Time Bandits (Blu-ray)

Terry Gilliam has to be regarded as a movie genius, and this 1981 film was one of his finest hours – so why only three stars? Certainly not for the film, which is as mad, fun and glorious looking as ever, as well as boasting a fantastic maverick cast. It’s for the content of the disc.

Three years ago Gilliam’s biggest commercial hit – the one moment when his madcap genius was kept in check by Michael Palin’s tight script – was released as a 25th anniversary edition. Not only did the film look fresh, but the extras were a real treat for the fans. There was an audio commentary from Gilliam, Palin and about half the cast, including John Cleese. There was a storyboard, and a bizarre interview with Clapperboard, a children’s TV series. There were photos and scrapbooks, all packaged in a beautiful shiny box.

With the publication of Palin’s biography covering this period, and the release of Gilliam’s new film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, this release is timely, but seems like a bit of a rush job. The only extras are a new interview with Gilliam – he’s wonderful as ever, but reveals nothing new about the film or its writing – and there’s also a rather poor scrapbook. There’s also a trailer for Parnassus, which looks promising, but that’s not really an extra.

Maybe the whole thing is an exercise in getting Blu-Ray fans to buy another copy of a film they probably already own on DVD – if so, it feels cynical, something you would never associate with Gilliam (the movie does look good in HD, however). Some of his films have been badly treated by the studios, this one never was – but it has suffered from rushing it out on Blu-ray. The great man deserves better.

Overall verdict: Re-release of Gilliam’s wonderful fantasy which is surprisingly thin on extras.

Special Features:
New Gilliam Interview
Trailer
Scrapbook
‘Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus’ Trailer

Reviewer: Mike Martin