DVD
REVIEW:
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
04/06/08
Its been 20 years since the
“The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” was released, so why
did I chose to review this movie? Well, I’ve been a fan of
director Terry Gilliam ever since 1995 when he directed
“Twelve Monkeys” one of my favorite films. So, when the
opportunity arose to review the 20th anniversary edition of
the “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”, I was extremely
exciting. What would I think of a 20 year old movie that
looks like a child‘s fantasy land? Read and see.
“The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” based on the life of
Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen who in the 18th century
was known for his many tall tales begins in a war torn town
with The Baron (John Neville) arriving at theater where a
stage play based on his life is currently playing. He storms
the stage and begins telling the town the he is the reason
why the Turks are at war with them. As he begins to tell the
story, the theater is attacked and the people begin to flee.
The Baron tells the town’s people that he will save them
although he needs to find his crew: Berthold (Eric Idle) an
ultra fast runner, Adolphus (Charles McKeown), who possesses
superhuman eyesight, Gustavus (Jack Purvis) who possesses
superhuman hearing, and very powerful lungs and Albrecht
(Winston Dennis) the world's strongest man. In order to find
them his adventure will lead him to the moon which is ruled
by The King of Moon (Robin Williams), to a trip beneath the
earth where he angers the god Vulcan when he seduces his
wife Venus (Uma Thurman) and finally to a trip to the gut of
a giant fish where he find his final two comrades and
readies for a war with the Turks.
For the time period in which this movie was make it features
some very nice special effects. The production of the movie
was first-rate and it looks as if they bared no expense in
trying to make the fantasy world come to life. However, this
fantasy world did not come cheap as the story goes the movie
cost about $46 million, double the estimates production
budget.
The scenes on the moon were a bit overbearing as Robin
Williams went overboard with this acting as he often does.
The whole moon scenes played like a weird Saturday Night
Live sketch. Otherwise the movie’s comedy still holds up,
with the performance of John Neville as the Baron going down
in my book as classic. He nailed this role. Eric Idle was
ok, but he is a bit too corny. While some may find this
movie way too weird, its fantasy elements are a great
escape.
Sony is releasing this as a 2-disk Anniversary Edition on
April 7, 2008. The collection is load with features which
include a 3-part documentary on the making of the film,
three storyboards of scenes that were never shot for
financial reasons and four deleted scenes. For those wishing
to experience the film in high definition a Blu-ray edition
will also released on the same day.
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English/French/Portuguese/Japanese 5.1 (Dolby Digital)
Subtitles: English/French/Portuguese/Japanese
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Commentary with Director Terry Gilliam and
Co-Writer/Actor Charles McKeown
The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen - a
3-part documentary on the making of the film where director
Terry Gilliam discusses among other things how much problems
he had with the studio in making the movie.
1. Flights of Fancy
- (29:40)
2. Caught in The Act (16:44)
3. The Final Curtain - This is by far the most
interesting as Terry Gilliam discuses what happened when the
film financiers pulled the plug (25:34).
StoryBoards
As we Once Dreamed it: An Introduction by Terry Gilliam and
Charles McKeown - a brief intro discussing that the
storyboards shown were cut from the movie for financial
reasons. (0:37)
The Baron Saves Sally - It is a shame this
scene was cut, but the movie as already too long. (2:48)
A Voyage to the Moon - The scene is described
by Terry as total madness, so it must be crazy. (21:08)
The Baron & Bucephalus Charge The Turkish Gates
- This scene was the reason Terry wanted to make this movie.
Cut out because it was to difficult and expense to do.
(4:40)
As We Once Dreame it: Some Afterthoughts by Terry
Gilliam & Charles McKeon - Terry and Charles say
goodbye. (0:45).
Deleted Scenes - Four deleted scenes are shown
with not much worth noting. The best of the lot is the
Alternate Opening with the Extended Fish Sequence coming in
at a close second.
1. The Rules of Warfare
2. Extended Fish Sequence
3. Mutiny on The Stage
4. Alternate Opening
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
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