Time Bandits – The 25th Anniversary Edition

Mr. David Halliday

at 1:33 pm

The story for time bandits is typical Terry Gilliam inspired lunacy, a boy who is totally ignored by his materialistic parents finds himself being dragged along by a gaggle of dwarves who have pinched the supreme beings,(a splendid Ralph Richardson), plans. they are then pursued both by him and the evil one,( a similarly excellent David Warner), through time portals that lead to a very pythonesque sherwood forest scene, the titanic, a beautifully realised fantasy land complete with giants and ogres and a land of mythology where a scene stealing Sean Connery plays Agamemnon.

As usual Gilliam coaxes the last drop of acting expertise from all involved, the humour is plentiful but very two edged and there is a subtext as deep as you care to delve.

The story rattles along for the most part but there are one or two scenes that could do with a gentle push in the right direction as the humour and pace slack. these though are rare and as anyone who remembers his python contributions or who has seen his films will know,Gilliam really knows how to visualize the incredible and so, even 25 years later, you are left with images of a knight on horseback charging from a childs wardrobe, 6 dwarves and a child dangling from a cage over infinite nothingness, a giant with a sailing ship on its head and so on and so on.

A quarter of a century has not dulled this films sharp edge nor left it without its ability to shock,tickle or astound. it can be enjoyed straight up as a grown up childs adventure story or you can happily chew over its subtext, either way there is much to enjoy.

Rating: 4 / 5

Ms. Isobel M. Mackenzie

at 5:20 pm

Terry Gilliam’s film is an amazing fantasy romp through a comic book version of history and a comment on life, media, consumerism and technology of the early eighties. Kevin is a lonely boy, living with his disinterested TV and microwave oven addicted parents. When The great and sadly missed Dave rappaport and crew crash into his life and bedroom an adventure takes him to meet among others Napoleon, Robin hood and Agamemnon. Cameo appearances from Ralph Richardson, Sean Connery and Shelley Duvall (with co author Michael Palin)are very good and charmingly out of place. The film is perhaps a little too long but highly original and very much a real life version of Gilliam’s animations from his “Python” days. The extras are interesting too, I ilke the storyboards of scenes that never made it to the cinema release. I would recommend this one as a rare piece of entertainment (to use the dreaded cliche!)for the whole family with only a few scary bits for the under 10’s to hide behind the cushions for a brief moment. The visual effects are at times amazing!
Rating: 4 / 5