The greatest kid comedy adventure of 1981 is the swashbuckling Time Bandits, a Terry Gilliam vehicle soaring through the ages! This one was just fantastic. A downtrodden, unloved boy named Kevin is whisked away on a magical adventure through the ages when a pack of little people who steal treasures from time take him along for their bizarre adventure. Monty Python meets CS Lewis. Ha.
Could a film like this get made now? I don't know. It is a very mixed bag in terms of themes, but there is attention and care paid to every step of it's creation. The acting is great and the tone of the film can be dark, but is always fun. This is amongst the greatest kid's films of all time and David Warner's Evil Genius is probably the best Devil on film (blowing up an acolyte...twice!) and the scene where the poor are handed out gifts and immediately punched in the face is hysterical.
'But if you are all-powerful master then why can you not escape this fortress of ultimate darkness?'
Evil genius destroys top half of acolyte then the bottom half.
this movie, tho very '80s with cruddy effects and sometimes terrible acting, was actually really entertaining. i loved it. i love the kind of humor this movie employs. it's a good classic.
I'm a huge fan of both Gilliam and adventure movies. This one doesn't disappoint, but it does move a bit slow a points. A good watch if you have the time.
Here's a one of a kind fun movie done by some of the Monty Python crew. Sean Connery does a superb job, as well as the diminutive actors. I love the line, 'Don't touch it! It's EVIL!'
Great, great fantasy! This is a great kids movie that adults will laugh their asses off at if they get British humor. A history crazy kid with detatched parents escapes for a bit of fun and adventure. Very strange fantasy but you will get it at the end of the movie it you watch close enough. From the pictures on his wall to the toys strewn about the room. Was it a dream or was it real?
complete and utter wank-fest. mildly amusing when you find out napoleon has a height complex but apart from that you're just waiting for it to end and wishing you were doing something less painful like eating glass shards. john cleese... why have you been in some really shite movies? you're meant to be an english comedy legend... such a shame
While this movie isn't really as fun or clever as it thinks, it has some very nice gags and great visuals. The cast is nice and solid, but unfortunately much of the character development has been sacrificed in order to get as much crazy stuffed crammed into the already too long running time, as possible.
? ? Here I Go Again - Another Top Childhood Movie Of Mine - Always Has Been & Always Will ? .. ? Damn I Was Barely 2 Years Old When This Film Got Released - Now I Am Feeling Old ? .. ? Mwahhh ? .. ? Lil Mim? ? ?
Terry Gilliam is a very hit or miss director, which is a much better fate than many who never even get to hit. Gilliam is a real visionary, but he doesn?t always know how to channel this talent. Gilliam would reach is peak in 1984 with the darkly comic sci-fi film Brazil, one of my all-time favorite films.
The film is about a child named Kevin who suddenly runs into a gang of midgets who have been using a map to travel through time, and as the title suggests, steal stuff.
Time Bandits, is in many ways a transitional movie that brought Gilliam from his work with the Monty Python comedy troupe to being able to make something like Brazil. As such it is a little bit uneven. I?m definitely in the minority about the Monty Python school of comedy, I don?t find the work of that troupe very funny at all. I do have a certain respect to the anarchistic spirit of python, but they don?t really make me laugh. As such Time Bandits has the big problem of being a comedy that doesn?t make me laugh.
This is not much of a problem in Brazil, as that movie has a really dark science fiction story to bring me along, the ?plot? of Time Bandits on the other hand is mainly exists to string together a bunch of neat looking hijinx that Gilliam dreamt up. Still there are amusing moments here like an encounter with Napoleon and a villain who kills anyone who questions him. But for the most parts the humor here didn?t really tickle me, at all.
This humor thing probably says more about me than it does about the movie, and it probably is a riot for anyone who is a fan of Monty Python humor. Though the humor is mostly a matter of taste, there are problems here that aren?t. The biggest objective problem here is the acting. Gilliam has never been thought of as an actor?s director, but he?s really bad here. The worst of the acting is from the kid who is basically the main protagonist here. Child actors are frequently poor, but this kid is particularly untalented.
I did appreciate the film, if for no reason other than that it is something of a blue print for what Gilliam would go on to do, and there are some interesting visual tricks to be found here. If the film had made me laugh I probably would have been able to recommend it, but that just isn?t the case.
I loved this movie as a kid, but when I watched it as an adult I was creeped out a little bit ... I don't know what it was that made me creeped out ...
for all you gilliam fans , this one seems almost forgotten. i loved this movie when it came out and still get a kick out it. some of the usual python crew and sean connery among others make this a crazy romp thru time. and dont forget the drawfe
One of the most random films ever! It's good fun, but could have been a lot better. Enjoyable fun for the family with fun cameos! Worth checking out, but wish it was better...
Funny, charming, original and undeniably bizarre, Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam's 'Time Bandits' is one of my favorite fantasy movies. Recently having received the Critierion Collection DVD as a Christmas present, I got to watch this film again and enjoyed it even more than when I intially viewed it a year ago on television. The cameo performances are all hilarious including John Cleese as Robin Hood, Sean Connery, David Warner and of course, my personal favorite, Ian Holm as the cranky childish idiot -- Napoleon Bonaparte. Intially it's a hard movie to get into because the premise is so strange, after 15 minutes 'Time Bandits' hooks you in and it never lets go. Gilliam's directing is great, the screenplay (written by Gilliam and fellow Python-alum Michael Palin) is fresh even if it drags towards the end a bit. Certainly not one of the best films I've seen, but if you're looking for something featuring time travel, midgets and British celebrities that oozes originality, be sure to check out Terry Gilliam's 'Time Bandits'. Grade: B+
This is a good movie and even though low budget, it is a good film. I love Terry Gilliam's imagination in this he really went to great lenghts to make this film. I love the cast in this movie the characters are great!
Another one of my childhood favourites. The short descrioption of "Terry Gilliam's movie about six midgets who steal a map of all the holes in time from God" has to sell you...
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