Reviews (113)

Gilliam achieves much with little
Worth it for Gilliam and indie film fans. A group of renegade shrubbery-designers on the lam from the Supreme Being stumble through a hole in space-time into the bedroom of a small boy, whom they abduct to help them steal the treasures of history. Okay, Gilliam fans, rejoice. Python fans, rent it first. Indie filmmakers - here's how to make a plausible looking fantasy film on a (still big) budget. The executive summary: 1. Acting - well done and believable. Appropriately over-the top in places. 2. Plot - fun fun fun and I want that map! Touching in places, and the non-Hollywood ending is perfect. 3. Production design / special effects - good enough. On par with Monty Python episodes / Holy Grail film. Notable exception - everything to do with "Evil". Bonus: see the origins of the "insidiously cheesy machinery" look Gilliam later perfected in "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys". Sets and props are extremely well-used (pay attention to the kids' room at the beginning!)and add richness to the film. The DVD has commentary by the now-grown child lead, as well as some Gilliam miscellany. For fans, well worth the extra investment, even if you already own the VHS edition. Key issue - this is only a date movie if your date can handle "silly." Most American ladies (in my experience) find Monty Python really unfunny. This film is not true Python when taken as a whole, but anything with a little slapstick and cockney accents seems to get painted as such. Warning: I thought that since one lady friend of mine liked Adam Sandler, she'd like TB - I was wrong! Be warned! Overall - fans, buy it. Others - rent it or ask for it for a gift.

PYTHONESQUE ADVENTURE
From a script written with fellow Python Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam's TIME BANDITS Divimax Special Edition (Anchor Bay) is a certified cult fave of wonder, wit and unbridled imagination. A school boy is sucked into a crime spree by a time travelling gang of dwarves who have a map to the holes in the space-time continuum. Along the way, they encounter Napoleon (Ian Holm), Robin Hood (John Cleese), King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Evil Genius (David Warner) and God (Sir Ralph Richardson) -- who almost answers one of the supreme theological questions.

This new two-disc edition in Divimax is a state of the art hi-def transfer. The bonus disc features interviews with Gilliam and Palin and a career retrospective that includes Brad Pitt, Shelley Duvall, David Warner among others.

Pretentious junk
Save your dough.

A british kid goes on adventures with a bunch of hammy-acting little people. At the end, his parents die for no apparant reason. (Before some film school moron e-mails me with the reason, I got it. It was just dumb.)

Get "Brazil" or "Munchausen" instead. Gilliam's off his game here. Or try "12 monkeys." That's a great film

A Concept Film that Doesn't Know When to Quit
Like a big candy bar. Eye-popping but unfulfilling. Momentarily pleasing but undernourishing. Couldn't help but think this could have been so much better. It's kind of a Monty Python reimagining of The Wizard of Oz. More mature and cleverer. A plucky resourceful child is transported to a parallel world where the child must make things right before he/she is allowed to go home. The Munchkins are the stars this time. The Supreme Being is, of course, Oz. Evil is the Wicked Witch. Instead of the fantasy world sing-a-long; Gilliam goes with Sci-Fi time travel. Either the movie should have been longer to allow for more story & character development or some of the great ideas should have been shelved for other projects. There's a certain episodic feel to the proceedings as the time travelers jump from time to time but don't really get anywhere; much like the film itself.

an interesting film for older mature children.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This film was marketed as being for children. I thought that this film is too morbid for small children and recommend that children be at least 8 years old to watch it.

In this film, a young boy joins a troupe of dwarves who travel through 'holes' in time with the aid of a time map stolen from a deity. They rob famous historical figures such as Napoleon and Agamemnon. Later they are captured by an evil sorceror who takes the map from them.

This film has several creatures in it that I think would frighten younger children I urge parents to watch the film by themselves before showing it to their children.

