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Time Bandits Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 40 Reviews)

W.T.F?
This movie does not make sense. And it's not weird in the style of David Lynch, it's just complete crap. I thought Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory was the worst/stupidest fil ever until i saw this. Do not buy this. It is not a family movie, and it is not funny or entertaining.

Worth it for the commentary track but first buy the Divimax edition.
After reading the reviews of the various editions carefully -- thank you to those who make that worthwhile -- I bought the Divimax edition first for superior image, sound and range of special features (and they are wonderful). Then I came back and bought this the Criterion edition (used and at reduced price) just for the exclusive commentary track by director Terry Gilliam. It was worth it. If you are a real fan, I recommend owning both versions of this his great children's (nod nod wink wink) fantasy classic.
I might add that this is the best Sean Connery has EVER looked -- he quickly and completely outshines all the more recent Greek hero personifications -- but that is just icing on the cake.
The child in and above the world is the story's heart.

MAD-CAP ADVENTURE OR CHILD'S NIGHTMARE: TAKE YOUR PICK
IN A NUTSHELL: ALTHOUGH VISUALLY APPEALING - NOT REALLY A KIDS' FILM

Silly, wierd, bizarre and surreal, but nevertheless this child's excursion into the dark regions does have a plot.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT: WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD? BUT MAYBE NOT!

Delivered in eposodic form, featuring new and different settings and actors every few minutes, I felt compelled to discover what might happen next. What did come was a rather strangely coherent indictment of modern consumerism and its comparison with evil?

--* THE PRINCIPAL PLAYERS --*

Sean Connery - Agamemnon [quite an impressive comeo as a warrior king]
Shelley Duvall - Pansy
Katherine Helmond - Mrs. Ogre
Ian Holm - Napoleon [Napoleon never seemed more real]
Michael Palin - Vincent
Ralph Richardson - Supreme Being [quite a believable intrepretation]
Peter Vaughan - Ogre
David Warner - Evil Genius [the center of the darkness in the fim]
Craig Warnock - Kevin [the child at the core of the film, he represents the inquisitive and pure in all of us]

--* THE PRINCIPAL PRODUCTION CREDITS --*

Terry Gilliam - Director / Producer / Screenwriter
John Cleese - Screenwriter
Eric Idle - Screenwriter
Michael Palin - Screenwriter
Peter Biziou - Cinematographer
George Harrison - Composer (Music Score) / Songwriter / Executive Producer

FILMS TO ALSO CONSIDER SEEING:

Brazil (1985, Terry Gilliam)
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989, Terry Gilliam)

ABOUT THE DVD: CRITERION DVD

The transfer, in widescreen is excellent of both sound and video picture quality. The only thing lacking here are the special features. Yes, Terry Gilliam's commentary is very worthwhile, but aside from that all we have here is the original theatrical trailer, which admittedly is very memorable.

BOTTOM LINE: ANOTHER EXCELLENT RESTORED TRANSFER BY CRITERION

Although very much a product of its time, this film is quite a jaunt down a not so yellow-brick a road as most fantasy journeys on video are. Time Bandits shows both stylistic and ideological hints of what is in store for us from the fertile mind of Terry Gilliam in Brazil, his next and best known epic, in 1985. Nevertheless, Time Bandits is a wonderfully compelling and entertaining fantasy jaunt in its own right.

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