Adventures of Baron Munchausen [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Director Terry Gilliam adroitly applies his Monty Python sensibilities upon the "career" of famed German prevaricator Baron von Munchausen. Played herein by John Neville, the baron is seen quelling a war that he himself started, flying into the stratosphere on the back of a cannonball, ballooning to the moon, exploring the innards of a volcano, being swallowed by a whale....In short, all of Munchausen's fabulous lies are here presented as "truth," played out in full view of nonplussed witnesses Eric Idle, Charles McKeown, Jack Purvis, and Sarah Polley. Fringe benefits include several loving medium shots of jaybird-naked Uma Thurman as Boticelli's Venus and an extended unbilled cameo by Robin Williams -- that is, by the head of Robin Williams -- as the King of the Moon. Filmed under considerable duress on a budget eventually exceeding 45 million dollars, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen never quite caught on with moviegoers, though it has enjoyed a lucrative afterlife on videocassette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: ABC
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Color
• Subtitle: French, Korean, English, Spanish, Thai
• Features:
  • Commentary with director Terry Gilliam & co-writer/actor Charles McKeown
  • The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen: An all-new 3-part documentary on the making of the film
  • Storyboard sequences with all-new vocal performances by Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown
  • Deleted scenes
  • Marvelous world of Munchausen enchanced graphics & trivia track (blu-ray exclusive)

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1989 (Francesca Lo Schiavo, Dante Ferretti)
•     Nominated Best Costume Design - 1989 (Gabriella Pescucci)
•     Nominated Best Makeup - 1989 (Fabrizio Sforza, Maggie Weston)
•     Nominated Best Visual Effects - 1989 (Richard Conway, Kent Houston)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Makeup - 1990 (Fabrizio Sforza, Pam Meager)
•     Won Best Costume Design - 1989 (Gabriella Pescucci)
•     Won Best Production Design - 1989 (Dante Ferretti)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       John Neville - Baron Munchausen
       Eric Idle - Berthold
       Sarah Polley - Sally
       Jonathan Pryce - Horatio Jackson
       Uma Thurman - Venus/Rose
       Oliver Reed - Vulcan
       Charles McKeown - Rupert/Adolphus
       Sting - Heroic Officer
       Robin Williams - King of the Moon
       Valentina Cortese - Queen Ariadne/Violet

• Director:

  Terry Gilliam

• Producer:

  Thomas Schühly

• Book Author:

  Gottfried Burger

• Screenwriter:

  Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown

• Cinematographer:

  Giuseppe Rotunno

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Kamen

• Editor:

  Peter Hollywood

• Production Designer:

  Dante Ferretti

• Art Director:

  Maria Teresa Barbasso, Massimo Razzi

• Co-producer:

  Ray Cooper

• Supervising Producer:

  Stratton Leopold

REVIEWS:

