Adv of Baron Munchausen-20th Ann Edi (1988)

"...[Gilliam] has created another brilliantly inventive epic of fantasy and satire.  Desson Howe, The Washington Post
"...a wondrous feat of imagination.  Hal Hinson, The Washington Post
"A visual feast.  Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide
"A fantasy to end all fantasies.  Pia Lindstron, WNBC-TV
"The special effects are astonishing!  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Editor's Note In TIME BANDITS, director Terry Gilliam told a fantastical story filled with heroes and villains seen through the eyes of a small boy. In BRAZIL, Gilliam focused on a fantasy world created by a young man trapped in a totalitarian state. And now, with THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, Gilliam tells the legend of an old man who has lived a fairy-tale life. In the late 18th century, the Age of Reason has no room for fantasy. In a town besieged by murderous enemies, a traveling company is putting on a stage show about the apocryphal Baron Munchausen, who, with his motley crew of servants, supposedly circled the globe and the universe, following each bizarre adventure with one even more strange and ludicrous. But then a man appears at the theater claiming to be the real Baron, and to prove it, he goes off on one final journey to save the town, chased all along the way by the winged specter of death. Gilliam never met an epic spectacle he didn't like. MUNCHAUSEN is loaded with brilliant set pieces, including spinning heads on the moon and a giant Botticelli clamshell in the bottom of a hellish volcano. Gilliam has assembled a stellar cast, including John Neville as the Baron, Oliver Reed as Vulcan, Jonathan Pryce (BRAZIL), Jack Purvis (Wally in TIME BANDITS), Robin Williams (credited as Ray D. Tutto), Eric Idle (who contributes "The Torturer's Apprentice" with Michael Kamen to the soundtrack), Charles McKeown (LIFE OF BRIAN), a cameo by Sting, and early appearances by Sarah Polley (as young Sally Salt) and Uma Thurman. Gilliam's special effects bonanza is a modern retelling of THE WIZARD OF OZ, a fabulous adventure filled with daring feats, preposterous nonsense, danger galore, and the overall belief that a world without fantasy is a sad world indeed.

	Eric Idle
	John Neville
	Jonathan Pryce
	Oliver Reed
	Robin Williams
	Sarah Polley
	Sting
	Uma Thurman
	Charles McKeown - Screenplay
	Dante Ferretti - Production Designer
	Eric Idle - Original Music By
	Giuseppe Rotunno - Cinematographer
	Gottfried August Burger - Based On Novel By
	Jake Eberts - Executive Producer
	Maria-Teresa Barbasso, et. al. - Art Director
	Michael Kamen - Original Music By
	Peter Hollywood - Editor
	Ray Cooper - Producer
	Rudolph Erich Raspe - Based On Novel By
	Terry Gilliam - Director
	Terry Gilliam - Screenplay

In yet another of his unbelievable exploits, the Baron sets sail in a hot air balloon with the help of the strongest man on earth, the fastest man alive, a man who can see farther than a telescope, and one who can blow harder than a hurricane to save a city against a Turkish sultan's superior forces. Terry Gilliam's epic is a visual 12-course banquet. New York Times
"...Full of moments that dazzle, just for the fun of seeing the impossible come to life on the screen..." 03/10/1989 p.C8

USA Today
"...Witty....Movie-magical....This is a movie that bludgeons you with dazzle..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars 03/10/1989 p.1D

Variety
"...Fantastically imaginative conceptual and visual aspects..." 01/18/1989

Premiere
"Polley the child actress is spunky..." 04/01/2004 p.98

Entertainment Weekly
"[T]he visuals remain stunning..." -- Grade: B 04/18/2008 p.52

Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] weirdly wonderful fantasy..." 05/01/2008 p.159

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's enough silliness and spirit to waft the clouds from a rainy Sunday afternoon." 06/01/2008 p.136

Variety 8 of 10
A fitting final installment in Terry Gilliam's trilogy begun with Time Bandits and continued with Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen shares many of those films strengths and weaknesses, but doesn't possess the visionary qualities of the latter...The film offers a continual feast for the eyes, and not enough for the funnybone or the heart. Set in Europe in the 18th century, tale begins with a city under intense siege by the Turks. An elderly gent who purports to be the Baron begins relating the true story of how he caused the war...With this, Gilliam takes the viewer into the exquisite palace of the sultan, whose ferocity is aroused when he loses a bet to the visiting baron (John Neville). With the help of his variously and superhumanly gifted gang of four, which consists of the fastest runner in the world, a dwarf who can exhale with hurricane force, an expert sharpshooter and an immeasurably strong black man, the Baron makes off with the sultan's entire treasure, but his city is left to suffer the consequences...Promising to save the city from the renewed attack, the Baron escapes in a gigantic hot-air balloon fashioned out of ladies' underwear, and goes in search of his four comrades. This journey takes the unlikely pair to some unlikely places where they meet some unlikely people.

FilmsGraded.com 8 of 10
At the time of its production, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was one of the most expensive films ever made. This was due to the elaborate and imaginative sets, costumes, makeup and visual special effects, each of which were eventually nominated for Academy Awards...The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is both a fantasy and a low-key comedy, with the outlandish feel (and excesses) of past classics such as The Wizard of Oz (1939) and The Thief of Baghdad (1940)...Director Terry Gilliam has said that The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is the third leg of a loose trilogy, along with Time Bandits and Brazil. These films have in common the use of imagination throughout various ages, with the Baron representing old age. Several of the supporting actors had appeared in both of the previous films, but as different characters. Gilliam and supporting actor Eric Idle may still be best known for their legendary British television series Monty Python's Flying Circus...The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is not for everyone, as its episodic nature leads to frequent starts and stalls. As in an old Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoon, there is liberal license taken with the laws of physics. But if you are both patient and forgiving, you will be rewarded with a unique and highly imaginative film. - Brian Koller