This past fall, Turner Classic Movies joined forces with The Criterion Collection for an online streaming service with the aim of showcasing the best in classic, modern, world, and independent cinema, much to the delight of cinephiles everywhere. Inspired, we here at Cinapse decided to create FilmStruck Focus, a limited weekly series dedicated to exploring the best of one of the most diverse and exciting streaming services around.
For this week’s FilmStruck Focus, I picked a very personal film. Not personal in that it means so much to me, but that the last time I saw it, I was in my very formative years of childhood, and I haven’t seen it since. When it came out in 1981, Time Bandits wasn’t necessarily aimed at people my age, but it certainly stuck with me through all these years, and for good reason.
First off, keep in mind that a Terry Gilliam movie is a not a Monty Python movie, but the reverse is almost assuredly true. That’s because the quirky director did some great work with his Python mates, but the rest of his filmography is a grab-bag of odd, not the least of which is Time Bandits.
The story centers around a young boy gallivanting around time and space with a crew of dwarves. Young Kevin (Craig Warnock, in the second and final movie of his career) finds himself wrapped up in the adventures of Randall (David Rappaport), Fidgit (Kenny Baker), and the rest of a bunch of wannabe thieves and robbers.
The end goal is a little confusing: there’s a map, a physical manifestation of Evil (David Warner), and a Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson). As they bounce around time trying to find treasure, the band of travelers runs into a whole host of characters.
Several Python members make an appearance. John Cleese is a much-too-friendly Robin Hood, while Michael Palin joins with Shelley Duvall to make a much put upon pair of landed gentry. Ian Holm’s Napoleon is all little-man complex, while Sean Connery’s Agamemnon does British/Ancient Greek as well as anyone.
While this isn’t a special-effects vehicle, there are some memorably vivid scenes. When Kevin and company find themselves in a boat, it’s not long before its revealed to be sitting atop a giant’s head. They ride in this most ridiculous hat while Gilliam lingers on the enormity of both this creature and the absurdity of the situation.
The story wraps up in fabulously ambiguous fashion, with winks and nods galore. A bit of overthinking about the nature of good and evil gets worked out, but in the end, Time Bandits ends as it starts, a fun ride through the imagination of a slightly mad man, and a tale that children and adults won’t soon forget.
