Don Quixote (1973 film)

Don Quixote
Directed by Rudolph Nureyev
Robert Helpmann
Produced by John Hargreaves
Written by Rudolph Nureyev
Based on the ballet by Marius Petipa
Starring Robert Helpman
Rudolph Nureyev
Music by Ludwig Minkus
Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth
Edited by Anthony Buckley
Production
company
International Arts
Australian International Finance Corporation
The Australian Ballet Foundation
Distributed by Walter Reade Organisation
Release dates
  • 19 July 1973
Running time
 111 minutes
Country Australia
Language English
Budget $750,000[1]

Don Quixote is a 1973 Australian ballet film starring Rudolph Nureyev and Robert Helpmann.

Cast

  • Robert Helpmann as Don Quixote
  • Ray Powell as Sancho Panza
  • Rudolph Nureyev as Basilio
  • Francis Croese as Lorenzo
  • Lucette Aldous as Kitri/Dulcinea
  • Colin Peasley as Gamache
  • Marilyn Rowe as street dancer/queen of the Dryads
  • Kelvin Coe as Espada
  • Gailene Stock
  • Carolyn Rappel
  • Ronald Bekker
  • John Meehan
  • Rex McNeill
  • Rodney Smith
  • Joseph Janusaitis
  • Frederic Werner
  • Alan Alder
  • Paul Saliba
  • Ronald Bekker as gypsy king
  • Susan Dains as gypsy queen
  • Julie da Costa as gypsy girls
  • Leigh Rowley as gypsy girls
  • Patricia Cox as Cupid
  • Janet Vernon
  • Gary Norman

Production

The ballet had been added to the repertoire of the Australian Ballet in 1970 and was one of Nureyev's most popular parts.[2] Finance to film it was raised mostly in the USA with most of the crew coming from Australia but a British cinematographer was used. It was shot over four weeks starting 13 November 1972 in a converted airport hangar in Essendon. They used a soundtrack which had been pre-recorded a month earlier.[1]

Release

The film was screened around the world and was well received.[1] However it dropped out of circulation for 25 years and has only recently been revived.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998 p271
  2. ↑ 'Don Quoxote' at Nureyev Foundation accessed 27 Sept 2012
  3. ↑ 'Don Quixote' at ABC

External links