• The fabled {%Baron von Munchausen} appeared in a number of live-action and animated screen incarnations prior to 1989, including {$Josef von Baky}'s 1943 {@UFA}-funded, {$Goebbels}-produced {#Munchausen}. Yet {$Terry Gilliam} bravely resisted the temptation to rework any of those prior screen versions. Instead, his film is twofold. On the most rudimentary level, he uses the {%Munchausen} stories as a kind of loose framework on which to hang an assortment of the most audacious visual fireworks ever to illuminate the silver screen. And on that basis, the work is truly extraordinary, bringing to light effects unlike any created before or since in a Western feature, which defy all boundaries of form, dimension, and logic. Consequently, {#The Adventures of Baron Munchausen} -- like {$Ray Harryhausen}'s {#7th Voyage of Sinbad} 30 years prior -- held captive the imaginations of those viewers who were fortunate enough to catch this film as children, during its initial theatrical run. From the "animated constellations" that swirl and gyrate through the celestial fabric, to the scythe-wielding {%Grim Reaper} who bursts forth from an inert stone statue, sending stone shards flaying off omnidirectionally, to the glimpse of a white sand-filled sea of tranquility with the half-buried stone head of some obscure lunar monarch in the foreground, {$Gilliam} plunges breathlessly and rapturously into a preadolescent visual dreamscape. If the film only functioned as a collection of visual pyrotechnics (as many assumed), it would indeed be disappointing; instead, {$Gilliam} intuitively plunges deeper, and the film gains longevity from its thematic level. With {%Baron}, {$Gilliam} completed a planned screen trilogy on the theme of imagination as it triumphs over stiff-necked reason and logic. This thematic triumvirate began some eight years prior with {#Time Bandits}, continued with 1985's only fitfully successful but equally ambitious {\sci-fi} {\tragicomedy} {#Brazil}, and wraps with {#Baron}. And that theme is the glue that holds this massively overscaled, freewheeling production together, ingeniously justifying every one of {$Gilliam}'s deliberate logical and temporal lapses (particularly in the confusing denouement). With -- as an added bonus -- the one-of-a-kind {$Pythonesque} humor that flavors the majority of {$Gilliam}'s screen works providing much-needed lunacy and comic relief, the film earns its right to masterpiece status. Unfortunately, Western audiences did not agree. This outrageously expensive film (presumably greenlit during {$David Puttnam}'s tenure at {@Columbia}) confounded many American viewers and slipped by others, bringing untold financial loss for the studio. {$Gilliam} survived, however, rebounding to box-office gold two and a half years later, with the Christmas 1991 blockbuster {#The Fisher King}. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
• The fabled Baron von Munchausen appeared in a number of live-action and animated screen incarnations prior to 1989, including Josef von Baky's 1943 UFA-funded, Goebbels-produced Munchausen. Yet Terry Gilliam bravely resisted the temptation to rework any of those prior screen versions. Instead, his film is twofold. On the most rudimentary level, he uses the Munchausen stories as a kind of loose framework on which to hang an assortment of the most audacious visual fireworks ever to illuminate the silver screen. And on that basis, the work is truly extraordinary, bringing to light effects unlike any created before or since in a Western feature, which defy all boundaries of form, dimension, and logic. Consequently, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen -- like Ray Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad 30 years prior -- held captive the imaginations of those viewers who were fortunate enough to catch this film as children, during its initial theatrical run. From the "animated constellations" that swirl and gyrate through the celestial fabric, to the scythe-wielding Grim Reaper who bursts forth from an inert stone statue, sending stone shards flaying off omnidirectionally, to the glimpse of a white sand-filled sea of tranquility with the half-buried stone head of some obscure lunar monarch in the foreground, Gilliam plunges breathlessly and rapturously into a preadolescent visual dreamscape. If the film only functioned as a collection of visual pyrotechnics (as many assumed), it would indeed be disappointing; instead, Gilliam intuitively plunges deeper, and the film gains longevity from its thematic level. With Baron, Gilliam completed a planned screen trilogy on the theme of imagination as it triumphs over stiff-necked reason and logic. This thematic triumvirate began some eight years prior with Time Bandits, continued with 1985's only fitfully successful but equally ambitious sci-fi tragicomedy Brazil, and wraps with Baron. And that theme is the glue that holds this massively overscaled, freewheeling production together, ingeniously justifying every one of Gilliam's deliberate logical and temporal lapses (particularly in the confusing denouement). With -- as an added bonus -- the one-of-a-kind Pythonesque humor that flavors the majority of Gilliam's screen works providing much-needed lunacy and comic relief, the film earns its right to masterpiece status. Unfortunately, Western audiences did not agree. This outrageously expensive film (presumably greenlit during David Puttnam's tenure at Columbia) confounded many American viewers and slipped by others, bringing untold financial loss for the studio. Gilliam survived, however, rebounding to box-office gold two and a half years later, with the Christmas 1991 blockbuster The Fisher King. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

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