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El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes

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This article is about the 1992 Television series. For the novel on which it is based, see Don Quixote.
El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes
GenreComedy, Adventure, Drama
Based onDon Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes
Screenplay byCamilo José Cela
Directed byManuel Gutiérrez Aragón
Starring
ComposerLalo Schifrin
Country of originSpain
Original languageSpanish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5
Production
ProducerEmiliano Piedra
CinematographyTeo Escamilla
EditorJosé Salcedo
Running time310 min.
Production companyTelevisión Española
Budget1.2 billion ₧
Original release
NetworkLa Primera
Release29 January (1992-01-29) –
26 February 1992 (1992-02-26)

El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes is a Spanish prime-time television series based on the 17th century novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Produced by Emiliano Piedra for Televisión Española, it was directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, with screenplay by Camilo José Cela and starring Fernando Rey as Don Quixote and Alfredo Landa as Sancho Panza. Its five episodes adapting the first part of the novel were broadcast on La Primera of Televisión Española in 1992.

Plot

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Alonso Quixano, a nobleman from La Mancha of about fifty years of age and of medium economic position, is so enthused by the books of chivalry that he decides to become a knight-errant under the name of Don Quixote and to go out on adventures accompanied by his faithful squire Sancho. The special madness of Don Quixote and Sancho's fascination with the words of his lord are revealed little by little, in contrast to the brutality and ridicule that both well-intentioned characters are subjected to by those they try to help.

Production

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The adaptation project of Don Quixote for television was born with Pilar Miró as General Director of RTVE. It was Televisión Española's most ambitious production up to that date. The initial intention was to make a series with a first part of eight episodes adapting the first part of the novel, directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, and a second of ten episodes adapting the second part, directed by Mario Camus,[1] but the economic situation of the network reduced the first part of the series to five episodes and the second to four episodes.[2]

Emiliano Piedra, the producer responsible for the adaptation, began the preparations for the first part in 1989 with a budget of 1.2 billion pesetas, with screenplay by Camilo José Cela and with Fernando Rey as Don Quixote and Alfredo Landa as Sancho Panza.[3] Cela wrote an initial script, but it was a literal transcription of the novel with no cinematographic meaning, so it had to be completely rewritten. Despite this, he was kept in the credits both for the prestige that his name gave to the project and for the outlay that his work had entailed.[4] Principal photography took from April to December 1990, with the interiors shot at TVE's Buñuel studios in Madrid and the exteriors on location in the Community of Madrid and La Mancha.[5] The first five episodes premiered on La Primera of Televisión Española in January 1992.[2]

Gutiérrez Aragón prepared new scripts in the summer of 1992 for the second part,[6] but the network's financial problems and the impossibility of bringing together the same team after the death of producer Emiliano Piedra made it impossible to film it.[5] He eventually wrote and directed a feature film titled Don Quixote, Knight Errant adapting the second part of the novel with Juan Luis Galiardo as Don Quixote and Carlos Iglesias as Sancho Panza that was released in 2002.[7]

Cast

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Rey (right) as Don Quixote and Landa (left) as Sancho Panza.

Episodes

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The series premiered on 29 January 1992 in prime-time on La Primera of Televisión Española and its five episodes had an average of 4,583,000 viewers and 29.1% of share.[8]

No.TitleOriginal air dateSpain viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"29 January 1992 (1992-01-29)7.2376
2"Episode 2"5 February 1992 (1992-02-05)N/A
3"Episode 3"12 February 1992 (1992-02-12)N/A
4"Episode 4"19 February 1992 (1992-02-19)N/A
5"Episode 5"26 February 1992 (1992-02-26)3.8

Accolades

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FIPA d'or

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Main article: Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels
Year Category Recipient Result Ref.
1992 Best Series Won [9]
Best Actor Fernando Rey Won

Fotogramas de Plata

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Main article: Fotogramas de Plata
Year Category Recipient Result Ref.
1992 Best Television Performer Fernando Rey Won [10]
Alfredo Landa Nominated

TP de Oro

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Main article: TP de Oro
Year Category Recipient Result Ref.
1992 Best Spanish Drama Series Won [11]
Best Actor Fernando Rey Nominated

Actors and Actresses Union Awards

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Main article: Actors and Actresses Union Awards
Year Category Recipient Result Ref.
1992 Best Television Lead Performance Fernando Rey Won [12]

Restoration

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RTVE carried out a digital 4K UHD scanning, remastering and restoration of the series, that was originally recorded on film, and made it available online in RTVE Play and on its Botón Rojo app for 4K Smart TVs in 2020.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Fernando Rey will be Don Quixote in the Cela series for TVE". El País (in Spanish). 25 October 1989.
  2. ^ a b Ventureira, Rubén (2 May 2022). "The series that cost Fernando Rey his life". El Debate (in Spanish).
  3. ^ Fernández Rubio, Andrés (29 March 1989). "Gutiérrez Aragón will direct the first part of 'Don Quixote' for TVE, adapted by Cela". El País (in Spanish).
  4. ^ Medianoche, Mike (24 April 2018). "When TVE paid Cela 50 million for a script for 'El Quijote' that it could not use". El Español (in Spanish).
  5. ^ a b Siles, Luis Eduardo (9 December 1992). "Landa calls the directors of TVE 'fools'". El País (in Spanish).
  6. ^ Sámano, José (6 July 1992). "Gutierrez Aragón prepares the scripts for four new episodes of 'Don Quixote'". El País (in Spanish).
  7. ^ Kercher, Dona M. (2002). "Looking for Don Quijote's Own Shadow: An Interview with Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón about His Film El caballero Don Quijote (2002)" (PDF). Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies. 6: 129–130. doi:10.1353/hcs.2011.0285. S2CID 144260411.
  8. ^ Sámano, José (29 February 1992). "'El Quijote' obtains an audience success for dramatic series". El País (in Spanish).
  9. ^ "'El Quijote' obtains the FIPA d'or at the Cannes Festival and Fernando Rey the award for best actor". El País (in Spanish). 13 January 1992.
  10. ^ "Fernando Rey receives the Fotogramas de Plata 1992 for the best performer on TV for 'El Quijote'". Fotogramas (in Spanish).
  11. ^ "Premios TP de Oro 1992". Teleprograma (in Spanish). No. 1405. 6 March 1993.
  12. ^ "Winners of the 2nd edition of the Union of Actors and Actresses Awards". Spanish Actors Union (in Spanish).
  13. ^ "RTVE launches the restored 4K versions of 'El Quijote' and 'La regenta' through its 'Botón Rojo'". Vertele (in Spanish). 28 July 2020.
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