World Famous Comics: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (20th Anniversary Edition)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (20th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Charles McKeown Directed By: Terry Gilliam Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Sony Pictures Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 99 Release Date: April 08, 2008 Running Time: 126 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 1989
Product Description: Director Terry Gilliam (Brazil) and an all-star cast including John Neville, Eric Idle, Oliver Reedand Uma Thurman deliver this tale of the enchanting adventures of Baron von Munchausen on his journey to save a town from defeat. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures.
Amazon.com essential video: Monty Python's Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) directs this wild, wild version of the stories of Baron Munchausen, pushing the limits of 1989 special effects technology to bring us such sights as a horse divided in half and running around in two parts, and a giant Robin Williams with his head flying off his shoulders. Basically, this is a treat for Gilliam fans, as the sustaining idea of the film runs out of steam, and manic energy alone keeps the momentum going. Casual viewers might find it tedious after awhile. There are nice parts for fellow Python Eric Idle, as well as Sting, Alison Steadman, and Uma Thurman as a dazzlingly beautiful Venus on a half-shell. Gilliam had greater artistic and commercial success with Brazil, The Fisher King, and 12 Monkeys. --Tom Keogh
The Baron BUY THIS MOVIE, this is a great movie. very entertaining, visually pleasing and fun for everyone !!
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 20th Anniversary Edition This is an entertaining, though silly movie. Robbin Williams is wonderful in it and it is worth buying just to see his role in it. The main actor that plays the Baron does a wonderful job. It is an ok movie if you have some down time.
Fun and Fantasical, but.... Let me say right off, I am a big Python fan. I get it. And this is thoroughly a Terry film. For that alone, it gets the stars. But as far as entertainment value, it ended at fun and amusing for me. I don't think I'd rush out and tell people they HAVE to see this film. I am glad I got it and watched it and I enjoyed it but it fell short of superb entertainment for me.
Baron Munchausen Review A fun movie, but you must be willing to suspend your disbelief. Watch it with an open mind and don't get hung up on the special effects, which very well might have been ahead of their time.
The video transfer to blu-ray is a bit grainy, but I did see some of this movie in SD, and it seems like a much improved upgrade.
A Fabulously Inventive & Moving Film Given A Washed Out Transfer Onto Blu-Ray... (THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE "BLU-RAY" VERSION OF THIS FILM)
Sometimes you despair. A new format is trust upon us - and an opportunity is presented to the movie industry to finally to do the business by their classics - and what do they do - they give us the same old dull stock and rip us off by getting us to pay more for it.
Twenty years on, Terry Gilliam's 1989 fantasy epic is still extraordinary - inventive, funny, touching, and on a scale few movies today would even dare to go near. Unfortunately, the 2008 transfer of it to the new format is more Blur-Ray than Blu-Ray. And while it's not awful all the way through - it's not far off it. For large parts of the film there's grain and blocking - the colours in some instances are better for sure - but it's also obvious that little or no restoration has been done to the print - when like "Time Bandits" - here is a fantasy film that is crying out for a clean up - and would surely have been much more commercially viable if it had been cleaned up - and a big deal made of it (even a re-launch in the cinemas?).
The extras mimic the special edition DVD issue - reviewed elsewhere - nothing great.
When you see "Cool Hand Luke" or "Zulu" or "2001: A Space Odyssey" on BLU RAY, the clean up work is immediately apparent and evident throughout the entire film - making them an enjoyable 'spot-the-difference' experience for the whole duration. But you know you're in trouble with "Munchausen" the second the washed out "Columbia" logo comes up at the beginning - I've seen crinkled videotape look better than this. What a huge disappointment and what a disservice to a really great fantasy film. I can only think of the gobsmacking beauty of Uma Thurman as she appears in a seashell to cheer myself up...
Unfortunately this release is why Amazon reviews are necessary. Avoid this overly expensive poor reissue unless you absolutely have to own it...
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