Review: "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" Has A Few Moments of Brilliance Worthy of Its Subject

Jonathan Pryce

For director Terry Gilliam, the film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has long been a quixotic task that there was a documentary made about its failure... in 2002. The film's mythic failure to ever be made properly makes the final product feel all the more like a miracle. After several false starts and financial conflicts, the film finally hit the big screen last year with a premiere at Cannes and a slow rollout internationally. While it was made, the thought of seeing it publicly was put into question due to Gilliam's bad luck. In that sense, the film is a success for even landing stateside on V.O.D. platforms. Thankfully, it's mostly an entertaining romp that pays homage to one of literature's greatest "heroes." Oddly enough, it also pays tribute to Gilliam's tendency for self-indulgence in both good and bad ways. It's more than a miracle that it got made, but it feels like another niche release from the kooky auteur.

The Runner-Ups: Bruce Willis in "Twelve Monkeys" (1995)

Bruce Willis in Twelve Monkeys

Every Oscar season, there are a handful of actors who get tagged with the "snubbed" moniker. While it is always unfortunate to see our favorites not honored with at very least a nomination, there's another trend that goes largely unnoticed: those who never even got that far. The Runner-Ups is a column meant to honor the greats in cinema who put in phenomenal work without getting the credit that they deserved from The Academy. Join me every Saturday as I honor those who never received any love. This list will hopefully come to cover both the acting community, and the many crew members who put the production together.

The Directors Project: #16 - Terry Gilliam

Scene from Cinema Paradiso

With the many lists and essays written on the subject of film, there has been one thing that The Oscar Buzz has tried to understand: Who is my favorite of the film world? For 10 weeks this summer, I will be exploring this with a countdown of the Top 50 names based on a numerical ranking of ratings from various sources, the following is a list of directors who rank above everyone else. With occasional upsets, this is intended as both a discussion opener as well as a better understanding of me as a film critic and fan. Please enjoy and leave any comments you have regarding the entry's selection.