Don Quixote

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Lore & Background

The novel was published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. The first part was originally a one-volume book divided into four parts, with no authorial plans for a sequel; the mention of further adventures was conventional. In his first sally, he is dubbed a knight by an innkeeper he mistakes for a castle lord, then fights muleteers and traders, and is eventually brought home after being beaten. His niece, the housekeeper, the curate, and the barber burn most of his books, blaming a wizard for the disappearance of his library.

Reader's Guide

Don Quixote is considered a founding work of Western literature and the first modern novel. Mark Twain stated that the book 'swept the world's admiration for the mediaeval chivalry-silliness out of existence'. The novel has been described by some as the greatest work ever written. The relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza is noted for the 'Sanchification of Don Quixote and the Quixotization of Sancho', as described by Salvador de Madariaga, where Sancho's spirit ascends from reality to illusion and Don Quixote's declines from illusion to reality. Part Two, published ten years later, includes characters who have read the first part, an early example of metafiction.

Did You Know?

• The novel was published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615.
• The protagonist Alonso Quijano renames himself Don Quixote and names his horse Rocinante.
• The word 'quixotic' is derived from the novel.
• Mark Twain said the book 'swept the world's admiration for the mediaeval chivalry-silliness out of existence'.
• Part Two includes characters who have read the first part, an early example of metafiction.

The 29-Year Odyssey

Terry Gilliam began developing The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in 1989, and it would take a staggering 29 years before the finished film reached audiences. This made it one of the most notorious examples of development hell in cinema history. The project was loosely based on Miguel de Cervantes' 1605/1615 novel and written by Gilliam alongside Tony Grisoni. Funding was the persistent obstacle: Gilliam couldn't secure it until 1998, when the film entered full pre-production with a $32.1 million budget that notably excluded American financing. Between 2003 and 2016, Gilliam made repeated attempts to relaunch the production, each time with different actors attached to the two lead roles. Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, and Jack O'Connell all cycled through as Toby Grummett, while Jean Rochefort, Robert Duvall, Michael Palin, and John Hurt were considered for Quixote. Each attempt collapsed for reasons ranging from failed financing and Depp's scheduling conflicts to Hurt's cancer diagnosis. It was only in March 2017, with Adam Driver confirmed as Toby and Jonathan Pryce as Quixote, that filming finally commenced.

The 2000 Production and Its Catastrophic Collapse

The original shoot began in 2000 in Navarre, Spain, with Jean Rochefort cast as Quixote and Johnny Depp as Toby Grummett, a 21st-century marketing executive who gets thrown back through time, alongside Vanessa Paradis as the female lead. The production was a $32.1 million venture without American financing. Almost immediately, disaster struck on multiple fronts: sets and equipment were destroyed by flooding, Rochefort departed the production due to illness, and the team struggled to obtain insurance for the shoot. Compounding these problems were broader financial difficulties that made continued production untenable. The result was a sudden suspension and outright cancellation of the entire production. What was originally conceived as a behind-the-scenes making-of documentary about the troubled shoot evolved into a standalone film called Lost in La Mancha, which was released in 2002. This documentary captured the chaos and heartbreak of a project that had consumed a decade of Gilliam's life and ultimately fell apart before a single completed frame could be delivered.

The Final Film and Its Story

The completed version of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, shot in 2017 and finished on 4 June of that year—17 years after the original production began—tells a layered story set in modern-day rural Spain. Adam Driver plays Toby Grummett, a commercial director struggling to shoot a Don Quixote and Sancho Panza advertisement. After a rough day on set, he discovers an old student film he made a decade earlier featuring elderly cobbler Javier Sanchez (Jonathan Pryce) as Quixote. When Toby revisits the small town of Los Sueños, he finds that Javier has become genuinely convinced he is Cervantes' knight-errant and that Toby is his squire, Sancho Panza. Their adventures include a windmill confrontation, a night in a ruin inhabited by undocumented immigrants (which Quixote experiences as a 17th-century Inquisition drama), and a jousting match against the 'Knight of Mirrors,' revealed to be Angelica's father Raul. The film premiered as the closing film at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2018, simultaneously opening in French theaters.

Release Battles, Reception, and Aftermath

Even after the camera stopped rolling, Gilliam faced significant hurdles getting the film to audiences worldwide. A lengthy legal dispute with former producer Paulo Branco complicated distribution, meaning the film was released in only a handful of countries in 2018. The US and Canadian release didn't arrive until 10 April 2019, and the UK and Ireland had to wait until 31 January 2020. Critically, the film was well received, with reviewers praising its creativity and the performances of Driver and Pryce, though some found the narrative 'messy.' Commercially, however, it was a failure, grossing $2.5 million against a final budget of approximately €16 million (roughly $18.5 million), not counting the original $32 million spent on the 2000 production. The story of the film's making found a second life in He Dreams of Giants, a 2019 documentary that serves as a follow-up to Lost in La Mancha and chronicles the creation of the final version. Together, these two documentaries document one of cinema's most extraordinary odysseys from script to screen.