The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray Review
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 04.12.2008
Does the fantasy film that buried a visionary hold up over time?
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Written by Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
Cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno
Music Score by Eric Idle and Michael Kamen
John Neville … Baron von Munchausen
Eric Idle … Desmond/Berthold
Sarah Polley … Sally Salt
Oliver Reed … Vulcan
Charles McKeown … Rupert/Adolphus
Winston Dennis … Bill/Albrecht
Jack Purvis … Jeremy/Gustavus
Valentina Cortese … Queen Ariadne/Violet
Jonathan Pryce … Horatio Jackson
Bill Paterson … Henry Salt
Peter Jeffrey … Sultan
Uma Thurman … Venus/Rose
Sting … Heroic Officer
Robin Williams (uncredited) … King of the Moon
Rated PG
The Film
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen holds the dubious distinction of being the movie that turned director Terry Gilliam into studio poison. Previously, the former Monty Python member had made the relatively successful Time Bandits and the wonderfully misunderstood masterpiece Brazil. It was Brazil that might have been the largest hurdle Munchausen had to jump prior to actual production. Gilliam had gone over schedule on that film and the studios wanted assurance they would not face similar problems with this new film. Unfortunately for Gilliam, the problems with the production would only get worse causing the film to be referred to by the filmmaker as a fiasco.
The story begins with title cards stating it is the late 18th century, during the “Age of Reason”, on a Wednesday. The movie presents a war-ravaged European city ran by elected official Horatio Jackson. Jackson runs the city in an organized manner with rules in place to make certain everyone remains equal and uniformity and “reason” overrules all. An example of this rule is a soldier who has shown extraordinary heroic ability (in a cameo by musician Sting) who is executed to help retain the status quo. A touring stage production showcasing the astounding feats and tall tales of Baron Munchausen is being performed in the city when, in the middle of the second act, an old man walks onto the stage and announces he is in fact the true Baron Munchausen. He announces to the audience he is the man responsible for the war the city is involved in with the Turks. As he tells the story of how the controversy began, bombing begins and Munchausen finds he must return to action to help save the city.
Gilliam attempts to add heart to Munchausen, something missing from many of his other films. It’s apparent that subject does not come easy to the visionary. Portrayed by eight-year old Sarah Polley, Sally Salt is the character comes off as the weakest part of the story. Sally’s place in this world is to push Munchausen to achieve his destiny. From the start of the film, Munchausen wants nothing more than to die. He states that he is tired of the world and the world is also tired of him. The fear of death follows him throughout the story in the form of a specter, always ready to take him from this world. Sally saves him on more than one occasion, however her performance is one that grates on the nerves of the viewer and you never really feel any sympathy for her. She just comes across as a spoiled brat who wants her way instead of the pure innocent who makes Munchausen see the error of his ways. She also almost gets everyone killed on numerous occasions and is as much an annoying hindrance to the quest as she is a help.
The story is very similar in comic style to the Monty Python films, but carries a very strong linear story that surpasses much of Monty Python’s work. When Munchausen and Sally leave the city in the iconic hot air balloon, the story picks up speed and becomes a truly great work of cinema. The Baron seeks out his former associates to return to the city and fight the Turks and save its citizens. These associates are highlighted by Berthold, played wonderfully by Eric Idle. All the associates have wonderful character traits (the strong man, the midget with powerful lungs and the expert gunman) but Idle brings his character to life as the most endearing character of the group. Outside of the associates, the most surprising performance was seventeen year old Uma Thurman, in two separate roles – the first as a common woman and the second as the Goddess Venus. It is easy to see why she would become such a successful actress in later years.
The visual effects are where the film achieves its greatest heights. The color palette is spectacular, which is never a concern in a film by Terry Gilliam. He also implemented many practical effects that really add charm and beauty to the picture. I believe he accomplished more with his work in this film than many have achieved using computer generated effects since. He is one of the greatest visionaries of this era and watching this movie shows what he is capable of, even when faced with the harshest of disruptions. During the search for his men, Munchausen must travel to the moon, to the depths of the sea and to a volcano of Giants. The trip to the moon might have been the most visually spectacular, but carries the least entertaining portion of the journey. Robin Williams plays the King of the Moon in an un-credited appearance and only distracts from the visual effects that Gilliam presented. One specific shot where the boat Munchausen and Sally are riding in makes it to the moon and the water transforms into sand is spectacular.