The Criterion Collection has special features including a theatrical trailer, a slide show of production photos and a video, and full-length audio commentary by selected cast & crew. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Surprisingly sweet--without the calories or cavities!
I hadn't seen any of Jennifer Beals' early films when I watched THE BRIDE just the other night. From her more recent work (FOUR ROOMS, THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY and now THE L WORD), I know she is a first-rate actress, but didn't know what to expect from her beginning work (I still have to see FLASHDANCE.) Though I've read critics' reviews panning this film, I think THE BRIDE is quite good and deserving of the regard other "undiscovered" or "underground" films receive.

The story is straightforward enough: The infamous mad scientist Frankenstein creates a mate for his "monster" (whom will later be named Viktor). Things go wrong, however and Eva is left at the hands of Dr. Frankenstein (Viktor having run off when fire breaks out in the lab). Frankenstein (played to irritatingly perfect pompousness by Sting) has Eva all to himself and attempts to make her into a "proper lady."

The plot is not the main reason to watch this endearing movie, though it definitely keeps your interest with the main plot and the storyline involving Viktor after he flees the fire and meets up with a wonderful character played by David Rappaport. No, the real reason to watch is in the little touches, whether it be the memorable scene where Eva (played with incredible innocence and searching curiousity by Jennifer Beals) snarls at a cat during her first outing at a fancy dinner to meet the "important" people
or the tender friendship between Viktor and Rinaldo.

I don't want to reveal too much about where the movie goes but it does a surprisingly good job of capturing universal themes such as loneliness and searching for one's own roots. A big plus in its favor is that it comes closer to the original intent of Mary Shelley's novel than the old Hollywood versions and reminds us that Shelley's novel was never really about scary horror but the horrors in our fellow humans' behavior and our own isolation.

An uplifiting Frankenstein film? Read on...
First of all, this isn't at all close to anything from the original novel by Mary Shelley. In the book, work begins on a bride for the creature, and is then abandoned, which leads to all sorts of unpleasantness.This film is sort of a exploration of how the story might have developed if work on the creatures mate had continued. Sting, of the Police, plays the Doctor, and Jennifer Beals plays his second creation. Obviously, his skills have improved from his first effort, however an accident in the lab leads to a fire, and the loss of the first creature, or so he believes. He then sets out to educate her as a continuing experiment. Meanwhile, the first creature is being educated by different experiences as he wanders the countryside, eventually befriending a dwarf who helps him find employment. Eventually, the creature and his intended bride cross paths again...with results which are perhaps unexpected, given their different backgrounds. This is perhaps the only Frankenstein film with an positive ending, attempting to show that even artificially created humans might have a soul, or a spirit, which seeks to rise above the limitations of the flesh. The set design of the film was good, especially 'the masoleum'. Jennifer Beals is gorgeous as 'The Bride', and the performance by Clancy Brown as the 'creature' is also good, as is David Rappaport as the dwarf. I enjoyed it.Ron

For fans of Frankenstein, Sting, or Jennifer Beals.
This movie is hard to review. I guess it's for fans of Frankenstein and/or Jennifer Beals. I can understand why some people won't like the picture. I enjoyed it. The relationship between the monster and the midget is very entertaining and touching. Jennifer Beals is so beautiful that who couldn't take your eyes of this picture for her alone! I do have to slam the comentary. The director rambles on about things that are not interesting. Directors should watch their movies and take notes and then record the comentary. This guy doesn't get to the point and changes topics while in the middle of sentences. Aside from that I am glad this film is out on DVD. The scenery is beautiful and it's a great escape from reality. Imagine if you can make yourself a bride that looks like Jennifer Beals. What a fantasy!!

