Official Synopsis:
Nominated for 4 Oscars in 1989 and directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam (The Fisher King), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen stars John Neville, Eric Idle and Uma Thurman. Neville is the eccentric Munchausen, an aristocrat who relies on the power of his imagination - and a crackpot band of henchmen - to defend their village from plunder. Idle plays the loyal Berthold, the world's fastest man, who hilariously outruns a speeding bullet all the way to Spain in just one hour to save the Baron's neck! When Munchausen's not collaborating with his screwball associates, he can be found walking on air - literally - with the lusciously beautiful Venus (Thurman). Filmed by Oscar nominee cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno (Best Cinematographer, All That Jazz, 1979), with stunning special effects!

  
Our Take:
I’ve only ever seen a handful of Terry Gilliam films, and of them all the only ones that have ever really impressed me are 12 Monkeys (brilliant) and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (a classic). But when The Adventures of Baron Munchausen came out when I was 20 years younger than I am today, it was one of the first films I remember being aware of coming out in limited release. I saw a few posters for it and read some making-of articles on the film, but it never played anywhere near me and seemed (to me at the time) to just never get released. Eventually I realized what had happened and it opened my eyes up to a whole new segment of the film industry.

So when the new The Adventures of Baron Munchausen: 20^th Anniversary Edition came across my desk, I felt like I had to watch it, even though I’m not a huge Gilliam fan overall. I had wanted to see it when I was younger but didn’t due to its limited release, and even though I’d pretty much lost interest by now, I couldn’t let it go. Looking back, I can see why this film was a limited release. It’s not a bad film by any means, but it’s not a great one either, and it certainly isn’t what I’d term “accessible.” It’s an odd amalgam of fairy tale, action/adventure, and comedy and I can see how it would really only appeal to a small segment of moviegoers. Visually, the film is terrific; the special effects are outstanding for the time and many of them still hold up. The performances are fine if a bit cartoony, but the film is just plain strange, and that may turn some viewers off.

Since this is a special edition, Sony did put together a few nice bonus features.

- Commentary - With director Terry Gilliam and co-writer/actor Charles McKeown. Gilliam’s commentaries are always good, and this one is no exception.
- The Madness and Misadventures of Munchausen (72 minutes) - An all-new 3-part documentary on the making of the film.
- Storyboard Sequences – Three extended scenes (in storyboard form) with all-new vocal performances by Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown.
- Deleted Scenes (4 minutes) – Four scenes.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen: 20^th Anniversary Edition is the type of DVD that Terry Gilliam fans will be thrilled to own, but I doubt it will carry much widespread appeal beyond that. Still, fans of special effects movies or film students interested in production design would do well to check it out as well.

Overall Picture:
Movie: C
DVD: B+

- Mike Spring

Editor