With strong acting, a solid story and amazing visual effects the film works despite lack of support from the studio system. Gilliam would make a few really good films after this, including 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but has been hand-tied for much of his career since this film. I can’t figure out why, looking back in hindsight, the studios don’t support him more when they see what a great talent he is. I assumed the controversy would hurt him short term, but when he was crippled in his attempts to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote almost ten years later, it appeared he would never get the chance to show the extent of what he could accomplish. With the current support of A-list stars Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus might finally be what the doctor ordered. Until then, this DVD should tide you over as one of the best films in the career of a magnificent director.
The Video
The movie looks amazing. The colors are crisp and beautiful and everything is presented in a manner that I never imagined it would ever achieve. It is presented in 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1. If you want to see how great the transfer was, you only need to watch the documentary, which is presented in standard definition and compare the film clips there to what you see in the feature. It is a fantastic trandfer.
The Audio
The audio options on the Blu-ray are English Dolby TRUEHD 5.1 and French Dolby TRUEHD 5.1. It sounds spectacular. All the dialogue is clear and the music is perfect. This is a great audio transfer.
The Packaging
The packaging is a typical Blu-ray case, the cover bearing a nice artists rendition of the main cast. I would have preferred the hot air balloon, but I think it is nice art work. I do disagree with the use of Uma Thurman’s name on the front cover with John Neville and Eric Idle. Sarah Polley was one of the two main stars and deserved her name there, but Thurman is more popular and might help sell more discs.
The Extras
Commentary with Director Terry Gilliam & Co-Writer/Actor Charles McKeown – The two recorded a very nice talk track, sticking with how they achieved many effects and talking about the story more than talking about the problems with the creation of the film.
Marvelous World of Munchausen – This is a pop-up trivia track exclusive to the Blu-ray. It includes interesting trivia popping up throughout the film as well as enhanced graphics that shows behind the scenes photos during specific scenes. I like the fact that you can watch this while listening to the commentary to get the full effects.
The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen (1:12:08) – This is the real reason to upgrade your old copy of the movie. The documentary talks with many of the people involved in the making of this movie, while bringing more than one point of view as to who was to blame for the “fiasco.” Great kudos go to Eric Idle who holds nothing back, calling 95% of the people in the film business lying scum and saying this movie was the worst experience of his life outside boarding school. Sarah Polley is also interviewed as she remembers the explosions and the terror she felt as an eight-year old, saying she was traumatized during the experience. The highlights of the documentary are the back and forth interviews with director Terry Gilliam and producer Thomas Schühly as they point the blame for the fiasco in different directions. The most ignorant comment in the piece would be by Schühly, who states he was blamed for the mess because he was a German.
Storyboards (30:03) – These are scenes cut out of the movie, each one introduced by Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown. Both men mention they did not want these scenes cut from the movie and they were all removed due to budget problems. The storyboards are shown with all-new vocal performances by the two. This was a really neat special feature.
Deleted Scenes (3:37) – This is four deleted scenes cut from the movie. Unlike the storyboard feature, it was easy to see why these scenes were cut from the final product, as all would have just added fat to the movie and none were really that good.
Previews – There are two previews, one for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep and another for Blu-Ray.
The Film: 9.0/10.0 The Video: 10.0/10.0 The Audio: 10.0/10.0 The Packaging: 7.0/10.0 The Extras: 10.0/10.0
The 411: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a visual treat that showcases the talent of one of the greatest visionary filmmakers living today in Terry Gilliam. This 20th Anniversary release is a treasure with commentary tracks, deleted scenes and storyboards and a very informative and entertaining documentary. Whether you are familiar with the movie or not, it is a DVD worth owning and the Blu-ray release offers both superior video and an extra feature not available on the standard release. This is a release a long time coming and turned out to be well worth the wait.