Interesting and Dark
In 1985 when both Sting and Jennifer Beals were huge draws, this movie was created: A retelling of The Bride of Frankenstein. On a dark and stormy night, Baron Frankenstein works feverishly in his lab trying to bring to life the agreed to Bride of the monster previously created. Sting, as Frankenstein, is intelligent, determined, and methodical. He brings to life his newest creation and quickly discovers that the mistakes he made when creating the man have been corrected, bringing to life a beautiful woman. Upon seeing his bride, the monster (Clancy Brown)inadvertently hurts her. Frankenstein strikes the monster and removes the bride from the creature's grasp. A fight ensues and the monster flees into the night. The next day Frankenstein names the woman Eva and decides to teach how to be "as bold and as proud as a man." Meanwhile, the creature runs into a little person named Renaldo (David Rappaport) who understands what it is like to be an outcast and befriends him. As the movie progresses, we see two stories take place. Eva becoming "the new woman" and the creature learning about life and friendship.

I have always enjoyed this movie. Sting is great as Frankenstein and plays him with a hint of madness that such a man would likely have been. Jennifer Beals plays Eva with childlike innocence early on then shows the maturity of a bold, intelligent woman, but still she is disturbed about who she truly might be. (Check out the scene when she does discover the truth. Fantastic!) Clancy Brown, too, shows growth and maturity in the development of the creature (later named Victor by Renaldo) from clumsy, confusion to brave determination. Cary Elwes has the role of Josef, one of the Countess' guards. And how can we forget the late David Rappaport as the compassionate and insightful Renaldo. Through him we see the pain and prejudice he faces by being a little person.

The extras on the DVD are few, but nice to have. I don't recall ever seeing the trailer before so having it on the DVD was a plus. The Director's commentary could have been better. He admitted that it had been so long since he had seen the film. Knowing this, he should have watched it a few times and made notes. As it was, he forgot a lot of the information. Later in the film, he would comment that the movie never addressed this or never addressed that when in actuality, the movie had established those things earlier in the movie. To me, a great commentary is when the person commenting on the film is discussing the scene: either the actors or the background, or something relevant. This director sometimes went on little tangents that had nothing to do with the movie at all. I kept thinking "can we please talk about this movie?" There was some good information though about the French scenery, how Sting got the role, the relationships between the actors, and the loss of David Rappaport. So the commentary wasn't a total loss, but could have been better if the Director was better prepared.

An underrated little gem
Thank goodness for the current DVD boom. It seems that all the major studios, in a rush to get product on the shelves, are in the process of scouring through their back catalogues and releasing everything and anything available. The "Midnite Movies" series from MGM is a perfect example.
So likewise, Columbia has released The Bride on DVD. True, it is NOT a horror film, and yes, a musician is in the lead role(always a dubious casting move), but it does succeed on many levels. This retelling of The Bride of Frankenstein works more as a romantic fantasy, and the narrative chugs along at quick, engrossing pace, especially the sub-plot of Victor(the Monster) and Rinaldo. The many poignant moments between these two and the child-like demeanor of Victor gives the movie its soul. That said, the ending is a bit of a dissappointment, which the director freely admits to on the commentary track, which is filled with relevant and amusing anecdotes about the film itself.
So if anyone remembers this eighties artifact fondly, I say its a worthy addition to your collection. And listen to the commentary! ... Read more

Reviews (113)

Gilliam achieves much with little
Worth it for Gilliam and indie film fans. A group of renegade shrubbery-designers on the lam from the Supreme Being stumble through a hole in space-time into the bedroom of a small boy, whom they abduct to help them steal the treasures of history. Okay, Gilliam fans, rejoice. Python fans, rent it first. Indie filmmakers - here's how to make a plausible looking fantasy film on a (still big) budget. The executive summary: 1. Acting - well done and believable. Appropriately over-the top in places. 2. Plot - fun fun fun and I want that map! Touching in places, and the non-Hollywood ending is perfect. 3. Production design / special effects - good enough. On par with Monty Python episodes / Holy Grail film. Notable exception - everything to do with "Evil". Bonus: see the origins of the "insidiously cheesy machinery" look Gilliam later perfected in "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys". Sets and props are extremely well-used (pay attention to the kids' room at the beginning!)and add richness to the film. The DVD has commentary by the now-grown child lead, as well as some Gilliam miscellany. For fans, well worth the extra investment, even if you already own the VHS edition. Key issue - this is only a date movie if your date can handle "silly." Most American ladies (in my experience) find Monty Python really unfunny. This film is not true Python when taken as a whole, but anything with a little slapstick and cockney accents seems to get painted as such. Warning: I thought that since one lady friend of mine liked Adam Sandler, she'd like TB - I was wrong! Be warned! Overall - fans, buy it. Others - rent it or ask for it for a gift.

