Plot: Six dwarfs led by Randall (David Rappaport) who work for the Supreme Being, have stolen a map that allows them to travel to various points in time helping them to steal gold, historical artifacts, and artistic works in the hopes of becoming rich. Along the way they join up with Kevin (Craig Warnock) an 11 year old boy obsessed with history and ignored by his parents. With Evil (David Warner) and the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson) out to get the map, Kevin and the boys are out for an amazing adventure through space and time.
Review: Terry Gilliam's 1981 classic is a real children's fantasy and it is comes as no surprise that this film had immense appeal when I first saw it at age seven. However, I recently had a chance to view it again at The Dryden Theater and I find it still holds up after all these years.
What makes Time Bandits so intriguing and memorable is how diligently Gilliam shot this film from the perspective of a child. Many shots by cinematographer Peter Biziou are two to three feet lower than a normal shot, thus emphasizing the view of the world from a child's perspective. Even the dwarfs, who are technically adults, are really just substitute children. They even have a child's impulses jumping from the time of Napoleon to the era of King Agamemnon willy-nilly without any regard for danger.
Even more significant are the time frames that Kevin, Randall, and the rest of the dwarfs jump to. They tend to be more of the exciting eras of history that children like to learn about such as the time of Robin Hood. (Incidentally Robin Hood is played by John Cleese who is hysterical as the Prince of Thieves, sporting a gigantic green hat.)
Furthermore, Time Bandits succeeds ultimately, not because of the songs of George Harrison (although they are quite good) but because of how relatable Kevin is as a character. On the one hand Kevin is ignored and misunderstood by his parents, which is something probably all of us have experienced at one time or another. On the other hand Kevin has an immense capacity for imagination. You only need to view the ending scenes of the film where Kevin tries to combat Evil with cowboys and tanks to understand that.
What makes Time Bandits even more accessible is the combination of major cameos with the level of humor throughout the movie. Whether it's Ian Holm as Napoleon lamenting about his height or Little John continually punching people in the face who offer up gifts to Robin Hood, there is humor to be found everywhere. There are so many jokes that I missed as a kid that I finally got as an adult. For example, at one point Kevin asks the Supreme Being, "Why is there evil in the world?" to which the Supreme Being replies, "I'm not sure. Something to do with free will I think." Classic.
Time Bandits is a tight, fun, well written, zany, and hilarious film that reminds us all of the joys of childhood and how important it is not to forget them. I highly recommend letting yourself be stolen by this movie for a few hours.
My rating: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment