Madman. Crazy genius. Visionary director. All labels that could be used to define Terry Gilliam. A rule breaker from the beginning, the man has had more than his share of problems making films and the last few years seem to have been particularly hard. There was the nightmare of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the depressingly awful The Brothers Grimm. Then there’s Tideland, a film I really liked although I realize most didn’t feel the same. Above all else with Gilliam, it seems as though if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.
It looked liked things were going well on his new project but disaster hit yet again when Heath Ledger died earlier this year. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus could have ended in disaster but thankfully, the film was rescued with the help of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law who stepped into the Ledger’s role.
The film, about a traveling theater company, doesn’t open until next year but buzz is already building. Not only will it feature Ledger’s last performance but with Gilliam behind the camera, it will either be a spectacle or a disaster. There’s been a whole lot of secrecy around the production but we finally have a look at what we can expect. Kevin Smith’s Quick Stop Entertainment posted a teaser which is more of a behind the scenes look at the film with a few visuals thrown in for good measure. I’ve never searched out video of Gilliam but I love his energy and the passion he has for the project and listening to him talk about the film made me as excited to see it as any of the visuals. So far, this looks like a Gilliam winner.
If you want to watch it onl1ne for free,...
Comment by Ross Miller — September 14, 2008
Fear & Loathing is his only good film.
Comment by Rusty James — September 14, 2008
As to Gilliam himself, I dig quite a lot of his works. Brothers Grimm was terrible, but then you’ve got Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing and Time Bandits. Good stuff. Even if the films aren’t to your liking, you’ve got to admit the guy’s stamina and insistence on doing his own thing – which I for one think is true art.
Comment by Andrew James — September 14, 2008
Comment by Andrew James — September 15, 2008
Comment by Ross Miller — September 15, 2008
And good to hear I’m not alone in my like of Tideland. I remember having a sort of eye opening experience watching that – there was so much meaning for me in some of the scenes yet, I haven’t revisited it since I originally saw it. Will have to re-visit at some point.
Comment by Marina Antunes — September 15, 2008
Comment by Andrew James — September 15, 2008
Basically the only thing good about the film was Jeff Bridges going on about Jutland and Vikings, and the Manitoba wheat-field cinematography.
To cap it all off, the ending rings so false and tacked on. I’m a huge Gilliam fan, and I think Tideland shows what happens to the vigourous director of Time Bandits after he has lost his talent and grip on things.
I do however weep for Don Quixote which will never be. And I’ll certainly be watching Dr. Pernassus when it arrives. But tideland’s little cult is baffling to me. The movie should have been 40 minutes shorter, at least.
Comment by Kurt — September 15, 2008
Comment by Kurt — September 15, 2008
You say this like it is a bad thing….
Comment by Matt Gamble — September 15, 2008
haha, exactly! Great response. With a guy as talented and imaginative as Gilliam is I’ll take his style of filmmaking any way I can get it.
Here’s when that lack of consistency of opinion across the board rearing it’s ugly head again, like it did with Kurt a little while ago. What I said above about Gilliam should then apply to everyone else that I love – in this case I’m referring to Woody Allen. I love his style of filmmaking but I thought Match Point was one of the most pretentious and self-indulgent/important (add any similar word you wish…) films I’ve seen in quite a while.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t LOVE Tideland like I do most of Gilliam’s films I just like it. It’s not an easy watch and yes it’s a bit on the long side for what it should be but for the cinematogrpahy, the performance of Jodele Ferland (I thought she was great in it!), the imagination on display and of course the “can do no wrong” Dude himself Jeff Bridges – I like it.
Comment by Ross Miller — September 16, 2008
This was Gilliam as George Lucas. Surrounded by fans and Yes-Men when he worked up in Canada, producing the most self-indulgently bloated mess of his career. The films only strength is that it is vastly ugly with an attractive Manitoba back-drop. Like Lucas who gets all indulgent with his toys over attention to his actors, Gilliam loses the strands of his story with this film, draws terrible performances from his actors, and never gets the story to gel together in any satisfactory way. A mess in the worst sense of the word (Whereas Brazil is a mess in the best sense of the word).
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — September 16, 2008
Good to see you finally talking sense in this thread Kurt.
Comment by Matt Gamble — September 16, 2008
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — September 16, 2008
you know what they say about consistency Ross; it is the hobgoblin of small minds.
Or is it the Dr Octopus of small minds? Some superman villain.
Comment by Rusty James — September 16, 2008
Comment by Rusty James — September 16, 2008
Comment by rot — September 16, 2008
Oh yeah. Except I was saying that the film is actually an old testement spin on the new testement values.
Comment by Rusty James — September 16, 2008