Time Bandits

Released 1981
Stars David Rappaport, Craig Warnock, John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner
Directed by Stephen Daldry

Terry Gilliam’s delightful 1981 fantasy is about a young boy who travels through time with six midgets. The delightfully peripatetic narrative jumps from one era to the next, eventually landing in a place of fantasy peopled by strange creatures and controlled by the Devil. It is the wonderful ensemble performances of the midgets, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Jack Purvis, Mike Edmonds and Malcolm Dixon, that enables the film to endure a great many multiple viewings, encouraging laughter through anticipation long after the jokes and fantasy surprises have been memorized.

[On the commentary track] Gilliam speaks a bit about what the film was meant to accomplish, which was specifically to provide an alternative to syrupy, ‘safe’ family films. We can’t agree completely with his condemnation of material values and what he sees as anti-aesthetic lifestyles (regardless of their unseemly appearance, clear vinyl slip covers preserve expensive couches, which not all families can afford to replace, from the damage young children cause), but we do concur with his basic desire to create an original fantasy that both children and adults can identify with, and time has proven that he achieved his goal.

Summary by Doug Pratt

This is one of the first films Terry Gilliam directed, and you can really see his unique visual style developing. We all know he has a warped sense of humor, and here he applies it to the family movie genre. Since it's Terry, it's a darkly cock-eyed family movie. I think all of the comedy works, although the Napoleon bit goes on too long. Aside from that, the story is fun and fantastical, and it works for the entire family. It's rather dark at times (especially the ending), but my little ones handled it just fine (most of the dark content went right over their heads). David Warner is a hoot as the Evil One, and David Rappaport does an excellent job as the leader of the midget gang. --Bill Alward, October 20, 2002