Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a fantasy adventure comedy directed by Terry Gilliam (written by Terry Gilliam and Tony Grisoni) that draws inspiration from Miguel de Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote. This project is legendary for being one of the most chaotic examples of development hella in Hollywood history. Apparently, Gilliam has been grinding away at this for nearly two decades, trying to get it made eight different times. You can see the struggle firsthand in his documentary, Lost in la Mancha. Honestly, despite all the madness, I have massive 🙏 respect for Gilliam. You actually did it.

With a production cycle spanning 19 years, the cast has been a revolving door. Jean Rochefort, who was set to play Don Quixote, passed away during the process, and big names like Johnny Depp and Ewan McGregor eventually dropped out. Filming finally kicked off in March 2017 with a lineup featuring Jonathan Price as Don Quixote, Adam Driver, Olga Kurylenko, and Stellan Skarsgård. They wrapped up shooting this past June, and we're looking at a premiere at Cannes in 2018. The budget is sitting around $18 million.

IMDb set photos

The trailer is finally here.

He actually pulled it off. Props to him.
I'm personally looking forward to catching that and seeing Deadpool & Wolverine on the big screen this year.
It’s already shaping up to be a much better year for movies than the last one.

The trailer is honestly kind of a mess. But look, I still have faith in Terry Gilliam—I really do. Especially after how much of a disaster Lost in la Mancha turned out to be.

That trailer left me completely speechless. 😁

But honestly? It looks pretty cool.

This actually looks pretty charming. Driver seems like he’s got a lot of charisma, and Price definitely seems to be in a great mood. I’m really hoping this turns out better than The Brothers Grimm... man, that one was such a chore to sit through. Though, judging by the trailer, they seem to share a pretty similar vibe...

Susan Taylor72 said:hopefully it beats The Brothers Grimm

Honestly, if I can even make a call after just two trailers, this feels a lot like Baron Munchausen.

The film feels unbalanced, to say the least. Is it a failed romance, whether by design or accident? And honestly, the lead actress is just bafflingly unappealing.

Watching this little T. S. Eliot retrospective, what's always been top-tier in his work remains true here. I've also noticed that his female characters consistently pale in comparison to the men—take that "ten" in Zero Theorem, for example... 🙄 maybe the guy just has a thing for petite, curvy women? 🤷

As is typical with T. S. Eliot, the scenes are incredibly dense; you definitely can't just watch this once, or even twice, and think you've seen it all. 🙂

Where did you catch the movie?

Absolutely stunning movie. Honestly, probably my top favorite from 2018—it’s right up there with Zuma and Phantom Thread.

I wouldn't call myself a huge Gilliam fan—I haven't really kept up with his filmography—but this one actually hit me hard. Can't wait until it hits the torrent sites so I can watch it all over again.

Benjamin Ruiz60 said:Where did you see it?

I caught it at AMC Theatres a few weeks back. But after sitting through two more of his films recently, I felt compelled to write something regarding his—how should I put it—his T. S. Eliot style of poetics.

I’ve burned through about 200 pages of this book so far, and honestly—I’m genuinely curious how they plan to adapt this thing when half the plot feels like filler—😁
it’d probably be better to just pick two or three decent chapters and build the whole movie around those rather than trying to cover everything.

The film has a solid concept and some funny, clever moments, but it doesn't quite pull together as a whole.

My take on the book
Honestly, maybe two or three chapters are actually worth the effort—the kind of stuff we probably touched on back in high school
The rest? It’s really just for people who have a thing for Spanish linguistics or history buffs
who want to nerd out reading it in the original language

rowdyangler said:I saw it at AMC Theatres a few weeks back. But after watching two more of his films, I felt like I had to say something about his—how should I put it?—his specific Terry Gilliam style.

Hmm. I didn't even realize they were showing it here. No promotion whatsoever.

Lawrence Booth2 said:I'm about 200 pages into the book and I honestly can't figure out how they'll adapt this. Half the plot points are just filler. 😁
They should probably just grab two or three decent chapters and run with that.

The film only uses the core premise of the Don Quixote book. It’s not some beat-for-beat adaptation.

I am seriously counting down the days until this hits the torrent sites—it turns out Terry Gilliam hasn't lost his touch even in his later years!

Lawrence Booth2 said:I’ve made it through about 200 pages of this book and I’m honestly scratching my head wondering how they plan to adapt this thing, especially since half the plot feels totally redundant and dull 😁
they should just pick two or three decent chapters and build the whole movie around that

Based on the synopsis, the film seems worlds apart from the novel. Even the title itself gives it away—in the actual book, nobody actually kills the man Who Killed Don Quixote.

Lawrence Booth2 said:my take on the book
it’s really only worth the two or three chapters we had to slog through back in school
the rest of it is basically just for people who have an obsession with Spanish history and linguistics
and want to read it in the original language

Look, I don't particularly care for deep dives into historical trivia or foreign languages, but even so, this novel remains one of my absolute favorites.

I can't believe I'm actually typing this out—it’s just one of those things, right? Like, you think you know how things work until they suddenly don't. It’s wild. kaže:
The movie’s got a solid concept under the hood—honestly, there are some genuinely funny moments that land pretty well—but as a whole? It just doesn't quite click. It feels a bit disjointed, you know? Like, great ideas, but they don't always tie together into one cohesive thing.

Honestly, I hate to say it, but I’ve gotta side with you on this one. That trailer works way better than the actual movie does—it's like they sold us a completely different vibe, right? And look, it's not even that the acting was bad—some of those performances were actually solid—but when you put everyone together, nothing clicks. They just don't mesh at all.
Honestly, I was pretty caught off guard by this—especially since, in everything I’ve seen him in (and no, that doesn't include that sexist show *Girls*), Adam Driver has this way of just elevating everyone else in the scene. He has this weirdly great synergy where he makes the entire cast look better than they actually are? It’s like he pulls them up to his level. But here... yeah, that just wasn't happening.

Benjamin Ruiz60 said:Huh. I didn't even realize they were showing that over here—not like there was any kind of announcement or anything.

So, I finally started playing on Thanksgiving Day—yeah, November 28th—and honestly? I ended up hitting the theater all by myself. Just me, myself, and I. Anyone else ever do that? 😢

I'll admit, I was nervous, but this movie is way better than the trailer let on. Simply put: it's Gilliam's best work since 12 Monkeys. You can see all his previous films reflected in this one—honestly, it feels like the way 8 1/2 works for Fellini. And Adam Driver? The guy is unstoppable. Give him five years, maybe less, and he'll be holding an Oscar, depending on what he signs onto next.

Jonathan Pryce 🙏

Joana Ribeiro (Angelica) 🙏 I can barely look this woman in the eye when she's wearing that low-cut red dress 😍