Rating: PG
Genre:
Fantasy
Theatrical Release: 03/10/1989(USA)
Release Date: 04/08/2008
SubTitles: English/French/Por/Japanese
Dubbed: English/French/Por/Japanese
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 127 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Brief Nudity, Suitable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Sony Pictures
Director
Terry Gilliam adroitly applies his
Monty Python sensibilities upon the "career" of famed German prevaricator
Baron von Munchausen. Played herein by
John Neville, the baron is seen quelling a war that he himself started, flying into the stratosphere on the back of a cannonball, ballooning to the moon, exploring the innards of a volcano, being swallowed by a whale....In short, all of
Munchausen's fabulous lies are here presented as "truth," played out in full view of nonplussed witnesses
Eric Idle,
Charles McKeown,
Jack Purvis, and
Sarah Polley. Fringe benefits include several loving medium shots of jaybird-naked
Uma Thurman as
Boticelli's
Venus and an extended unbilled cameo by
Robin Williams -- that is, by the head of
Robin Williams -- as the
King of the Moon. Filmed under considerable duress on a budget eventually exceeding 45 million dollars,
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen never quite caught on with moviegoers, though it has enjoyed a lucrative afterlife on videocassette.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
;)
