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Time Bandits (1981)
Front Cover Actor
John Cleese Robin Hood
Sean Connery King Agamemnon/Fireman
Shelley Duvall Pansy
Kenny Baker
Malcolm Dixon
Mike Edmonds
Katherine Helmond Mrs. Ogre
Ian Holm Napoleon
Michael Palin Vincent
Jack Purvis
Ralph Richardson Supreme Being
Peter Vaughan Winston the Ogre
David Warner Evil Genius
David Rappaport Randall
Movie Details
Genre Fantasy
Director Terry Gilliam
Producer Terry Gilliam
Writer Terry Gilliam; Michael Palin
Studio Anchor Bay
Language English
Audience Rating PG
Running Time 116 mins
Country USA
Color Color
IMDb Rating 6.9
Plot
From a script cowritten with his fellow Monty Python veteran Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam pulled out all the stops on his prodigious imagination for this comedy-fantasy from 1981. Film critic Pauline Kael was right when she wrote, "This may be one of those rare pictures that suffers from a surfeit of good ideas," because there's not enough plot to keep pace with the sheer inventiveness of Gilliam's filmmaking. That hasn't stopped Time Bandits from becoming a classic, of sorts, attracting a cult following as a semi-reunion of the Python gang (with Palin and John Cleese making splendid appearances) and a rousing adventure of near-epic proportions. It's about a kid named Kevin (Craig Warnock) who joins a band of mischievous dwarves on a jaunt through various eras and epochs. They've stolen a map to holes in the space-time continuum that belongs to the Supreme Being (suitably played by Sir Ralph Richardson), and as Kevin survives a variety of heroic adventures, including an encounter with King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), an Evil Genius (David Warner) pursues the coveted map using his nefarious magical powers. As a warm-up for Gilliam's later, even more ambitious fantasies, Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, this is a dazzling dose of cinematic whimsy, and Gilliam doesn't compromise the darkness of his tale with an artificially upbeat ending. There's as much menace in Time Bandits as there is an awesome sense of wonder, and that gives the movie an extra kick of timeless appeal. --Jeff Shannon
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 335
Collection Status In Collection
Links IMDB
Amazon US
DVD Empire
Product Details
Edition (Divimax Special Edition)
Format DVD
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Layers Single side, Single layer
UPC 013131234091
Release Date 2004
Packaging Keep Case
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
Nr of Disks/Tapes 2
Extra Features
The Directors: The Films of Terry Gilliam - A Career Retrospective Featuring Interviews with Director Terry Gilliam and Actors Shelley Duvall, Brad Pitt, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Reuhl, Madeleine Stowe, and David Warner
Interview with Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin
Theatrical Trailers
Fold-Out Map of the Universe and Liner Notes
Terry Gilliam Bio
DVD-ROM: Original Screenplay