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Directed by: Terry Gilliam | Written by: Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
I’m a big fan of Terry Gilliam’s work going back to the very simple animation he used to do with Monty Python. Time Bandits was a remarkable film, but it’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen that I love best. What I like the most is this idea of, what do you believe? And is the belief in a lie that can turn the lie into truth? There’s a town under bombardment — they’re being attacked — and, to distract people, there’s a play being put on, really badly. It’s the story of this character, Baron Munchausen, this fabulous liar, and these adventures he claims to have had.
Then, this old man comes striding in and says, “That’s not how it goes at all,” and he starts to tell his story. You go into his tale as this character collects all of his servants, which are members of the Monty Python troupe, because they’re going to go and defeat the invading Turkish army. It’s wildly fantastic. He goes inside a volcano and faces Vulcan, played by Oliver Reed. They journey on a balloon to the moon, and the King of the Moon is played by Robin Williams. He’s telling this story and finally, at the end, it turns out he is the Baron Munchausen, and he and his troupe have shown up, and they are going to defeat the army.
So, it’s a story in a story, and then, it’s one more story in a story. I thought that it was just beautifully layered. To be able to step outside three or four times and have that work and be marvelously performed and, above all, with practical special effects. It might be puppetry, miniatures, whatever, but no CG. That’s the stuff I love.
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