me too. i'm ready for a full-fledged new film by gilliam that doesn't suck.

Jude Law is also going to be in the Parnassus film, btw - I'm hoping it's a decent film...

BARON MUNCHAUSEN!

The WHITE DOG Criterion disc looks fantastic...as good as a standard definition DVD can look anyway. The Ennio Morricone score is subtly effective and the remastered audio really does it justice. I have EDDIE COYLE first in my queue and should recieve it tomorrow: can't wait:)

Televista aka Jef aka Substance is either a gray market operation if not an out and out bootlegger that specializes in hard to find horror and B-movie fare. A few years back when WHITE DOG Criterion was yet to be confirmed the Televista release made Film Comment's top DVDs list; it was also being sold through Amazon so silly me thought it might be legit.

EDDIE COYLE features Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle. 70s crime-drama based on a book by George V Higgins AKA the Balzac of Boston. Most definitely worth a look.

the white dog criterion edition is the only one i've seen, so i can't measure it against other viewings. it is a really fine film though.

i don't know the friends of eddie coyle...i'lll look that up. i'm on criterion's mailing list and get regular updates. i enjoy reading the reviews and essays they post on their site. i was just browsing the criterion section at a neighborhood retailer tonight - they have put out a lot of new stuff in the past 6 months. i keep seeing more and more new titles. i'm kind of excited about their new release of wadja's "danton"....which i really enjoyed back in the 80's when it was first released.

What's Televista? From what I understand, this is the first time White Dog has been available on any format. Yes?

A big part of why I want to see it is because it's been so slandered. Whenever someone tells me I shouldn't see something, I automatically want to. Just my nature.

The question is not, to see WHITE DOG or not to see, the question is the Criterion treatment worth seeking out if youve been slumming with Televista? But I guess the WHITE DOG forum may be a appropriate place for that.

BTW (whilst off the subject of Terry Gilliam) THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE finally gets the royal (Criterion) treatment after being out of circulation for IMHO way too long.

i've seen white dog, rob, and as alex says, it's a keeper. check it out if you get the chance.

No...you were right the first time, Alex. Tideland isn't very good.

Ahhh, I was thinking TIDELAND came before BROTHERS GRIMM. I know my feelings are cool on TIDELAND (I need to see it again) but I definately respect the emotional energy and integrity of the film. Seems to be Gilliam's most honest film, an open wound bleeding childhood trauma...that we can all relate to on some level.

His new film is something called THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS or something like that. Heath Ledger had done some work on it, and the film was completed with Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell taking what was left of Ledger's roles, I'm not sure how that's going to work, it seems to be episodic enough to allow for such a thing to happen.

After the horror of BROTHERS GRIMM, by far Gilliam's worst film, he made TIDELAND, which got really unfairly slammed by critics apparently uncomfortable with certain aspects of the story.

Alex DeLarge wrote: "Does anyone know what Gilliam's next project will be? Since the horror of BROTHERS GRIMM, I haven't heard a creative peep from him. "

Wasnt he making the film that Ledger was working on when he died? I think they were going to complete it by doing an IM NOT THERE kinda thing with Depp and others filling in.

Does anyone know what Gilliam's next project will be? Since the horror of BROTHERS GRIMM, I haven't heard a creative peep from him.

I liked Casey Affleck's performance in ASSASSINATION and Nick Cave's cameo but thought the film overall mediocre. I think I graded it a C..."</i>

I ve gotta agree with Alex, the cinematography was excellent maybe it would have been better on the big screen (there were some decent performances) but it was overlong and slower than molasses in winter maybe that was the point

Sam Sheppard as Frank to Pitt's Jesse??? What is the age differential? I am a fan of the TJ Stiles bio, the films of Hill (THE LONG RIDERS) and Fuller but somebody laid on the existentialism with a heavy hand in this one.

Rob, I reviewed WHITE DOG over in the Movie Forum: a must see!

I liked Casey Affleck's performance in ASSASINATION and Nick Cave's cameo but thought the film overall mediocre. I think I graded it a (C). I reviewed it on my blog.

I forgot Brad Pitt was in 12 MONKEYS but now I remember his over-the-top performance seemed too forced. Another one of the reasons I've never revisited the film.

The new Criterion remaster of BRAZIL is spectacular and worth purchasing; must be seen if you've only watched the old washed-out prints on TV, VHS or even the original DVD release. Remember, watch the Original Cut and not the "Happy Ending" version.

I was really surprised how good Affleck was in that movie. Who would've guessed Ben's brother would turn in such a fine performance? I didn't notice any awkwardness from Pitt personally, but whatever.

Speaking of Sam Fuller....I want to see White Dog so bad, but now that I don't have Netflix anymore I suppose it'll have to wait for a while. Have you seen that one Phillip?

