler box on because if you’re going to watch the movie it’ll probably be more fun to be surprised, but it’s not a terrible spoil.

Very interesting documentary. I loved it.