(The adventures of) Don Quixote 1933 - A moving and exhilarating experience with opera star Chaliapin

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023956/
IMDB rating: 6,6

Director: G. W. Pabst
Main Cast: Feodor Chaliapin Sr., George Robey, Renée Valliers

"The French/British Don Quixote is a faithful rendition of the Cervantes novel, with a poignant ending added by director G.W. Pabst. Opera star Feodor Chaliapin stars as Cervantes' 'Knight of the Woeful Countenance', an aged, addled Spanish gentleman so devoted to stories of long-ago chivalry that he decides to relive those bygone days.
Pabst alters Cervantes' original ending by having the dispirited Quixote pass away as he watches his precious books on chivalry going up in flames. There are actually two versions of Don Quixote, one in English and one in French; the French-language version has a different supporting cast, but Pabst draws the same deep emotions and brilliant bits of business from both. Quixote benefits from its directors sure hand and even more so from his clear, dominating vision; the project clearly means a lot to him personally, and that connection fills every frame. Pabst is greatly aided by the dominating performance of Feodor Chaliapin, whose operatic presence is right at home with the larger-than-life Quixote. He's mesmerizing at all times, even when what he's doing is closer to grandstanding than acting. He gets fine support from George Robey and Renée Valliers, but it's Chaliapin who owns the film acting-wise. - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/don-quixote-v14297

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