Man Of La Mancha: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Details

By Mark Sung Mar 6, 2005, 17:27 GMT

'Music by Mitch Leigh. Lyrics by Joe Darion. Music Adapted and Conducted by Laurence Rosenthal. Release Date: 4/12/05

Peter O’Toole lights up the screen in this offbeat but colorful adaptation of the 1965 stage musical adapted from Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote. O’Toole tackles a dual role, playing both Cervantes and his classic character with style and verve. He’s delightful as Quixote, the 17th-century Spaniard afflicted with a dementia that makes him think he’s a medieval knight, duty-bound to uphold the age of chivalry and vanquish evildoers. James Coco plays his loyal sidekick, Sancho Panza, and Sophia Loren fills the role of Dulcinea, the peasant woman whom Quixote would champion. Director Arthur Hiller doesn’t concern himself overly with the original show’s “book,” written by Dale Wasserman; instead, he makes the film a vehicle for the Mitch Leigh-Joe Darion music. O’Toole, gets the memorable numbers (including the beloved standard The Impossible Dream) and performs them in grand manner, even though his singing is dubbed by British actor-singer Simon Gilbert.

Laurence Rosenthal earned an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of the songs and score.

It’s a classic musical from the studio that produced the Academy-Award winner Fiddler on the Roof.'