I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… director Terry Gilliam is insane. His fantasies are colorful, imaginative, and overwhelmingly visual when they make it to the big screen. Gilliam’s films, whether or not they were commercially viable, have always been amongst my favorites. All of them have gained a certain level of notoriety, and though some critics may disagree, there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Films like “Time Bandits”, “Brazil”, “12 Monkeys”, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, and (my personal favorite) “The Fisher King” have all had one thing in common that kept them from being blockbusters. They required an audience to have an imagination vivid enough to be taken fully into the fantasy, and the intelligence to understand it. Considering that Gilliam’s first claim to fame was being the only American member of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, it’s sometimes amazing to me that he ended up becoming one of the most artistically stylish and visually innovative directors working today. But looking back, I can see the creative genius lurking behind the hysterical animations he did for the series and subsequent movies, and how he simply moved on to translate that creativity into live action.

Since last year, there have been some welcome new DVD versions coming out of some of his work. Last year, we saw a terrific Criterion version of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. I recommended this 2-disc set for all Gilliam fans out there, even if they didn’t particularly like this film. The interviews and commentary alone are worth every moment spent watching it. Then we saw the release of “Lost in La Mancha” on yet another 2-disc set, this time from the folks at Docurama. This particular DVD has the distinction of not actually being a Gilliam film at all, but a documentary about a Gilliam film that seemed destined not to be made. It was initially being filmed to document the making of his Don Quixote movie, but ended up delivering an unflinching look at its disaster laden unmaking. This documentary film and particular DVD set offers one of the most definitive looks at the how this madman’s mind works as well as how he reacts to adversity. The interviews here are amongst the best available and it is another set I highly recommend.

Now that we’ve hit 2004, we’re taking a look even farther back into Gilliam’s resume with the new Anchor Bay DVD release of his 1981 film “Time Bandits”. This was not Gilliam’s first directorial effort, as he had previously helmed the Monty Python films “Jabberwocky” and “The Life of Brian.” Though certainly not his best film, “Time Bandits” still gets very high marks from me for its clever originality, and Gilliam’s ability to make a fantasy of this magnitude still look good with limited special effects.

The basic premise of the story, as if there is anything at all basic about it, involves an imaginative young boy named Kevin, who finds he is trapped in a household with less than encouraging parents. Their whole world is taken up by television while all Kevin wants to do is learn and explore. One night he gets his wish to explore the world outside of his bedroom, but we all know about the care we should take when making any wish. Kevin is whisked away by midget bandits who travel through time to plunder. Along the way he meets Robin Hood (John Cleese), Napolean Bonaparte (Ian Holm), Agamemnon (Sean Connery), and the incarnation of Evil itself, who is played with a delicious relish by the ever villainous David Warner.

While I can’t compare this release to the older Criterion version, since I have never seen it, I can tell you that this is one of the best transfers of the film I have ever seen. And I believe this is the first time the sound has been available in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, and as such it certainly is the best it’s ever sounded.

In terms of extra features, this new DVD release joins the ranks of the two I mentioned earlier, not so much because of quantity but quality. There is a really good interview of Gilliam and Monty Python cohort Michael Palin that runs just under thirty minutes. It appears to have been done recently, and the camaraderie between the two is quite evident. This is followed up by an excellent hour-long feature called “The Directors: the Films of Terry Gilliam. It is a very well-produced retrospective of his career that includes tons of interviews from the likes of Brad Pitt, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl, David Warner and more.

Once you make it though these two features, you can pop the DVD into your computer to access the original screenplay in PDF format. Here you can see what was left out for budgetary reasons. There are a couple of trailers for the film, too if you’re into that sort of thing. I understand there is also supposed to be a foldout insert of the map used in the film, but my copy somehow did not come with one.

My one and only complaint is the lack of commentary by Gilliam on the film. His commentaries are ALWAYS worth listening to, and I understand one does exist on the Criterion version. It’s a shame it could not be included here.

I’ll have to admit “Time Bandits” is not a movie for everyone. Though well directed, the flow of the film is often all over the place and it’s easy to get lost if you lack the ability to focus in and pay attention. Having a very strong imagination also comes into play if you are going to enjoy this movie at all. But if you’re one of the few, the proud, the intelligent, then the entertainment value you can get from this film will be massive. I actually knew of a friend of mine who thought “Time Bandits” was dumb. However, I’ve seen some of his test scores in school, so I didn’t lend much credence to his opinion.

Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Jack Purvis, Mike Edmonds, Malcolm Dixon, Tiny Ross, Craig Warnock
Extras: “The Directors – The Films of Terry Gilliam”, Interview with Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin, Theatrical Trailers, Fold-out Map of the Universe and Liner Notes, Terry Gilliam Bio, DVD-Rom Screenplay
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) Enhanced for 16X9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Ex
Studio: Anchor Bay
Release Date: 1/27/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG
Website

We'll give Time Bandits a B+.