The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	Terry Gilliam
Produced by	Thomas Schuhly
Written by	Terry Gilliam Charles McKeown
Starring	John Neville Sarah Polley Eric Idle Oliver Reed Uma Thurman Robin Williams Peter Jeffrey
Distributed by	Columbia Tristar
Release date(s)	1988
Running time	126 min.
Language	English
Budget	$23.5 million (actual cost $46.6 million)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville (as the Baron), Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 402 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (506 × 755 pixel, file size: 97 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source: http://www. ... Terrence Vance Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, animator, and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. ... Terrence Vance Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, animator, and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. ... Charles McKeown (b. ... John Neville as the Well Manicured Man in the TV-series The X-Files John Neville, C.M., OBE (born May 2, 1925) is an English theatre and film actor who moved to Canada in 1972. ... Sarah Polley Sarah Polley (born January 8, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian actress, singer and film director. ... Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943) is a British comedian, actor, author and writer of comedic songs. ... Robert Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his macho image on and off screen. ... Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. ... For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ... Peter Jeffrey (born 18 April 1929 in Bristol, died 25 December 1999) was a British actor with many roles in television and film. ... Columbia Pictures logo, used only in the early-1990s Columbia Pictures, now Columbia-Tristar Pictures after their merger with the former Tristar Entertainment, is a film production company, and part of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ... Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Baron von Münchhausen (May 11, 1720 - February 22, German nobleman who in his youth was sent to serve as page to Anton Ulrich and later joined the Turks. ... // Michael Jacksons first film was Moonwalker Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise Who Framed Roger Rabbit, starring Bob Hoskins Coming to America, starring Eddie Murphy Big, starring Tom Hanks Twins, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito Crocodile Dundee II Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis The Naked Gun... This article is about motion pictures. ... Terrence Vance Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, animator, and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. ... John Neville as the Well Manicured Man in the TV-series The X-Files John Neville, C.M., OBE (born May 2, 1925) is an English theatre and film actor who moved to Canada in 1972. ... Sarah Polley Sarah Polley (born January 8, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian actress, singer and film director. ... Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943) is a British comedian, actor, author and writer of comedic songs. ... Jonathan Pryce (born June 1, 1947) is a Welsh film, television, and stage actor who has starred in such Hollywood films include Brazil, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tomorrow Never Dies and The New World. ... Robert Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his macho image on and off screen. ... Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. ... For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ...

Synopsis

Baron Munchausen (John Neville) in the process of making a wager

Berthold (Eric Idle) is given the task of running from the Sultan's court to Vienna in order to fetch some Tokay — a mere 1000 miles

Venus (Uma Thurman) catches the Baron's eye

The film begins in an unnamed and war-torn European city in the late 18th century (dubbed "The Age of Reason" in an opening caption), where, amidst explosions and gunfire, a fanciful touring stage production of Baron Munchausen's life and adventures is taking place. Backstage, city official "The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson" (Jonathan Pryce) reinforces the city's commitment to reason (here meaning uniformity and unexceptionality) by ordering the execution of a soldier who had just accomplished a near-superhuman feat of bravery (Sting in a cameo), claiming that his bravery is demoralizing to other soldiers. Not far into the play, an elderly man claiming to be the real Baron interrupts the show, protesting its many inaccuracies. Over the complaints of the audience, the theater company and Jackson, the "real" Baron gains the house's attention and narrates through flashback an account of one of his adventures, of a life-or-death wager with the Grand Turk, where the younger Baron's life is saved only by his amazing luck plus the assistance of his remarkable associates: Berthold (Eric Idle), the world's fastest runner; Adolphus (Charles McKeown), a gunman with superhuman eyesight; Gustavus (Jack Purvis), who possesses extraordinary hearing, and sufficient lung power to knock down an army by exhaling; and Albrecht (Winston Dennis), a fantastically strong man. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (824x561, 57 KB) Summary Film: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Director: Terry Gilliam Actor Portrayed: John Neville Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (824x561, 57 KB) Summary Film: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Director: Terry Gilliam Actor Portrayed: John Neville Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... John Neville as the Well Manicured Man in the TV-series The X-Files John Neville, C.M., OBE (born May 2, 1925) is an English theatre and film actor who moved to Canada in 1972. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (820x550, 58 KB) Summary Film: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Director: Terry Gilliam Actor Portrayed: Eric Idle Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (820x550, 58 KB) Summary Film: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Director: Terry Gilliam Actor Portrayed: Eric Idle Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943) is a British comedian, actor, author and writer of comedic songs. ... Tokaj cellar Tokaji, meaning of Tokaj in Hungarian, is used to label wines from the wine region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary. ... Image File history File links Munch_09. ... Image File history File links Munch_09. ... The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. ... Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. ... 18th century philosophy redirects here. ... The Right Honourable (abbreviated Rt Hon, The Rt Hon, The Right Hon, Right Hon) is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and in other Commonwealth Realms, and elsewhere. ... Jonathan Pryce (born June 1, 1947) is a Welsh film, television, and stage actor who has starred in such Hollywood films include Brazil, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tomorrow Never Dies and The New World. ... Sting in Budapest, 2000 Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), usually known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician from Newcastle upon Tyne. ... Grand Turk can mean : (historically) an informal western name for the Great Sultan of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty (Geography) see : Grand Turk Island Tall ships : see Grand Turk (frigate) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943) is a British comedian, actor, author and writer of comedic songs. ... Charles McKeown (b. ... Jack Purvis (1937—November, 1997), was a British film actor. ...

