Movie Club for May 19th: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

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It was beauty killed the beast.
Welcome to the Movie Club discussion for our May 19th selection. This week's film, selected by Kong, is The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.


Kong likes this French poster.


Just so you know, LordSlaytan has already chosen the next selection to be discussed on May, 26 (Kong thinks). His pick was The Ogre.


Please debate and discuss safely, and considerately.


Kong must be off to his gorilla work, but will post his thoughts later tonight.



Get Low, Get Low, Get Low
I am surrrrrry, i didn't get a chance to see it, i sure as heck hope i can find the next one-The Ogre...
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It was beauty killed the beast.
Kong is dissappointed. He was hoping to come home to a discussion that was going along swimingly, and instead he finds a discussion that's non-existant. Kong will therefore keep his post short since probably no one will reply...


What an imaginitive, quirky, and magical film! So funny, and completely different it seems like it would be hard not to enjoy. Kong loved the sets, the score, the acting, and everything else and inbetween.

There is an interesting message we can take from this film, that may be especially pertinent to the era we seem to be entering as world: we must always keep our imaginations; we must always keep our art. In the end it doesn't matter wether the Baron was full of balderdash or not, because it's about the power these stories have over people, not wether they are true or false. The film opens with the title stating it is, "The Age of Reason" which is promptly followed by war...age of reason indeed. Politics and warfare is only about what divides us, whereas art is something that unites us. Salvation in Gilliam's film comes from the magic of the mind, and not the size of the gun; Kong hopes that true of our world as well.

Too bad The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen isn't out yet. It would be fun to compare the two.



I just lost a gigantic g*ddamn post. I am so fu*king pissed! I'll try to recompose it tonight, if I have the energy and can calm down.

Nothing quite as frustrating as creating a post for an hour, then have it disappear when you try to post it.

FU*K!
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra



OK, took me much longer than I anticipated to get back to this, but it was one of those kinds of weeks. Too bad more people couldn't find this movie or those who did weren't compelled to discuss. Anywho...



The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989) is one of Gilliam's most ambitious works, and while it is flawed (thanks mostly to some massive behind-the-scenes complications), what remains is a clever adventure for kids and adults, a visual feast, and just plain fun.



*DRAT - MORE TO COME LATER*



Originally posted by Holden Pike
I just lost a gigantic g*ddamn post. I am so fu*king pissed! I'll try to recompose it tonight, if I have the energy and can calm down.
No wonder you're not rewriting it till today. Everytime that happens to me, I just forget it - I send it all to hell.



The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a film that was not made for the average movie patron. Perhaps it’s because it’s not an easy movie to follow along with. It is easily equal to any of the other great fantasy films that were churned out ad naseum during the eighties, and in my opinion, it is easily one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. If any one has ever done any research on the making of this film, they will no doubt be familiar with the extremely difficult filming conditions that director Terry Gilliam and his crew where subjected to, harsh sand storms, food poisoning, producers sabotaging the set for insurance money. Still Gilliam managed to create a world unlike all others, and equaled to none.

It does still have a few flaws. It alternates between sequences that go on forever and others that seem so rushed, that they're over before they’ve really begun. There isn’t really a plot, it’s more like The Meaning of Life, having multiple sequences that may or may not tie into one another. I guess it depends on the viewer whether they do or not. If you’re a fan of Terry Gilliam’s work, then definitely check it out. Casual viewers might just see it as a series of disjointed stories told by a meandering old man, who can go on, and on, and on. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a good film, made even though its Apocalypse Now type of difficulties, and is certainly a t testament to Gilliam's beautiful ability to dream.

If you liked The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, then also check out the other two movies that belong to its unofficial "trilogy". Time Bandits and Brazil.
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I am having a nervous breakdance
The video store said they had it - but they hadn't. I love Brazil and parts of Time Bandits though. Especially the scene with John Cleese as Robin Hood.
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They had temporarily escaped the factories, the warehouses, the slaughterhouses, the car washes - they'd be back in captivity the next day but
now they were out - they were wild with freedom. They weren't thinking about the slavery of poverty. Or the slavery of welfare and food stamps. The rest of us would be all right until the poor learned how to make atom bombs in their basements.



Although Im not part of this film club, i'll jump in, dont be mad
I saw Baron Munchuessen a couple years ago, so it's not completely fresh in my mind, but it's a fabulous movie.

It's currently the only terry gillam film that i've seen, but I must say that the man has an amazing imagination. This movie is extremely clever and quirky and I thouht that with somewhat limited special effects the film still is breathtaking and really does a great job of creating another fairy tale type world.
It's really a film that children and adults can both enjoy on many levels. I think that Kong hit it on the head with the themes of the film--imagination, art, staying youthful, etc, etc.
Really I think the strength of this film comes from the amazing atmosphere that's created and the creative and innovative stories that Gillam tells, I love the detail with the arabian King playing his organ of human torture (absolutely hillarious). The trip to the moon is probably my favorite part of the film, robin williams gives a great performance.
I do think that the film begins to drag on near the last third and the stories don't quite seem to come together right, but still the beautiful and imaginative outshine the negatives here.
I'd give it a B+ (although I should see it again to really be sure of my grade)

Eagerly looking forward to watching Time Bandits....
I heard Brazil is wack, what do you guys think of of the man's other movies?



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I like Terry Gilliam's films because they are so off-beat and way out there. Baron Munchausen is one of my favorite movies because of its exploration of the nature of fantasy, and because it literalizes the whole "flight of fantasy" bit. Cool and very entertaining. Interestingly, Gilliam's latest movie is about Don Quixote, another exploration of fantasy and perception.



Wow. How disappointing. Only two people out of twenty plus watched your pic, and only one watched mine. Wheee.....



It was beauty killed the beast.
Originally posted by LordSlaytan
Wow. How disappointing. Only two people out of twenty plus watched your pic, and only one watched mine. Wheee.....
Hopefully more people will watch The Labyrinth.
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I absolutely loved this movie. Mainly becasue the director and one of the actors are both in Monty Python. Monty Python is the greatest comedy ever, no questions asked. Anyway, I couldn't stop laughing whenever Robin Williams was on the screen. Also, that sharpshooting guy with the one eye. I LOVE his voice, Anyway, I love this movie, I am definately going to buy it. But, the closest big city to my town is Parkersburg W. Va and Video Update kinda stinks. I'll try Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. MONTY PYTHON!!!!!!!!!!1
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