Sometime during the 18th century, there lived a man by the name of Karl Friedrich Hieronymous von Munchausen, who fought for the Russians against the Turks.
It is said the good Baron gained quite a bit of notoriety for his acts, but even more so for his fanciful stories. And so in 1989, with a $46 million budget, director Terry Gilliam set out to explore the life of Baron Munchausen -- or rather "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen."
The film, which will be shown in the Loew Theatre tonight, begins with Baron Munchausen (John Neville) sitting in a theater watching a play supposedly about his life.
Suddenly, interrupting the show, the Baron stands up to correct the cast about their various mistakes and explains to the audience that he had travelled not only to Turkey, but to the moon, into the heart of a volcano and into the stomach of a sea monster.
Accompanying him on these trips are Venus (Uma Thurman), the King of the Moon (Robin Williams billed as Ray DiTutto), the strongest man in the world, a little girl named Sally Salt (Sarah Polley) and many others.
Incidentally, DiTutto is the English transliteration of the Italian "rei di tutto," or King of Everything. Williams introduces himself in the film as "the King of Everything -- Rei DiTutto. But you may call me Ray."
Playing Horatio Jackson, the Baron's arch-enemy, is Jonathan Pryce (of the Gilliam film "Brazil"). It is Pryce's role that, when contrasted with that of Neville's, raises the ultimate concern of the film -- what lies between what is real and unreal.
It is the Baron's vision to live in this world of "Endless Possibility."
Jackson gloats, "We cannot fly to the moon. We must face facts. We must live in the modern world." Much like in "Brazil," this notion of the modern world, filled with rules and regulations, is the bane of any complete human being.
We all need our fantasies. As Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "In the face of logic and reason, there is still a place for imagination."
"Munchausen" has been called "either the best kids' film ever made for grown-ups, or the best grown-up film ever made for kids," by Joel Siegel of ABC Television.
The special effects for the film are highly sophisticated and beautifully handled. With such a large budget, films often tend to do one of two things.
Either they use special effects well but to no real concrete end, or they produce a film that does not even look all that hi-tech (remember "Waterworld?").
With "Munchausen," Gilliam again succeeds in making an important film using unorthodox methods. Richard Corliss of Time Magazine stated, "Everything about 'Munchausen' deserves exclamation points."
With all of the spectacular effects and impossible adventures, "Munchausen" makes for a very funny and inventive film. To further Gilliam's common theme, however, is merely icing on the cake.
With "Munchausen," Gilliam completes the trilogy which consists of "Time Bandits," "Brazil," and finally "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen."
The first looked at childhood, the second at adulthood, and the last at old age.
"Munchausen" received critical acclaim when it was first released and is widely respected for its overall successes. Vincent Canby '45 of The New York Times wrote, "You can't easily tear your eyes away from it."