PYTHONESQUE ADVENTURE
From a script written with fellow Python Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam's TIME BANDITS Divimax Special Edition (Anchor Bay) is a certified cult fave of wonder, wit and unbridled imagination. A school boy is sucked into a crime spree by a time travelling gang of dwarves who have a map to the holes in the space-time continuum. Along the way, they encounter Napoleon (Ian Holm), Robin Hood (John Cleese), King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Evil Genius (David Warner) and God (Sir Ralph Richardson) -- who almost answers one of the supreme theological questions.

This new two-disc edition in Divimax is a state of the art hi-def transfer. The bonus disc features interviews with Gilliam and Palin and a career retrospective that includes Brad Pitt, Shelley Duvall, David Warner among others.

Pretentious junk
Save your dough.

A british kid goes on adventures with a bunch of hammy-acting little people. At the end, his parents die for no apparant reason. (Before some film school moron e-mails me with the reason, I got it. It was just dumb.)

Get "Brazil" or "Munchausen" instead. Gilliam's off his game here. Or try "12 monkeys." That's a great film

A Concept Film that Doesn't Know When to Quit
Like a big candy bar. Eye-popping but unfulfilling. Momentarily pleasing but undernourishing. Couldn't help but think this could have been so much better. It's kind of a Monty Python reimagining of The Wizard of Oz. More mature and cleverer. A plucky resourceful child is transported to a parallel world where the child must make things right before he/she is allowed to go home. The Munchkins are the stars this time. The Supreme Being is, of course, Oz. Evil is the Wicked Witch. Instead of the fantasy world sing-a-long; Gilliam goes with Sci-Fi time travel. Either the movie should have been longer to allow for more story & character development or some of the great ideas should have been shelved for other projects. There's a certain episodic feel to the proceedings as the time travelers jump from time to time but don't really get anywhere; much like the film itself.

an interesting film for older mature children.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This film was marketed as being for children. I thought that this film is too morbid for small children and recommend that children be at least 8 years old to watch it.

In this film, a young boy joins a troupe of dwarves who travel through 'holes' in time with the aid of a time map stolen from a deity. They rob famous historical figures such as Napoleon and Agamemnon. Later they are captured by an evil sorceror who takes the map from them.

This film has several creatures in it that I think would frighten younger children I urge parents to watch the film by themselves before showing it to their children.

The Criterion Collection has special features including a theatrical trailer, a slide show of production photos and a video, and full-length audio commentary by selected cast & crew. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Classic Sketches That Will Outlive These Reviews
A brilliant set of sketches performed by the best of British comedians, and musicians. Several of the routines have provided quotations that have entered the comic lexicon [and not just in our family]: "Will the wind be so mighty, as to lay low the mountains of the earth?" (Rowan Atkinson and Peter Cook), "Interviewer" (Atkinson and John Cleese), "Wensleydale? Oh no, that's my name" (Cleese and Michael Palin). And the live performances of the songs (by Pete Townshend, Phil Collins, and Sting) are terrific. A tragedy that Rhino hasn't released it on DVD yet, but I remain hopeful.

Vintage live performances
I suppose everyone has different comedic tastes but I for one thought this was a really great collage of the Python's at their best. The Yorkshiremen sketch and the Cheeseshop sketch are worth the price alone. The music is admittedly fragmented but really this is a comedy movie not a concert. Yes it is shot with stage lighting but for me that just adds to the immediacy of the performance. No overdubs or trickery just a great live show.

