The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)
- Cody Iden
- Oct 21, 2021
- 4 min read
Release Date - March 10, 1989
Synopsis:
The elderly and eccentric Baron Munchausen sets out to assemble a band of misfits in time to save a town from being overrun by the Turks and a series of extraordinary adventures follows.
Directed by - Terry Gilliam
Written by - Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
Produced by - Thomas Schühly
Cinematography - Giuseppe Rotunno
Music by - Michael Kamen
Distribution Company - Columbia Pictures
Cast:
John Neville - Baron Munchausen
Eric Idle - Berthold/Desmond
Sarah Polley - Sally Salt
Oliver Reed - Vulcan
Charles McKeown - Adolphus/Rupert
Winston Dennis - Albrecht/Bill
Jack Purvis - Gustavus/Jeremy
Special Appearance by:
Valentina Cortese - Queen Ariadne/Violet
Jonathan Pryce - The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson
Bill Paterson - Henry Salt
Peter Jeffrey - Sultan Mahmud I
Uma Thurman - Venus/Rose
Alison Steadman - Daisy
Ray Cooper - Functionary
Don Henderson - Commander
Sting - Heroic Officer
Andrew Maclachlan - Colonel
José Lifante - Dr. Death
Mohamed Badrsalem - Executioner
Ray D. Tutto - The King of the Moon
Kiran Shah - Executioner's Assistant
Franco Adducci - Treasurer
Ettore Martini - First General
Antonio Pistillo - Second General
Michael Polley - Gunner
Tony Smart - Gunner
Run Time - 2 hr. 6 min. Rated - PG
Budget - $46.63 Gross - $8.1 million
Review:
A truly remarkable film in more ways than one, Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, is an expertly made, well-crafted, top-notch fantasy film extravaganza. The cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno is breathtaking and really helps make the film as magical as it is. The costume and set design is excellent, with many truly remarkable set pieces and the score by Michael Kamen adds a sense of gravitas to the proceedings. The cast is also great, made up of a mix of both familiar faces (Oliver Reed, Eric Idle, Robin Williams) to relative unknowns, but they all deliver outstanding performances, especially John Neville in the title role. It really is unthinkable to imagine anyone else as the titular Baron, he plays the part so well and he is a near match to the illustrations of Gustav Doré. The young Sarah Polley, who was only 9 at the time of filming, is also very convincing and holds her own against the more seasoned cast members. Others like Jonathan Pryce and Uma Thurman prove years before their rise to mainstream stardom that they were destined for great roles to come and Robin Williams delivers a zany, over the top performance, reminiscent of his stand-up comedy. The film experienced a vast number of problems behind the scenes, but director Terry Gilliam holds everything together so expertly in the film that the drama didn't find its way into the finished project. With a fantastic story, lavish production design and a plethora of memorable characters this is a film not to be missed.
My Score: 95
Plot - 9 Cinematography - 10
Attraction - 10 Editing & Special Effects - 9
Theme - 9 Sound & Music - 10
Acting - 9 Directing - 10
Dialogue - 9 Enjoyability – 10
Trivia:
This film forms part of an unofficial trilogy of Terry Gilliam films: Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989). They are sometimes referred to as the Trilogy of Imagination. Actors Charles McKeown, Winston Dennis and Jack Purvis appear in all three of these films.
This was the first film produced by Prominent Features, the collective formed by the various members of Monty Python.
Sean Connery, Peter O'Toole, Michael Hordern and Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee were considered for the role of Baron Munchausen, but ultimately John Neville was cast. This was Neville's first film appearance since The Adventures of Gerard (1970) as he preferred to act in the theater. He accepted the role because he was a fan of Monty Python, which Terry Gilliam was a member of.
Terry Gilliam attempted to land Marlon Brando for the role of Vulcan and has stated that he spent a wonderful afternoon talking with Brando, however things fell apart when they were joined by Brando's agent. Oliver Reed was ultimately cast in the part and reportedly spent much of his time getting drunk and chasing after Uma Thurman.
This was the first film that Uma Thurman worked on, though due to the extensive production delays it was released after Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987), Johnny Be Good (1988) and Dangerous Liasons (1988).
Sean Connery, Gene Wilder and Walter Matthau were all considered for the role ofthe King of the Moon. Robin Williams was ultimately one of the last cast members to be chosen and by that time the production had run out of money, so he performed the part uncredited (Ray D. Tutto is listed in the credits as the King of the Moon) and unpaid. Williams went on to star in Terry Gilliam's next film, The Fisher King (1991).
Sting's cameo in the film came about as he was Terry Gilliam's neighbor at the time.
Monty Python member Michael Palin was cast as the Prime Minister of the Moon, but this role was dropped. Terry Gilliam offered Palin a consolation role as an irritating singer inside the giant fish, which Palin refused. Terry Gilliam ended up playing this small role himself but he is uncredited.
Christopher Lambert filmed scenes for the movie but his role was completely cut from the finished film. It is unknown what role he was cast in.
The film went wildly over budget and was already $2 million over budget before filming had even begun. Originally approved for a budget of $23.5 million, the film quickly grew to a reported $43.63 million, though Terry Gilliam claims the actual final cost was nowhere near that high.
The film became notorious for its production problems and ballooning budget and Terry Gilliam was nearly fired. To make things worse Columbia Pictures went through a regime change during the production and the new regime wanted to ensure that none of the films from the old regime would be successful. To that end Columbia Pictures gave the film a very meager release in the United States using only 48 prints of the film. It is believed that only a total of 117 prints were in distribution, a much smaller release than even most art house films would receive. As a result, the film was a flop at the box office.
Despite all the struggles with Columbia Pictures, Terry Gilliam's next film, The Fisher King (1991), was for Columbia TriStar.
Availability:
Watched in September, 2021
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