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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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A must-have classic
The wonderful imaginings of Terry Gilliam come to life in this classic fairy tale like story. Of all Gilliam's films, this is the one I think is must watch. Fantastical settings with python humour and superb visual effects of its time and not to mention a floating sentient head with its constantly horny body. Nobody does fantasy stories like this anymore. It is a must have special edition dvd if you want to go back to how fantasy movies like neverending story or even jason and his argonauts were done way before CG special effects even gets its name. Get it, watch it and feel magical all over again.
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Blu-ray does this movie justice
I am a huge fan of this movie, and this blu-ray release finally treats it with a little respect. While the audio mix seems a little odd in some scenes (the late Michael Kamen's brilliant score sometimes gets lost in all the sound effects and explosions), the movie looks better than it ever has, comparable to blu-ray releases of more recent movies. Yah, sure, all this eye-popping, hi-def clarity really shows the seams in the dated effects and make-up, but enjoying The Adventures of Baron Munchausen requires such a huge suspension of disbelief in the first place that I don't think many will care, and some might even find these flaws make it MORE endearing. The featurettes and commentary are wonderfully informative and entertaining, but considering this movie's colorful history, I expected just a little more in the special features department. All in all though, it is SO much better than what's been available before.
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yes an ORIGINAL movie does exist
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen You've never seen a Fantasy Movie like this before, absolute top of the line effects when it was made. Plus the producers didn't let CGI take all the glory, both Costumes & Sets are lavish, 2 hours of eye candy for the imagination. Comedy is also in abundance throughout the film. If you like seeing a Movie that's guaranteed different from the studio crank outs, with world class actors & a don't blink your eye story canvas, THIS IS IT
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Still a classic -- but HD?
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is still the delightful and creative classic from Terry Gilliam. One of Gilliam's most visually-ambitious films, it pushed the limits of 1989 visual and makeup effects. As a result, watching it on Blu-Ray (on a large screen), I found myself distracted by the noticeable defects brought forth by High Definition.
If you already own this film on SD, it probably isn't worth it to upgrade to the HD version. For those considering the HD purchase, there are still plenty of scenes where the high-definition clarity really delivers Gilliams epic vision.
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One Of The Best Terry Gilliam Films
When this film was released in the theaters it went under the radar for the general public simply because Columbia Pictures didn't have faith in it. They spent a good amount of money for production but decided not to spend it in marketing (they also didn't know how to market it) and it was eventually released in a very limited run. That's unfortunate because I can't think of too many films that are as imaginative and inspiring as this film. Terry Gilliam made a name for himself as a director with Time Bandits (I love Brazil but to this day it is still considered a true cult film) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen follows in those footsteps. Although it's disguised as a period piece it's really more of an urban fantasy utilizing Greco-Roman mythology (for ex.Mars/Vulcan and Venus) and European folk tales. But ultimately it has Terry Gilliam's stamp as an auteur: elaborate production design, different types of animation, Pythonesque humor, very animated acting, but most importantly a disdain towards power and government and bureaucracy. On the surface we know that faith in the imagination makes the Baron youthful and logic, fact, science is what ages him (for ex.death disguised as a doctor) but beneath the surface is a commentary against the powerful and corrupt who busy themselves with paperwork (check out Brazil for a better example) and lie to the public to keep themselves in power. Hence the fact that Mr. Jackson (Jonathan Pryce) keeps a watchful eye on the public within the theater as they are kept busy with bad plays instead of focusing on what the government is really doing outside of the city's gate. But really this is besides the point, the point is this film is fun, it's pure eye candy, it's inspired lunacy and yet the lunacy makes sense, it's funny and poignant. This is why Terry Gilliam is one of my favorite directors. It's a treasure that the public needs to discover and the blu-ray edition is the best it has ever looked so it's a great place to start.
