Movie Review – The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
Written by Charles McKeown and Terry Gilliam
Directed by Terry Gilliam

I was obsessed with Terry Gilliam’s Brazil as a college undergrad. It was the first time I saw it, and right away, I found the imagery to be spellbinding. I’ve cooled immensely since that time on Gilliam’s work. I find most of it to be incredibly inventive yet frustratingly messy. Some comments he’s made have also caused me to see him as a filmmaker I’m not too keen on following. The first film of his I saw was Time Bandits when I was a kid, and it left an indelible mark on me. I remember seeing commercials for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and desperately wanting to see it. However, it was never an option when renting movies at the video rental store. Finally seeing the film, reminded me that, like all of Gilliam’s work, there is tremendous artistry here, but it is hindered by a lack of consistency.

An unnamed European city is under siege by the Ottoman Empire. Inside the city walls, a traveling theater troupe is putting on a production of the life of the fictional character Baron Munchausen. They are under the rigid eye of the city’s mayor, Horatio Jackson (Jonathan Pryce), who does everything he can to not rock the boat. The play is interrupted by an elderly man (John Neville) claiming to be the real Baron Munchausen. He takes the stage and tells a story of a trick he once played on the Grand Turk, which he thinks is the cause of this current conflict. The theater troupe manager’s daughter, Sally Salt (Sarah Polley), becomes enamored with this magical man who seems able to do things ordinary people cannot. Eventually, they leave the city together in search of a way to solve this war. They travel to the moon, into the heart of a volcano, and get swallowed into the belly of a whale, having grand adventures as they go and meeting new friends & foes.

This is undoubtedly one of the best-looking films I’ve ever seen, one of the last great practical effects movies before computer-generated effects became the industry standard. Gilliam’s employment of production crew members who worked for Federico Fellini and other Italian greats is a big part of that. Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno was behind the camera for Fellini’s Amarcord, Visconti’s The Leopard, and Fosse’s All That Jazz, just to name a few of his works. Production design was overseen by Dante Ferretti, who did the same job for multiple Pier Paolo Pasolini films in the 1960s and 70s. These Italian artisans can make dream worlds feel tangible & real. It’s much different than motion capture and green screen; it’s knowing that actors are standing in a physical space and can interact with the objects.

Part of Gilliam’s problem as a filmmaker is how overindulgent he can be. This is seen in how often he runs over budget, especially when American studios were pinching pennies but expecting significant box office returns – similar to now but not as tightly controlled as it has become. Universal Pictures soured their relationship with Gilliam with the release of Brazil in 1985, choosing to release a cut not approved by the director. That led to the Criterion box set, which includes Gilliam’s cut and the “Love Conquers All Version” the studio wanted. 

Gilliam went over budget on Munchausen, which drew the ire of Columbia Pictures. He not only went $10 million over the budget set, but Gilliam was also making the film during a transition period among executives, and the picture was seen as one left over from the old regime and thus not something they were interested in. The special effects artists in post-production were promised bonuses for getting the work done by a deadline, but when they approached the executive who made that promise, he said he didn’t want to do anything that could be perceived as helping Gilliam. 

I do find the picture to be bloated in certain parts. As much as the special effects are gorgeous, the moon sequence with Robin Williams as the King of the Moon goes far too long. They gave him too much room to riff and joke around. We can look at Gilliam & Williams’s next collaboration, The Fisher King, as an example of what happens when both are reigned in while still able to make something unique & special. Part of the indulgence is becoming so enamored with beautiful images that you hesitate to cut anything. I can understand that. You find everything to be engrossing but forget that the film needs a rhythm and pace that doesn’t bog the audience down.

Gilliam has always been an ideas man but not a consistently good director. I can see how Munchausen is a problematic film to promote. Who is this for? Is it a children’s film? Not exactly. Is it for adults? There’s some double-entendre humor, but nothing that sophisticated. I wouldn’t say this movie is for die-hard Monty Python fans because it’s not that wall-to-wall comedy. Like most of Gilliam’s films, he wanted to make it for himself, which he certainly achieved. I think he would make a better production designer than a film director. 

The acting is excellent, with John Neville delivering a pitch-perfect performance as the titular Baron. At the time, Sarah Polley, ten years old, holds her own with the adult actors and hints at the fantastic performance to come. Jonathan Pryce plays a great villain who manages to be both silly and an authentic threat, the bureaucratic danger Gilliam appears to think a lot about. Oliver Reed delivers a fun performance as the Roman god Vulcan alongside his bride Venus (Uma Thurman). The only acting I found a bit much was Williams, and even then, he just needed to be given more structure.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a messy film. It’s fun to watch in pieces, but there will be severe lulls where Gilliam fails to provide momentum to keep the story going. I don’t mind a movie that wanders and is playful, but these distractions need to be a lot more tightly scripted & edited than this. The film gets so pleased with itself at points you have to wonder if Gilliam simply forgot audiences were going to watch this and he was just making it for himself. If you haven’t seen this, it is definitely worth a view. Few movies are this ambitious whether it pays off or not. You’ll undoubtedly come away remembering specific images forever.