Trilogy Week #49 - Terry Gilliam's Imagination Trilogy

Terry Gilliam first got his start as the only American cast member of Monty Python. Doing mostly the little animation sequences in between segments. Then When Monty Python started getting into making movies, he co-directed The Holy Grail, with his fellow Terry, Terry Jones. That's were the directing bug caught hold, and Terry Gilliam has been making some of the most imaginative movies ever since. This week we are going to see Terry Gilliam's Imagination Trilogy. This is were we get to see inside the mind of a brilliant film maker.

Title: Time Bandits

Year: 1981

Director: Terry Gilliam

Cast: John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Michael Palin, Ian Holm, Katherine Helmond, Ralph Richardson, David Warner, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Jack Purvis

Rated: PG

Running Time: 1hr. 56mins.

My Review: Very weird, but very enjoyable to watch. If you are not a fan of Monty Python, then you will hate all of these movies. This is a very abstract way to show a time travel movie, as we follow a group of dwarfs, and a 11 year old boy as they travel through rips in the time-space continuum. It feels like a classic fairy tale for the modern age. 8 out of 10 big floating heads

Title: Brazil

Year: 1985

Director: Terry Gilliam

Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond, Iam Holm, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin, Kim Greist

Rated: R

Running Time: 2hr. 23mins.

My Review: Out of these three movies, this is the weirdest, and for most people the hardest to watch. Taking place in a not to distant dystopian future, where everything is determined with paperwork. You can really feel Gilliam's disdain for useless technology, fashion, and consumerism, in a very funny satirical way. With a very surprising twist ending that will have you thinking about the movie, hours after you've seen it. 7 out of 10 circuit board samurais

Title: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Year: 1988

Director: Terry Gilliam

Cast: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Jack Purvis, Jonathan Pryce, Uma Thurman,Robin Williams

Rated: PG

Running Time: 2hr. 06mins.

My Review: Based on the outrageous tall tales that the 18th-century German nobleman Baron Münchhausen was alleged to have told about his wartime exploits against the Ottoman Empire. Gilliam does a great job turning this series of adventures into a great imaginative vision that very few could pull off. This is great story of tall tales that lives up to the Odyssey, and Gulliver's Travels. Even though the scene with Robin Williams is a bit unbearable with his constant chewing of the scenery. John Neville is very captivating and holds the movie up beautifully. 8 out of 10 tourcher chamber organs