Im extremely sorry that I havent posted nearly as many movie reviews as I would have liked to—by this time last year, I reviewed eleven…so far in 2014, Ive done only ONE! Of course, when youre a guy in college, you can do little else besides college work, I suppose. Ive been reviewing several films by Terry Gilliam in preparation for a class presentation on the eclectic film director, animator, and sole American-born Monty Python member. Prior to the film which is the main subject of this post, I watched TIME BANDITS (1981), which was (no spoilers) an interesting film with a disappointing ending. TIME BANDITS marked the first installment of what Gilliam calls his Trilogy of Imagination, which share a collective theme of the craziness of our awkwardly ordered society and the desire to escape it through whatever means possible. The second film in the trilogy was BRAZIL (1985), and the third is this 1988 film. Gilliam adapted the tall tales that the titular 18th-century German nobleman reportedly told about his adventures in the Russian military against the Ottoman Turks. The farfetched and exaggerated nature of the tales perfectly matches Gilliams bizarre, eccentric style on virtually every field, from the production design, sets, and cinematography to the costumes, makeup, and special effects. Munchausens tales are brilliantly woven together in a screenplay by Gilliam and BRAZIL alum Charles McKeown. Other BRAZIL colleagues involved in this film include Jonathan Pryce (who played the protagonist there, but the antagonist here) and composer Michael Kamen, who created a somewhat overdramatic but fitting score in his signature style. Fellow Python member Eric Idle plays the Road Runner-esque Berthold; Robin Williams is the King of the Moon; Oliver Reed plays the Roman god Vulcan; future PULP FICTION star Uma Thurman (in one of her earliest roles) is his wife Venus; and recording artist Sting even has a cameo early in the film as a heroic soldier.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 02:59:48 +0000
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