Orson Welles’ unfinished Don Quixote project to be restored

Four film archives have joined forces to resurrect Orson Welles’ unfinished dream project, an experimental version of ‘Don Quixote’. Welles began filming the project in 1957, envisioning a cinematic interpretation of Cervantes’ masterpiece that he had imagined since his film debut.

The production was unconventional, characterized by a lack of budget and an experimental approach. Filming occurred sporadically over several years, including sessions in Rome and through Italian RAI television productions in 1961. Despite the deaths of lead actors Francisco Reiguera and Akim Tamiroff in 1972, Welles continued to work on the project, even transitioning to color, but he never completed it.

The project's footage has been scattered globally for decades. While the Filmoteca Española holds a portion of the material, other significant segments were held by editor Mauro Bonanni at Cinecittà. In 2017, actress and Welles’ partner Oja Kodar recovered approximately 50,000 meters of negative, an amount equal to what is held in Spain.