The world's finest comedians far from their best form.
We all know that Amnesty International is a Very Good Idea. We may even concede that staging a concert full of the world's greatest comedians and some ex-popstars to raise funds is admirable. This does not mean that sitting through a badly-lit record of said even will be any fun. Comedy and Politics make for fruitfully acrimonious bedfellows, but Comedy and Earnestness only put each other to sleep. The fact that it's all in a Good Cause has made the entertainers lazy, made them dredge out any old unusable idea from the back of the closet on the premiss that our good-will will do the rest. Most of the routines revolve around the recitation of lists of names or things in the unfounded belief that enunciating them in a constipated English accent somehow makes them funny. Even the one genuinely amusing sequence - in which John Cleese enters Michael Palin's cheese shop that sells no cheese but features Greek dancers in native dress - consists of Cleese barking out all the varieties of goat's milk he can think of. Rowan Atkinson mimes a concert pianist. Peter Cook groans inwardly. Ho hum. Most woeful are the intrusions of various musical hasbeens (Pete Townshend, Tom Robinson etc.). Although it's in aid of Amnesty International, there is no mention of torture or political oppression in the show, although many of the 'jokes' end in exaggerated violence, even murder; while an all-cast sketch mocks religious fanaticism.

Some gems here, but a lot of filler
I gave this four stars because there are two or three sketches that really deserve five stars, plus a lot of things that really ought to have been edited out, but for the star appeal of their contributors. Clive James gives a reasonably amusing monologue, for example, which would have been fine on stage, but does not bear repeated viewing. Similarly, Ken Campbell and Sylvester McCoy are two of my favourite people, but their antics here are far better suited to a large stage with participating audience, rather than the constraints of the small screen.

The real stand outs are Peter Cook and Rowan Atkinson's (with support) Will This Wind, something that has me almost hysterical every time. Cook also pairs up well with John Cleese with Cook's E.L. Wisty finding the perfect foil in Cleese's straight man. Cleese and Palin also re-visit their cheese-shop sketch, perhaps putting in the definitive performance (notably this sketch has since been skitted by Rik & Ade and Goodness Gracious Me). There are a couple of good musical interludes too from Tom Robinson and Pete Townshend, but despite their quality, they seem a little out of place. All in all, this is a good record of a concert and a good chance to catch some things that are not available elsewhere.

"Do you know you've got 4 miles of tubbing in side you?"
It was another boring night. Nothing on TV but news and reality TV shows. I was flipping around and on PBS they were showing a movie titled "The Sectret Policeman's Ball." Being the HUGE python fan that I am, I decided to stay and watch it. I was not dissapointed one bit.
The next day I ran right to the video store and bought it. This tape has so many great sketches on it like the Cheese Shop (Funnier than the original I think.) I was also introduced to Beyond the Fringe which I had herd of but had never seen. Well now I'm just as big a Fringe as I am a Python fan. Rowan Akinson is great too. I love the sketch where he's a school teacher. I'd rather watch that sketch than BEAN.
I love the WHO and Pete Townsen is one of my favorite guitarist of all time. His performance of "We Don't Get Fooled again" is amazing. I also loved "Pinball Wizard."
The star off is because the quality is terrible. Also the camera work is very shaky. The Camera man was obviously cracking up at all the jokes... Can ya blame him though? ... Read more

Amazon.com

One of Sean Connery's least-seen films, this Richard Lester vehicle manages to be both politically astute and darkly funny at the same time. Set in Cuba as the Castro revolution is coming to fruition, it stars Connery as an aging mercenary trying to decide which side it pays to be paid by. Even as the Batista government is being overthrown, he is putting the spark to an old relationship with a factory manager (Brooke Adams), while American businessmen (particularly a well-cast Jack Weston) scramble to get the most bang for their buck. Lester's style--playing dramatic scenes while subverting them with comic business in the background--is in top form here. But this film never found an audience; too bad. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Cuba, don't bother
I love movies, books and music...anything about Cuba and other caribbean cultures. This movie was awful! The acting is bad, the story is bad. Don't waste your time unless you need a nap. As great at the movie Havana is, is how bad the move Cuba is.

