Time Bandits (13 July 1981)
directed by Terry Gilliam
starring Craig Warnock, John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, Jack Purvis, Tiny Ross, David Daker, Sheila Fearn, Jim Broadbent, Derek O'Connor
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MPAA rating: Studio: HandMade Films Script: Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam Music: Mike Moran, Tervor Jones Running time: 116 minutes Tags: Adventury; Agamemnon; Comedy; Fantasy; France; Napoleon; ogres; Robin Hood; time travel Tactical strength: [7/10]
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Time Bandits spoofs rampant consumerism, with some religious and ethical allegory thrown in. The film opens to a television commercial advertising the latest in modern kitchens. As two parents sit enthralled by the latest gadgets, their son Kevin (Craig Warnock) reads about the Spartans. He tries to engage his parents with a discussion about history, but his father just tells him to go to bed. In his bedroom, strange things happen. A band of midgets bursts from Kevin's closet. The leader Randall (David Rappaport) explains that he leads a band of international criminals, but before Randall can explain much more, the voice of god calls crying, "Return what you have stolen." For Kevin, reality slips a little as his bedroom wall shifts and the bandits push the wall down a corridor that ends in a black abyss, where Kevin and the intruders fall. The bandits, once employed by the supreme being, have stolen his map of all the time holes in the universe. (Randall explains that creating a universe in just seven days leaves a lot of holes.) Randall plans to travel throughout time and rob the richest people in history. First stop, Napoleon (Ian Holm).
A blow-by-blow description of Time Bandits doesn't do it justice. Director Gilliam has infused every scene with subtle humor, blatant slapstick, and cosmic justice. After stealing Napoleon's wealth, the adventurers land in the middle ages in the time of Robin Hood (John Cleese). At Robin Hood's camp, we see an arm wrestler physically ripping the arms off his opponents, dropping the severed limbs into a barrel. The merry men have a spitting contest that Randall's party must traverse, and Robin Hood immediately redistributes Napoleon's wealth to the poor, who each receive a brutal punch to the jaw as they receive his or her share of the wealth. Like Gilliam's earlier Monty Python movies, every scene has multiple jokes simultaneously in the foreground and background. Eventually, Kevin, Randall, and the others come face-to-face with Evil himself (David Warner), who wants the supreme being's map so he can recreate the universe in his own image.
I have loved Time Bandits since I first saw it as a teenager in 1981. I laugh at all the jokes every time I watch it, and I recently introduced my kids to the film. For the next couple of days, they quoted lines from the film. I would probably place Time Bandits on a list of my top ten favorite films. So you might wonder why I only give Time Bandits a score of seven. I think such a division draws a line between "best films ever made" and "favorite films ever made." I certainly think Ang Lee made one of the best films ever made with Brokeback Mountain, but who knows if I will ever watch it again. Time Bandits shows all the signs of low-budget production. With repeated viewings, I have probably seen all the goofs, but I still enjoy Time Bandits every time I watch it. Maybe this distinction points out the difference between high art and low art, but I think you can make a better comparison to your favorite clothes. You feel comfortable in your favorite clothes, but you probably wouldn't wear those clothes to church. In the same way, Time Bandits feels comfortable. I identify with Kevin, and I laugh at the silly humor. I can't argue that Gilliam has made an artistic masterpiece, but his subtle script makes me happy.