Guess we got away from sci-fi.

i watched the assasination of jesse james recently, and i also tend not to be enthusiastic about anything with pitt, but i liked it quite a lot. he was awkward in a few scenes, but much better than usual, and casey affleck was really quite good in it. interesting to compare it with sam fuller's film from the late 50's....

Dont remember him in Boogie Nights. Dont remember much at all of Fargo and I havent seen the others you mentioned, but I really REALLY got a bad taste in my mouth from watching Edward. Until then I was neither here nor there about him.

"THe only other one that I refuse to watch anything when I know he's in it: William H. Macy."


Really? You didn't like Boogie Nights? Fargo? The Cooler? Bobby? He's been in some pretty good movies. Don't know if I'd especially go out of my way to see HIM.

Oh thats right, that was you. I remembered I had that conversation with *someone* but couldnt recall if it was you...

There are very few actors that I go out of my way to see even if I do love them. Sam is one of those, but eve with him there are ones that as much as I love him I wont go see -- like Hitchhiker's Guide. And as for avoidance: I absolutely abhor John Leguizamo (even though I just watched Carlito's Way the other night [I cringed every time he was on screen:]). THe only other one that I refuse to watch anything when I know he's in it: William H. Macy. And he happens to be in one (maybe two) films with Sam Rockwell from the late 90s so....you can see how conflicted I am there...

Oh, and another actor who drives me banana sandwiches: Joseph Gordon Leavitt. Unnhhnnhhnh! He is so lackluster and boring. He just exudes lameness no matter what he's in. He looks like he's sleepwalking through whatever role he's playing. I especially hated Brick and I really hated that one where he was the "inside man" on a bank heist (cant remember the name)

Ubik: I remember now that we already had a similar conversation. Sorry.

I don't really go out of my way to see ANY actor/actress. I take each movie as it comes, and if it looks good or I hear great things about it...I'll watch it. But...neither do I consciously avoid movies because of who is in it. Unless it's Adam Sandler. There have been many films that have turned out to be very good IMO despite the fact that I ordinarily don't care for the actor(s) involved. Seems kind of petty to do that too much.

Re: Tom's last paragraph (diatribe LOL): I agree and I will NOT go out of my way to see him in anything. AND I feel that way about a *lot* of mainstream overhyped actors. I have a list on listology of all my favorite actors and 95% of them are indie/under-the-radar.

Re: Rob- I dd actually have plans to see Assassination of Jesse James because I did hear that it was really really good PLUS my boy Sam Rockwell is in it so that makes me happeh!

"It *may* be that Ive only seen it on VHS...is there THAT much of a difference between VHS/TV and DVD/Criterion DVD? If so, then I should definitely take another look."

YES, God in heaven! If you've only seen BRAZIL on VHS, then you have never seen it. Rent the Criterion DVD which Gilliam himself approved.

Also I have to point out that Gilliam's films just plain don't work on video. They have their moments, but they just can't be appreciated except on a big screen. There's simply too much going on in BRAZIL and BARON MUNCHAUSEN and TWELVE MONKEYS to be caught on a TV.

As for Pitt: no, I have not seen ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES. I will no longer subject myself to Pitt's pathetic attempts at acting, after LEGENDS OF THE FALL, SEVEN, TROY and the unspeakable horror of BENJAMIN BUTTON. Life's too short, and there are too many fine intelligent capable actors to watch for me to waste my time with Pitt's incompetence.

"other than that, he is incredibly mediocre"



Have you seen The Assassination of Jesse James yet? I thought he was great in that film.

Other than that...I think you just mentioned all the films of his I've seen!

Tom wrote: ""Love Brazil, but there is something about the film quality itself that always bugged me...like it was way too smoky, grainy, "soft". "

This is interesting. I've never seen this smoky grainy so..."

It *may* be that Ive only seen it on VHS...is there THAT much of a difference between VHS/TV and DVD/Criterion DVD? If so, then I should definitely take another look

And Brad's over-the-topness was kinda annoying after multiple viewings. I think he was amazing in Kalifornia, Fight Club, and Se7en but other than that, he is incredibly mediocre

Tom doesn't like anything. ;)

Yeah. I figured the one thing I had positive to say, you wouldn't like.

"Love Brazil, but there is something about the film quality itself that always bugged me...like it was way too smoky, grainy, "soft". "

This is interesting. I've never seen this smoky grainy softness in BRAZIL, except in very bad prints, and certainly not in the current Criterion DVD.

Ugh, Brad Pitt's pathetic scenery-chewing in TWELVE MONKEYS is the main reason I find the film hard to revisit. I like pretty much everything else about it, including Willis' performance and I'm in no way a fan of his at all.

That's true, I think he vomited at least ten times...