Impressions.
*Cuba* may be the best movie you've never heard of. The setting is 1958, just before the final collapse of the Batista regime. Sean Connery stars as a British mercenary with the odd name of Dapes, whom Batista's colonels hope will help them to stamp out Fidel Castro's revolutionaries. However, Connery pretty much figures out -- almost as soon as he arrives -- that Batista's cause will be lost, and so his attempts to guide the incompetent military are rather half-hearted. He's much more interested in reviving a love affair with an old flame, Brooke Adams (surprisingly glamorous, but with an on-again, off-again accent). Problem is, she's married to the profligate son (Chris Sarandon) of one of Cuba's wealthiest industrialists . . . and it's a lifestyle that rather fits in with her imperial demeanor. (She runs the cigar factory and the rum distillery while her husband gets drunk and chases the skirts of the hired help.) The movie does not pretend to be a terribly accurate account of the Cuban Revolution. What director Richard Lester goes for instead are impressionistic sketches of the land, its people, and its culture. All the stereotypes are here, lovingly rendered: the fat, pompous jefes; the sultry women; the tacky gringo culture superimposed on the place for the visiting American businessmen (one of whom is the always-welcome Jack Weston, in a terrifically sleazy performance); the cigar factories; the prostitutes; the skinny kids playing street baseball; posters of politicos; languid bathers poolside; tropical drinks with the little umbrellas . . . get the idea? The movie succeeds spectacularly in delineating the death-throes of a way of life. Havana in particular seems deserted, denuded of people: even blonde American strippers can't find an audience. *Cuba* is a poignant, and at times funny, daguerreotype of a nation filled with ghosts, just on the cusp of revolution.

historical drama
very few of us now a days, know of the incidents and life in cuba and why fidel castro took power, from a corrupt gangster style goverment of the baustista goverment.
sean connery plays a british mercenary, trying to scope out the situation for the in power goverment , and re-live a old fling
with a old flame from north afrika, ww2 days.
chris sarandon plays the handsome husband of brooke adams, who's family is that of the elite and powerful.
see this movie and undersatnd the life that once was.

Stands the Test of Time
This movie is on any list of my family's 10 favorite movies. We saw it in the theater when it was new, and hoarded the homemade videotape made from a TV broadcast, which was a major event in this household. Finally on DVD - it's wonderful that now we can see it in both widescreen and non.

The film rewards repeated viewing, since eventually you realize that all the comic business ties in with all the main plot lines. I think this mixture of relevant-to-the-plot background comic bits throughout a film must be Richard Lester's forte, since he does it so well in all of his movies. Here the comic bits are superb - there really are no loose ends!

Every character, every actor is wonderful, even the bit parts. Jack Weston gives one of the best performances of his life. It lingers in the imagination as THE picture of life at every stratum in Cuba at the end of the 1950s, even though (as has been observed in other reviews) the locations were really in Spain. The colors, the ambience, even the music - wonderful.

It's obvious to me, anyway, that this movie stands the test of time...it has survived to be reborn in DVD format. Thank goodness! - Because it deserves to be remembered and enjoyed.

Let's hear it for the location scout!
This awful adolescent drivel is saved only by Sean Connery and the breathtakingly accurate scenery. The late 50's interiors are dead on and throughout the movie, I kept wondering, how on earth did they get permission to shoot in Cuba? Of course they didn't - it was shot in Spain.

Despite the interesting atmosphere and backstory, the story itself isn't cohesive and there are holes in it big enough to hold one of Batista's white baby grands.

