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The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Name: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Comedy
Released: March 10, 1989
Duration: 126 min
Rating: 69
Cast: Eric Idle, John Neville

1989

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critics

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 38 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 38 Ratings

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THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN

Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: March 10, 1989 | PG

Starring: Eric Idle, John Neville

Summary: The enchanting adventures of Baron von Munchausen follow him on his journey to save a town from defeat. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures. (Sony Pictures)

Director: Terry Gilliam

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Comedy

Rating: PG

Runtime: 126 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

San Francisco Chronicle Judy Stone

Aided by the luscious cinematography of Giuseppe Rotunno (one of Fellini's favorites) and the illustrious production design of Dante Ferretti, Gilliam has clearly won this round to preserve magic and wonder on the screen. [8 Mar 1989, p.E1]

Desson Howe

Terry Gilliam is the wit behind this lavish display of sieges, sea-creature tussles and trips to the moon. Adapting the handed-down stories of Baron Von Munchausen, an 18th-century spinner of tall tales, this modern maker of similar flights of fancy has created another brilliantly inventive epic of fantasy and satire. Read full review

Hal Hinson

Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a wondrous feat of imagination. In terms of sheer inventiveness, it makes the other movies around these days look paltry and underfed. The worlds Gilliam has created here are like the ones he created in his animations for Monty Python -- they have a majestic peculiarity. And you're constantly amazed by the freshness and eccentricity of what is pushed in front of your eyes. Read full review

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Munchausen is indeed a beautiful, burgeoning, madly voluptuous movie from minute to minute and image to image; it's in the aggregate that the film fails to find the weight and the rhythm it needs to truly enthrall. [10 Mar 1989, p.A]

Joan Anderman

Gilliam has a vision and a viewpoint, and he puts it on screen with an extravagance, a humanistic generosity and a visual imagination that make it a standout in 1989's virtual cinematic vacuum. [10 Mar 1989, p.32]

Los Angeles Times Sheila Benson

Gilliam never aims down, his films zing in somewhere at the Mensa level of reference, but he seems confident that we will catch the wit of his visual quotations and so we do. Like a film making Catherine wheel, he throws off an immoderate art history display; he plunders past film styles with a free hand to make a point. [5 Mar 1989, p.23]

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott

Despite an inspired central section involving Robin Williams as the King of the Moon and Valentina Cortese as his Queen, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a near-disaster of Ishtarish proportions. [11 Mar 1989, p.C3]

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User Reviews

fonzea

Aug 24, 2018

Gilliam's most colourful and spectacular picture to date. Great performances by all the actors, particularly by that of the Baron himself, accompanied by a mesmerising original score by Gilliam's long-time collaborator Michael Kamen, the end result is a movie that happily throws reality outGilliam's most colourful and spectacular picture to date. Great performances by all the actors, particularly by that of the Baron himself, accompanied by a mesmerising original score by Gilliam's long-time collaborator Michael Kamen, the end result is a movie that happily throws reality out the window and encourages you to do so as well, and lets your imagination take you to spectacular heights.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

AntonyC

Nov 9, 2008

Possibly the most highly detailed, witty and satisfying of Gilliam's films and, inasmuch, Munchausen is one of the most entertaining films ever made.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

JeanDuchamp

Nov 16, 2016

I never get tired of seeing it again and again. It's what the true art must be - rich, deep, creative, imaginative, sarcastic and wise! And even something else, always something else!

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

KristianBK

Aug 13, 2014

A little bit too long, the movie doesn't fail to entertain. Gilliam had a great vision and an idea of imagination and he successfully put it on the screen. Great performances, matching music and a touch of Terry. Even non-Gilliam lovers are going to at least like this movie.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Spangle

