One could, I suppose, wish for a better singing voice. Simon Gilbert does a credible approximation of O'Toole, for better and for worse ... but speaking for myself, it doesn't bother me as much as it seems to bother some folks. (I'm more bothered by the missing lyrics, actually.) It may help that the character doing the singing is a man who continually exhibits humility and raw sincerity over any particular talent.
Looking beyond the songs, however, I can't imagine better casting. As Cervantes the poet ... Cervantes the dreamer ... Don Quixote the incurable romantic ... O'Toole is perfection. His delivery of the soliloquies is exquisite:
I'll take the bad with the good, when the good is that good.
I also think Laurence Rosenthal did a tremendous job of adapting and enlarging Mitch Leigh's score. He brought a LOT to the table, and the Academy Award nomination was richly deserved (it should have won over CABARET, in my humble opinion). The score seems like an extremely unlikely candidate for expansion, sadly.
I also think Laurence Rosenthal did a tremendous job of adapting and enlarging Mitch Leigh's score. He brought a LOT to the table, and the Academy Award nomination was richly deserved (it should have won over CABARET, in my humble opinion). The score seems like an extremely unlikely candidate for expansion, sadly.
I'm going to see if the library has this. I'm anxious to see how LR handles song arranging.
I also think Laurence Rosenthal did a tremendous job of adapting and enlarging Mitch Leigh's score. He brought a LOT to the table, and the Academy Award nomination was richly deserved (it should have won over CABARET, in my humble opinion). The score seems like an extremely unlikely candidate for expansion, sadly.
I'm going to see if the library has this. I'm anxious to see how LR handles song arranging.
I've always been disappointed that after giving us Rosenthal's sublime 3-minute Overture for the film (not actually heard at many screenings), the album skimps out in giving us his more stirring 1:30 Main Title.