Perhaps the story would have held if the female lead had more strength. Brooke Adams portrays Alejandra Pulido with a here-again, gone-again Spanish accent and a weakness that betrays the character as written. ... Read more

Reviews (113)

Gilliam achieves much with little
Worth it for Gilliam and indie film fans. A group of renegade shrubbery-designers on the lam from the Supreme Being stumble through a hole in space-time into the bedroom of a small boy, whom they abduct to help them steal the treasures of history. Okay, Gilliam fans, rejoice. Python fans, rent it first. Indie filmmakers - here's how to make a plausible looking fantasy film on a (still big) budget. The executive summary: 1. Acting - well done and believable. Appropriately over-the top in places. 2. Plot - fun fun fun and I want that map! Touching in places, and the non-Hollywood ending is perfect. 3. Production design / special effects - good enough. On par with Monty Python episodes / Holy Grail film. Notable exception - everything to do with "Evil". Bonus: see the origins of the "insidiously cheesy machinery" look Gilliam later perfected in "Brazil" and "12 Monkeys". Sets and props are extremely well-used (pay attention to the kids' room at the beginning!)and add richness to the film. The DVD has commentary by the now-grown child lead, as well as some Gilliam miscellany. For fans, well worth the extra investment, even if you already own the VHS edition. Key issue - this is only a date movie if your date can handle "silly." Most American ladies (in my experience) find Monty Python really unfunny. This film is not true Python when taken as a whole, but anything with a little slapstick and cockney accents seems to get painted as such. Warning: I thought that since one lady friend of mine liked Adam Sandler, she'd like TB - I was wrong! Be warned! Overall - fans, buy it. Others - rent it or ask for it for a gift.

PYTHONESQUE ADVENTURE
From a script written with fellow Python Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam's TIME BANDITS Divimax Special Edition (Anchor Bay) is a certified cult fave of wonder, wit and unbridled imagination. A school boy is sucked into a crime spree by a time travelling gang of dwarves who have a map to the holes in the space-time continuum. Along the way, they encounter Napoleon (Ian Holm), Robin Hood (John Cleese), King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Evil Genius (David Warner) and God (Sir Ralph Richardson) -- who almost answers one of the supreme theological questions.

This new two-disc edition in Divimax is a state of the art hi-def transfer. The bonus disc features interviews with Gilliam and Palin and a career retrospective that includes Brad Pitt, Shelley Duvall, David Warner among others.

Pretentious junk
Save your dough.

A british kid goes on adventures with a bunch of hammy-acting little people. At the end, his parents die for no apparant reason. (Before some film school moron e-mails me with the reason, I got it. It was just dumb.)

Get "Brazil" or "Munchausen" instead. Gilliam's off his game here. Or try "12 monkeys." That's a great film

A Concept Film that Doesn't Know When to Quit
Like a big candy bar. Eye-popping but unfulfilling. Momentarily pleasing but undernourishing. Couldn't help but think this could have been so much better. It's kind of a Monty Python reimagining of The Wizard of Oz. More mature and cleverer. A plucky resourceful child is transported to a parallel world where the child must make things right before he/she is allowed to go home. The Munchkins are the stars this time. The Supreme Being is, of course, Oz. Evil is the Wicked Witch. Instead of the fantasy world sing-a-long; Gilliam goes with Sci-Fi time travel. Either the movie should have been longer to allow for more story & character development or some of the great ideas should have been shelved for other projects. There's a certain episodic feel to the proceedings as the time travelers jump from time to time but don't really get anywhere; much like the film itself.

an interesting film for older mature children.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

This film was marketed as being for children. I thought that this film is too morbid for small children and recommend that children be at least 8 years old to watch it.

In this film, a young boy joins a troupe of dwarves who travel through 'holes' in time with the aid of a time map stolen from a deity. They rob famous historical figures such as Napoleon and Agamemnon. Later they are captured by an evil sorceror who takes the map from them.

This film has several creatures in it that I think would frighten younger children I urge parents to watch the film by themselves before showing it to their children.

The Criterion Collection has special features including a theatrical trailer, a slide show of production photos and a video, and full-length audio commentary by selected cast & crew. ... Read more