When gunfire disrupts the elderly Baron's story, the importance of saving the city eclipses the show. The Baron wanders backstage intending to die, until the exuberance of Sally Salt (Sarah Polley), the young daughter of the theater company's leader, convinces him to remain living. She sees a large black Reaper-like creature approaching the Baron and chases it off, stalling the Baron's death. Sarah Polley Sarah Polley (born January 8, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian actress, singer and film director. ...

Insisting that he alone can save the city, the Baron escapes the city's walls in a hot air balloon constructed of women's underwear, accompanied by Sally as a stowaway. The balloon expedition proceeds to the Moon, where the Baron, rejuvenated to the appearance of a younger man by the preceding adventure, finds his old associate Berthold, but angers the King of the Moon (Robin Williams in an uncredited cameo; listed as Ray D. Tutto in the credits. Note that in Italian "Ray D. Tutto" sounds like "King of Everything", as the King of the Moon claims to be in the film.), who resents the Baron for his romantic past with his Queen (Valentina Cortese). A bungled escape from the Moon leads the trio back to (and beneath) the Earth, where the Roman God Vulcan (Oliver Reed) hosts his guests with courtesy and Albrecht is found. An unwelcome romantic incident between the Baron and Vulcan's wife, the Goddess Venus (Uma Thurman), ends the hospitality and the now-foursome are expelled from Vulcan's kingdom into the South Seas. For other persons named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ... Valentina Cortese, sometimes credited as Valentina Cortesa (born January 1, 1925 in Milan) is an Italian actress. ... The Forge of Vulcan by Diego Velasquez, (1630). ... Robert Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his macho image on and off screen. ... Marble Venus of the Capitoline Venus type, Roman (British Museum) Venus was a major Roman goddess principally associated with love and beauty, the rough equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. ... Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. ...

Swallowed by an enormous sea creature, the travelers locate Gustavus, Adolphus, and the Baron's trusty horse Bucephalus. The Baron (who again appears elderly after being "expelled from a state of bliss," in his words) becomes depressed and settles down to play cards, ignoring the protests of Sally. The Reaper shows up again, scaring Sally into knocking the cards out of the Baron's hands. At first angry at Sally for not letting him die peacefully, the Baron ends up deciding to escape with "a modicum of snuff," which causes the sea creature to "sneeze" the heroes out through its whale-like blowhole. Statue of Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus, Thessaloniki, Greece For the branding mark anciently used on horses, see Bucephalus (brand). ...

Back ashore, the Turkish army is located but the Baron's associates are now too elderly and tired to fight the Turk as in the old days. After a stern lecture from the Baron, who storms off intending to surrender, his cohorts rally to save both the Baron and the city in a fantastic extended battle scene.

During the city's celebratory parade, the Baron is shot by Jackson. A grey, emotionless doctor approaches and only Sally and the Baron can see it as the Reaper. Sally tries to chase it off, but her father, thinking she is upset, drags her away leaving it to take the Baron to finally die. An emotional public funeral takes place, but then is revealed to be only the final scene of yet another story the Baron is telling to the same theater-goers from early in the film. The Baron calls the foregoing "only one of the many occasions on which I met my death" and closes his tale by saying "everyone who had a talent for it lived happily ever after."

A somewhat ambiguous finale reveals that the city has indeed been saved, even though the events of the battle apparently occurred in a story rather than the film's reality. The theater audience and troupe feel a boost of morale from the Baron's story and allow him to lead them to the city gates, ignoring Jackson's threats that anyone who proceeds will be shot. The gates are open and they see that outside of the town is empty, although there is clearly evidence of a battle. Bucephalus appears and his master climbs atop him and attempts to woo a young lady in the theater troupe (also Uma Thurman). He is interrupted, however, by Sally, who comments "It wasn't really a story, was it?" The Baron responds by throwing Sally a scarlet pimpernel (as opposed to the other women he met, whom he gave roses to), rides off on Bucephalus, and the credits roll over a triumphant blast of music. Statue of Alexander the Great riding Bucephalus, Thessaloniki, Greece For the branding mark anciently used on horses, see Bucephalus (brand). ...

