Bandits, bandits...

Finding Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits" in the bargain bin at the local movie store was too good a deal for me to pass up, and I'm so glad I didn't! This movie is probably one of the greatest modern-day fantasies I've seen, due primarily to the amazing vision of Gilliam. I was disappointed with it on my first viewing years ago, expecting a rehash of Monty Python material, but yesterday watching it I just couldn't stop grinning. This movie knows its sources, and sends them up right.

For starters, I love how Gilliam handled the boy 'hero' in "Bandits". He's not anyone spectacular, aside from an active imagination (over and above his banal parents), and he really doesn't contribute much to the story-it simply passes him by. Most of the other characters don't like him that much even. (the "stinking Kevin" line just makes me howl!) He's also not that cute, which is a rarity with child actors and which sinks most films with them. Plus, the danger of the story doesn't stop at him, as shown by the rather sobering finale. No 'It's all a dream' type cop-out here. Having studied the form of the fantasy as explained by Tolkien myself, Gilliam obviously understands how it works.

Of course, because it works, "Time Bandits" is just plain fun. The plot's out of nowhere-just kind of trips along through time and space and stranger things. Napoleon as a height-obsessed drunkard? Robin Hood as the aloof, unlikely leader of a band of violent, too-merry men? Agamemnon as the ideal father figure? It's all here, plus the technocratic, pyromaniac "Evil" vs. the Supreme Being. Ah, you always knew He was an staid Englishman in a pinstripe suit, didn't you? ("Dead? No excuse for laying off work.")

Perhaps it's not Gilliam's masterpiece, as "Brazil" could be argued for that...though one could also argue "Time Bandits" gives a bleaker perspective through the contrast of the fun and whimsy. If our reality is depressing now, and Kevin's was, is the fulfillment of our fantasies any better? Perhaps Randall said it best himself - "Heroes, bah! What do they know about an honest day's work?" :-)

This movie is the funniest movie I have ever seen. When it was on cable, we watched it about 20 times and I have worn out two tapes of it. There are so many levels of enjoyment. The sets are great, the effects are wondrous, the storyline is wacky, the combination of veteran actors and new faces is perfection. The dialog is a riot and you will find quotes from this movie everywhere, which thrills me to death! I love all the actors that played the dwarfs, especially David Rappaport who played Randall and also loved his TV show "The Wizard" that was treated so shabbily. We often find ourselves saying, "Remember when Evil said this, and when Og said that?" Or laughly wonder what condition Pansy's boyfriend, Vincent, had that needed fruit? The Napoleon scene alone is enough to cause you to break a rib from laughter. I guarantee that if you have a funnybone at all, you will love this movie! Run, don't walk to the nearest video rental store!

This wonderful flick deal with a little boy (Craig Warnock won the role after a wide search for the right child actor) and six dwarfs (Kenny Baker , David Rappaport , Jack Purvis , among others) who are chased by the Supreme Being through time and space . As the kid accidentally joins a band as they jump from time-period to time-period looking for treasure to steal . All of them travel back in time via a map that charts a course through holes holes in the fabric of the universe . Along the way they meet historical characters such as Napoleon (49-year-old Ian Holm plays the 26-year-old Bonaparte) , Robin Hood (John Cleese , though Michael Palin wrote the role of Robin for himself, but Cleese wanted to play him), Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson) and King Agamemnon (the gold masks of Agamemnon's priests are replicas of a king's deathmask, found by Heinrich Schliemann at Mycenae in 1876 , it is in Museum of Atenas). At the end the motley group contends the Evil Genius (David Wagner , the apparatus on his head was influenced by H.R. Giger's work on Alien) .

This is an imaginative , glamorous , chaotic fantasy based on the wonderful trips carried out by a group of adventurers along with a young English schoolboy . Fantastic film contains sense of adventure , thrills , and lots of imagination . From start to finish fantasy , action and delightful adventure are continued . Exciting and interesting screenplay written by Michael Palin and and Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame . Marvelous special effects are visually stunning and magnificently realized with no computer generator . Starring a considerable cast of top-names performers such as John Cleese as Robin Hood , Shelley Duvall as Dame , Ian Holm as Napoleon , Michael Palin as Vincent , Ralph Richardson as Supreme Being and David Warner as Evil and a young Jim Broadbent as a TV host . Special mention to Sean Connery as King Agamemnon and Fireman , Gilliam did not originally intend to cast Sean Connery as King Agamemnon , he merely wrote in the screenplay that when Agamemnon took off his helmet that he looked "exactly like Sean Connery." To Gilliam's surprise, the script found its way into Connery's hands and Connery subsequently expressed interest in doing the film.

This big-budgeted , under-appreciated film achieved a limited hit at box office and panned by some critics ; however , today is very well considered . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by Peter Biziou . Thrilling as well as evocative original music by Mike Moran . The motion picture was imaginatively directed by Terry Gilliam . Terry shot the film in low camera angles throughout in order to give the audience the perspective of a dwarf or a child . Gilliam is an expert on wonderful , surreal atmospheres (Adventures of Baron Munchausen , Brazil , Fisher king , Doctor Parnasus). He is member of the comedy group "Monty Python" along with John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Graham Chapman. ¨Time bandits¨ might be described as an extraordinary fantasy full of imagination and color . It's a tale for teens and adults in which entertainment and amusement are guaranteed . Rating : Good , better than average . Worthwhile watching .

A terrific little fantasy that, not surprisingly, has flavors of Monty Python. My children and I first saw it in the early '80s on a night ferry from Harwich to Zeebrugge. I've seen it a few times since, and marvel at the creativity that went into the film. God's "employees" trying to use a map of the universe to track down treasure is the theme; running around through time trying to find the treasure is the game. The cameos by Cleese, Connery and the rest are some amusing highlights, but the Time Bandits themselves really make the story. The climactic scenes with the Evil Genius made me think more than a little of the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

I think it is a well done bit of fantasy for older children and adults; it helps to know a bit of history going into it. I wouldn't let my six-year old granddaughter see it -- at least not yet -- but she and her sister probably will love the adventure in a few years.

Terry Gilliam's striking imagery, masterful use of the wide angle lens, distinct camera angles, and his unique sense of humor (finely honed during his days with Monty Python) can all be found in Time Bandits. These elements are why Gilliam is one of my favorite filmmakers. There is no one else like him. I feel he vastly improved with his later films, but Time Bandits is still a spectacular experience.

A particular thing about Time Bandits that impresses me is the toys and pictures seen in Kevin's room at the beginning of the film are all represented with their real-life counterparts in later scenes. It's a brilliant touch. It's part of the movie's over-all theme of an imaginative boy, starved for attention due to his loveless, neglectful parents, who goes on an adventure through time. Did it really happen, or was it all just inventions of his imagination? The answer is not needed, but the question it raises is a touch of great filmmaking.

Also, Time Bandits should be commended for being the first, and one of the only, films to show little people as real people. They are historically exploited or stuck in silly costumes throughout entire movies, but here, they are given the chance to really act, and not be treated as glorified props. I hope Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame holds great respect to Time Bandits, and acknowledges the doors this movie opened for little people in the entertainment industry.

I give Time Bandits a 7 out of 10. It's a good movie, but it doesn't reach the greatness that he later achieved with Brazil, Munchhausen, the Fisher King, and Twelve Monkeys. Still, for those who haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a watch.

One final note: most of the camera angles in Time Bandits are low. A perfect touch, considering the small stature of all the lead characters. Many filmmakers forget this with movies told from a child's perspective.