Movie Reviews for Time Bandits

Time Bandits

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Movie Reviews of Time Bandits

Movie Review: PYTHONESQUE ADVENTURE
Summary: 4 Stars

This new two-disc edition in Divimax is a state of the art hi-def transfer. The bonus disc features interviews with Gilliam and Palin and a career retrospective that includes Brad Pitt, Shelley Duvall, David Warner among others.

Movie Review: Time Bandits - A very good English comedy from the eighties!
Summary: 4 Stars

Contributing greatly to this movies success of so many years ago is its impressive list of stars. Of even greater interest is the fact that many of the biggest names starring in this English comedy is that they weren't even in the lead roles. With a list including the likes of Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall and David Warner, it may be easy to forget that the primary stars of this film were the midgets, all of which did a great job with their respective roles and, not to mention, a young Craig Warnock in the lead role of Kevin.

Of even greater interest with this film is one of the Executive Producers which was none other than George Harrison, as in George Harrison from the Beatles. He was also responsible for the songs for the film as well.

"Time Bandits" was directed by Terry Gilliam whom many may recognize as the director for many "Monty Python" films, does a very good job with the film. One of the most important aspects one may wish to remember if you're looking to watch this film for the first time is when this film was made which was in the eighties and the technology available at that time. Graphically, this film was well ahead of its time when it hit the theaters.

The Premise:

Kevin (Craig Warnock), a young English boy, is sent off to bed by his parents and after he turns the light out, his closet starts shaking furiously and before he knows it, a knight on horseback appears right there in his bedroom and then shortly thereafter the knight disappears and the room is back to normal. The next night, Kevin is sitting there with a Polaroid waiting on something else to happen and just as he gives up and decides to go to sleep, the closet starts shaking again...

What follows from there is a very interesting comedy in which young Kevin finds himself following a band of midgets through time as they use a map that they've stolen from the "Supreme Being" and they intend to rob as many people as they can.

I would definitely recommend this film to any and all that enjoys comedies, especially British comedies and the typical brand of humor that implies, especially "Monty Python" type comedies. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

-Widescreen presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 televisions
-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 Ruehl, 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

Movie Review: Great new transfer with nice extras makes this worthwhile
Summary: 5 Stars

The high definition transfer and the fact that the film has been enhanced for 16x9 televisions are definitive improvements on the previous edition. The picture is sharper although I did note some minor edge enhancement and digital compression issues. On the whole, though, the picture looks marvelous. The first disc features only the film and it doesn't have the great audio commentary compilation by Gilliam, Michael Palin, David Warner, John Cleese and Craig Warnock. That's a pity because that would have made this the ultimate edition of the film.

Now the major complaint from some folks regarding the image size. Gilliam shot Time Bandits to be shown theatrically in a 1.85:1 ratio. Time Bandits was probably shot full screen (like Kubrick's films so that they wouldn't be badly "cropped" when released). More than likely Gilliam matted the image AFTER the film was shot. The widescreen image IS the way Gilliam intended the film to be seen).

The worst looking DVD was the one put out by the highly regarded Criterion Company. It featured interlace problems, an unstable picture (perhaps due to a flaw during the telecine transfer)and sound that sound left much to be desired. The aspect ratio (the dimension of the width and heighth of the film on screen)is correct here and the beautifully detailed transfer is so sharp that, on occasion, you can even see the limitations (there's a hint of wires in some scenes)of Terry Gilliam's optical effects.

The soundtrack has been remixed for the Dolby Digital EX track although I much preferred the more natural sounding 5.1 mix. Since the original source material was designed for stereo and there were some recording limitations at the time the film was made, the tinny sound is still a bit of a problem. That's not a problem that can be easily solved unfortunately. Still, Anchor Bay does the best they can with the materials at hand.

The second disc contains all the extras. The feaurettes include the marvelous The Directors: The films of Terry Gilliam with interviews featuring Gilliam, Shelly Duvall, Brad Pitt, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl, Madeleine Stowe and David Warner. There's also an interview with Gilliam and Palin as well as the original theatrical trailers for the film. Some of these features duplicate comments heard on the commentary track for the film from Criterion.

There's also a Terry Gilliam bio and, most importantly, a DVD-Rom version of the original screenplay. Both these features are no where else to be found. Anchor Bay includes a fold out Map of the Universe which also has a background on the film production.

Movie Review: Nice transfer, nice extras classier package than criterion
Summary: 4 Stars

There's a map the Almighty created of the Universe. It lists all the holes in space and time and also has the times and places they will occur. Some of God's assistants (you know, the folks that helped create the little things--grass, trees, the odd weird plant)have stolen the map hoping to steal the riches of the universe and make a -ahem-timely exit.

When they accidently land in Kevin's room, they end up having to take this poor 20th Century kid with them as God has located them yet again. The adventure begins as they travel from ancient Greece to Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest and places in between. There's someone else observing them. He's never called the Devil but, well, that's who he is. He wants to map so he can take over the universe as he feels that God has done a poor job of creating it and running it. So he "arranges" for them to begin a journey to the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness to find the greatest treasure of all....

This latest DVD from Anchor Bay puts the Criterion edition and the previous Anchor Bay edition to shame. The high definition transfer is in anamorphic widescreen. What does that mean to you and me? If you have a 16x9 t.v. (or even a regular one), there's more lines of resolution on the screen, hence better clarity, sharpness and detail in the picture. The first disc is a dual layered one devoted only to providing as much picture and sound as possible from the beautiful transfer. Sadly, the commentary track on the Criterion Edition isn't included. That's the only real negative.

All the extras have been located to the second disc. We get the funny International Trailer, the so-so US trailer plus a documentary about Gilliam and his films made for television. We also get a 27 minute new interview with co-writers Michael Palin and Gilliam where they discuss the genesis of the film, what was cut from the script because of a lack of money and the demands of Sean Connery, Sir Ralph Richardson and the money people (John Cleese as Robin Hood instead of Michael Palin). Overall, a stellar package that captures most of what was said in the commentary track from the Criterion version of the film.

The packaging includes a booklet that has background on the making of the film and folds out to a neat little Map of the Universe just like a smaller version of the one used in the film. Just don't let your little ones see it, they'll pull it apart and start looking for all those doorways in time and space so they can start their own adventure.

While Time Bandits is a rousing, fun, funny and occasionally dark adventure it plays well to adults and children. There is some mild profanity so parents beware! Other than that, my kids loved the film. I'd recommend for kids 8 and older as you can explain to them about not using the occasional mild bad word in public. It's actually no worse than you hear on most television shows today and milder than the language in the movie Holes. Altogether, this is a terrific reissue and it's at the right price as well!

Movie Review: Thanks for the Review
Summary: 1 Stars