Background

Baron Munchausen is a character from The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen (or Baron Münchhausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels) by Rudolf Erich Raspe — a collection of tall stories published in 1785, based on the German adventurer Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, but with many debts to earlier works. The tales were adapted and re-published in German by Gottfried August Bürger in 1786 as Wunderbare Reisen zu Wasser und zu Lande, Feldzüge und lustige Abenteuer des Freyherrn von Münchhausen and became much more popular in this edition. Rudolf Erich Raspe (1736 - 1794) was a German librarian, writer and rogue. ... Tall Tale, also known as Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill is a 1995 family Western movie starring Patrick Swayze, Nick Stahl, Oliver Platt, Roger Aaron Brown, Scott Glenn, Catherine OHara, and Jared Harris. ... Dorés caricature of Münchhausen Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Freiherr von Münchhausen (11 May 1720 – 22 February 1797) was a German baron who in his youth was sent to serve as page to Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and later joined the Russian military. ... Gottfried August Bürger Gottfried August Bürger (January 1, 1748 - June 8, 1794), German poet, was born at Molmerswende near Halberstadt, of which village his father was the Lutheran pastor. ...

The stories were also made into films in 1911 (Les Aventures de baron de Münchhausen), 1943 (Münchhausen, script by Erich Kästner), 1961 (Baron Prášil) and 1979 (Tot samyi Münchhausen by Russian director Mark Zakharov). Gilliam's film has many visual similarities to the 1943 version and the production company was legally obliged to add a disclaimer to the film's posters and closing titles to the effect that Gilliam's Munchausen was an original movie unconnected to the earlier version. Münchhausen is a 1943 fantasy comedy film directed by Josef von Báky a prominent director who remained in Germany under the Nazi regime. ... Erich Kästner (February 23, 1899 - July 29, 1974) is one of the most famous German authors of the 20th century. ... Mark Anatolyevich Zakharov (Russian: Марк Анатольевич Захаров) (born on October 13, 1933, in Moscow, Russia) is a renowned Russian film and theatre director and writer. ...

John Neville's depiction of the Baron appears to have been strongly influenced by this caricature by Doré

Quite unusual for a Terry Gilliam film, the movie ends on an upbeat note, without Gilliam's usual trademark "final dark plot twist." Download high resolution version (800x1075, 805 KB)A public domain image of Baron Munchausen by Gustave Dore taken from http://www. ... Download high resolution version (800x1075, 805 KB)A public domain image of Baron Munchausen by Gustave Dore taken from http://www. ... Doré photographed by Felix Nadar. ... A twist ending or surprise ending is an unexpected conclusion or climax to a work of fiction, which may contain an irony, or cause the audience to reevaluate the rest of the story. ...

Status

The film is one of the most famous fiascos in film history. Coming in over budget (originally $23.5 million,^[1] but finishing at $46.63 million^[2]), it put a black mark on Gilliam's career from the studio's point of view. However, the film has gained cult favorite status over time, and Gilliam's career did not suffer substantially. (It should be noted that in the United States, the film was not widely released due to financial issues at Columbia Pictures, which was in the process of being sold at the time. It was reported to have done well with audiences in the places where it could actually be seen.^{[citation needed]}) Box office revenue was approximately $8 Million.^[3] A fiasco (pl. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ...

Young star Sarah Polley, who was nine years old at the time of filming, has described it as a traumatic experience for her. "[I]t definitely left me with a few scars ... It was just so dangerous. There were so many explosions going off so close to me, which is traumatic for a kid whether it's dangerous or not. Being in freezing cold water for long periods of time and working endless hours. It was physically grueling and unsafe."^[4]

Gilliam was left somewhat embittered by the experience and in interviews has often used Munchausen as a shorthand for a fiasco. Among Gilliam's films released on DVD, Munchausen is the only one without a director's commentary track (he did, however, record a commentary track for a laserdisc, which, as of June 2007, has not been re-released on DVD ^[5]). However, in a commentary track on the DVD edition of Tideland, Gilliam now says that Munchausen is one of the films that his fans most often cite as a favorite (along with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil, 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). Gilliam noted the irony of the situation, adding that an artist can never really tell what work they produce will actually endure. Not to be confused with disk laser, a type of solid-state laser in a flat configuration. ... Tideland (2005) is a film co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, an adaptation of Mitch Cullins novel Tideland. ... Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin), and directed by Gilliam and Jones. ... (Redirected from 12 Monkeys) Twelve Monkeys is a 1995 science fiction conspiracy theory movie directed by former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam and inspired by the short film La Jetée. ... Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompsons 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. ...

References

External links

• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen at the Internet Movie Database