Mar 8, 2017

The final entry into director Terry Gilliam's "Trilogy Imagination", The Adventures of Baron Munchausen pick up where the final two entries left. An imaginative tale that blurs the line between dreams and reality, the film is incredibly engaging and entertaining throughout with phenomenalThe final entry into director Terry Gilliam's "Trilogy Imagination", The Adventures of Baron Munchausen pick up where the final two entries left. An imaginative tale that blurs the line between dreams and reality, the film is incredibly engaging and entertaining throughout with phenomenal performances from the entire cast. As with the previous two films, the film is more of an ode to storytelling as an escape from reality, more than a straight film that can be defined between dreams and the real world. A film about the mysterious Baron Munchausen (John Neville) and his band of odd helpers (Eric Idle, Charles McKeown, Winston Dennis, and Jack Purvis), the Baron crashes a performance of his life story and informs the audience and actors that they are true stories. Though extraordinary, his adventures are not mere legend and, even more, he is the reason why the Turkish sultan is bombing their beloved city because he stole the sultan's treasure. What ensues is a film that is magical and fantastical that reaches comedic and adventure heights like only Gilliam can reach.

In the first entry in this trilogy, Time Bandits, Gilliam focused on a child. Living in unhappy home with parents who are more concerned with their material goods than their own son, the boy goes to sleep one night and a small band of thieves pop up in his room. What ensues is an imaginative experience that, though it sets it up as occurring in a dream world, drops a few hints that maybe everything was real. In Brazil, the second installment, Gilliam created a 1984-esque dystopian world that is incredibly real, except for the middle aged protagonist's frequent dreams about a different world, culminating in a dream world breakout from prison that is shown to be anything but real. This film, picking up from there, has the Baron tell his story to the crowd as he simultaneously saves the city from the sultan in a dream world. Only it appears to be a dream world, as by the end, the sultan is gone and the city has been saved. Yet, while all of these films show the stories escaping the dream world and jumping into reality, the line between the two hardly matters.

Rather, Gilliam's tales are about the necessity of storytelling and imagination. Objectively, regardless of what the endings show, we all know that dreams are not real. They may reflect reality - as shown in the films by characters in the dreams sharing resemblances with real people, such as Uma Thurman's dual role as city girl Rose and, in the dream, the goddess Venus - but they are simply not real. Gilliam's films, however, suspend this disbelief via storytelling and/or imagination. He fashions his films as an escape from a horrific reality - neglectful parents, dystopian world, a city under siege - with the stories and collective imaginations of the characters being a blissful departure from their traumatic real lives. Thus, the film's finales do not hint at them being real or having actually occurred. Instead, it depicts that it hardly matters. The dream world is objectively better, even if it is not real, than the lives these people lead. Collectively, everybody in these films opt for these falsehoods to enter a state of bliss. In Brazil, the protagonist is declared insane for this, but regardless of his sanity, he has escaped his prison. The boy in Time Bandits escapes in the end via his dreams and the town is saved in this film because they opted to ignore reality and instead enter the world of their imaginations, in which the city is still standing and safe from the sultan.

In crafting this world of imagination, Gilliam continuously finds new antics and ideas to introduce. For instance, the moon brings some of the film's comedic heights with a terrific supporting appearance from Robin Williams as The King of the Moon. A floating head trying to escape the carnal tyranny of his body, the King is a higher being who can create Spring by whistling. His wife Queen Ariadne (Valentina Cortese) is similarly able to separate her head from her body and reach a higher state of being. The two not only exist as a statement on the possibilities of the mind without physical limitations, but are also hysterical entries into the film. No matter where the Baron and his child helper Sally Salt (Sarah Polley) wind up, Gilliam's film is imbued with a sense of adventure that capitalizes on the film's naturally whimsical state of being.

An uproariously funny and thoroughly engaging film, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a film with a lot of moving parts and demonstrates Gilliam's tremendous ability to create fun and smart films for audiences of all ages. Not limited by the PG-rating, the film explores important themes such as honesty, while creating a tale about embracing the oddities of life. No matter where you wind up, there is a way out of it (even death) if you are willing to take chances and embrace possibilities that were previously inconceivable. A fun romp through Gilliam's mind… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Compi24

Dec 14, 2013

Touching on compelling thematic ideas such as the importance of imagination, the nature of death, and even Cartesian Dualism, Terry Gilliam's "The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen" may be a potentially batty picture, but thanks to some delightful humor and breathtaking sets, it's also damn fun.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JamesH.

Nov 15, 2009

Offbeat and it certainly is imaginative. It is also not for all tastes. You have to admire the creativity involved. Exceptional special effects, a very interesting film, but why on earth didn't they edit it more, it's way too long.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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