Movie Review – The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Movie Review – The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)Written by Charles McKeown and Terry GilliamDirected by Terry Gilliam I was obsessed with Terry Gilliam’s Brazil as a college undergrad. It was the first ti…
Terry Gilliam at his worst (as a person). He put the child actress in danger multiple times to get scenes shot. Eric Idle had to protect her from Gilliam on set and publicly defended her now that she's told her story.
Okay so I have a long-winded story I have to share about this...
I love this movie, have seen it dozens of times, including when it ran on cable the summer when my grandparents died and seventeen year old me was stuck in their family room watching late night cable with my uncle for a few months while helping my mom sort through her own personal nightmare.
Anyway... a decade or so later I read this stuff about Sarah Polley advocating for a younger actress in one of Terry Gilliam's films, and same as you I was horrified.
I'd never considered the realities of that film's production on that poor girl. So I took it on myself to watch some of the other movies she'd been in as an adult, and, well, one had a nude scene...
Months later I go over to my buddies' place and there's a group of about a dozen people watching The Adventurs of Baron Munchausen...
And I couldn't resist. I waited until Sarah Polley appeared on screen and said "Hey, I've seen her naked!"
mic drop
I'd never heard that before. It makes you wonder how often this happens and unlike this case people just keep quiet about it. There's infamous examples like Roar where half the set gets injured and Twilight Zone where 3 people died in a helicopter accident. No telling how many injuries and deaths occurred during Italio cinema's heyday in the 70s and 80s when the goal was to push the envelope more and more. HK cinema history is pretty crazy as well when it comes to this stuff, with not only human deaths but animals killed on purpose to make scenes more realistic. Calamity of Snakes is an extreme example.
I positively loved this movie as a kid! It's been many years since I watched it last, but that last view was during adult hood and it's definitely held up. It has that magical, fantastical feeling you don't see much in movies any more.
I loved this movie and there is nothing else quite like it. It starts off strange, runs straight into weird territory. One of the best Terry Gillian movies and and incredible ensemble cast.