The Adventures of Baron Munchausen: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''Everyone who had a talent for it lived [[Happily Ever After]].''|'''Baron Munchausen'''}}

[[~~Terry Gilliam (Creator)|~~Terry Gilliam]]'s fourth solo directorial effort, from 1988. It's a paean to whimsy and the irrational. Like ''[[The Sandman]]'', it's about how stories are more important than "what really happened" and rationality.

[[Terry Gilliam]]'s fourth solo directorial effort, from 1988. It's a paean to whimsy and the irrational. Like ''[[The Sandman]]'', it's about how stories are more important than "what really happened" and rationality.

It is the Age of Reason, and there's a war on. Somewhere Austria-y is at war with The Grand Turk. In a city on the border of this war, a rag-tag theatre company is staging a dramatic retelling of the life of famous [[Tall Tale]] teller Baron Munchausen. The play is interrupted by the ''real'' Baron, who describes what really happened to cause this war -- namely, the Turks are after him. The Baron has come to the city to die, but is convinced by Sally Salt (the head of the theatre company's daughter) to instead save the city from the onslaught of The Grand Turk, as well as the forces of reason and mediocrity. Wackiness ensues.

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* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: [[Robin Williams]] as The King Of The Moon (credited as [[Stage Names|Ray D. Tutto]]) among others. The Baron doesn't stay in one place long enough for anyone to get more than one scene. Uma Thurman as Venus also stands out (though she is also part of the [[And You Were There]] actresses in the theatrical [[Book Ends]]).

** It should also be noted that [[Robin Williams]] ' ''entire performance'' was ad-libbed. Let's hear it for cocaine!

* [[Parental Bonus]]: The movie manages to get away with a PG rating in spite of some pretty saucy sexual innuendo in the scene with the King of the Moon, including the King calling the Queen a "puttana" (Italian for "whore") at one point. And the adults in the audience probably found [[Fan Service|Venus']] [[Naked On Arrival|introduction]] a lot more interesting than the kids.

* [[Parental Bonus]]: The movie manages to get away with a PG rating in spite of some pretty saucy sexual innuendo in the scene with the King of the Moon, including the King calling the Queen a "puttana" (Italian for "whore") at one point. And the adults in the audience probably found [[Fan Service|Venus']] [[Naked on Arrival|introduction]] a lot more interesting than the kids.

* [[Public Domain Character]]

* [[The Reveal]]: {{spoiler|It was all just a story being told in the theatre...}}

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* [[Rule of Funny]]: It's highly improbable that you could make a hot air balloon out of ladies' undergarments, but that doesn't mean Munchausen can't.

* [[Sand Is Water]]: On the moon, at least.

* [[Screwed By the Network|Screwed by the Studio]]: The film received virtually no pre-launch publicity and appalling distribution.

* [[Screwed by the Network|Screwed by the Studio]]: The film received virtually no pre-launch publicity and appalling distribution.

* [[Serious Business]]: "This isn't a joke! It's a wager!"

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: Part of the "Dreamer Trilogy": ''[[Time Bandits]]'' represents childhood, ''[[Brazil (~~Film~~)|Brazil]]'' represents adulthood, ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' represents old age.

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: Part of the "Dreamer Trilogy": ''[[Time Bandits]]'' represents childhood, ''[[Brazil (film)|Brazil]]'' represents adulthood, ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' represents old age.

* [[Swallowed Whole]]: The Baron and Sally get eaten by a whale, only to find a functioning inn, and a few of the Baron's old friends! And his horse, somehow.

* [[Tall Tale]]: Subverted -- it appears the Baron's stories were true, after all. [[Mind Screw|Or are they?]] After all, the whole film is a Tall Tale told by Mr. Gilliam...