I think we all have actors/actresses that we just can't connect with (we probably all agree on Keanu Reeves) and for me Bruce Willis is one of them. Though his part in PULP FICTION never bothered me.

Tideland reminded me of a David Lynch film. A bad David Lynch film.

I thought Brad Pitt did a good job of acting in 12 Monkeys. He sure didn't play the typical "pretty boy" role anyway.

Bruce Willis. That's what puts me off 12 MONKEYS. Though it's still a Gilliam film and not a Willis film, if you understand my meaning: it has all the visual flair of the director but I'm cold on the acting.

OHMYGOD, Jonathan Pryce is A-F-in-MAZING in Something Wicked This Way Comes! Loves him to pieces in that role. Mr. Dark mmmmmm.

In a weird way, I kiiiinda agree with Rob in a weird way. Not to reneg on my love for Gilliam, but I can never put my finger on exactly what it is, even though I adore most of his films, that bothers me about them even so. Love Brazil, but there is something about the film quality itself that always bugged me...like it was way too smoky, grainy, "soft". There is something about 12 Monkeys that kinda bothers me too, but Ive never been able to put my finger on it exactly...

I've loved Brazil for a long time - that performance by Jonathan Pryce (and he's awesome in Something Wicked This Way Comes too), the typewriter mistake, the train scene where all the men are sitting and an old lady is clinging to the bar as she stands - the cinematography, it's all good.

Now I want to see Tideland too...

Oh yeah - I've seen that doc Lost in La Mancha. Really fascinating. I guess most of you know that Gilliam's movies are supposed to be cursed (most recently, the Heath Ledger project, to wit) - this doc is a chronicle of a major struggle, and it's sad to see the movie fall apart. But also fascinating -

I enjoyed the broadcasts from BBC production aired on cabled PBS, loved watching Monty Python. It felt great when unexpectedly my brother wanted to see Time Bandits. As a teenager I enjoyed renting most of the grungy Monty Python movies. I saw for the first time Brazil recently and really enjoy the humor and off beat drama I’m used too.

I admire Gilliam's movies more than I actually like them. I admire the fact that they're so offbeat and different, but for the most part...they just don't click with me for some reason. 12 Monkeys is probably my favorite...didn't like Tideland at all.

Glad to see some love for BARON MUNCHAUSEN! I just watched it again on Blu-ray and it is a spectacle. I've never been a Robin Williams fan and he's always been annoying. Great review on TIDELAND but a film that just didn't grab me, and I like explorations into the dark abyss of childhood trauma: it's a way to examine my own inner demons through Art. Maybe I need to watch it again.

I saw JABBERWOCKY when it was first released, and have very slight memories of it.

I really detest the film of THE PRINCESS BRIDE. Ghastly pandering drivel, with a brilliant performance from Peter Falk.

I'm a big fan of Gilliam's BARON MUNCHAUSEN. A bit of a gangly mess, and I find myself FFing through Robin Williams' bullshit, but I love it dearly. Saw it 6 times when it first came out, still have the Criterion laserdisc. It never fails to delight and move me.

wow tom, great writing. i really want to see this now.

gilliam is like fellini in some ways - he fails gloriously from time to time.

i hated princess bride, ubik. we now have something in common that seems somewhat obscure.

never saw jabberwocky. can't remember time bandits well enough to say anything. liked baron munchausen.

re: Jim's post: I actually dont like films like Time Bandits at all. I thought it was silly. Never seen Jabberwocky, but I avoided it because it seems like the same kind of deal as TB. Ive also never seen Baron Munchausen. I know Im in the minority there because I hate The Princess Bride too and I dont know of a single other person who doesnt love it to pieces LOL

Time Bandits was my favorite of Terry Gilliam's films. I think it was ahead of its time. Oddly enough he also did my least favorite film of all time JABBERWOCKY.

Nice review!

FISHER KING I was rather lukewarm on, as my tolerance for Robin Williams was just turning into real dislike when the film was released. I like FISHER KING best when it centers on Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl.

And it isn't even remotely SF.

Neither is TIDELAND, one of Gilliam's oddest and most disturbing films. Here's my review from my blog, for what it is worth:

Terry Gilliam's latest and possibly most audacious film opens with an intro from the director, telling us that some of us will love the film, some will hate the film, and that some of us won't know what to think of it, but that hopefully we'll have something to think about. I manage to fall somewhere in between all three categories: I love parts of it, have doubts about parts of it, and don't quite know what to think of other parts of it, but have found it hard to stop thinking about it.

TIDELAND centers on Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland), a young girl in rather horrifying circumstances who, not surprisingly for a Gilliam hero, takes refuge in fantasy. She's clearly been left to her own devices a good deal; when not cooking up her father's latest heroin fix and preparing his needles she has rather elaborate conversations with a series of tiny doll heads. Upon her mother's death (some reviews have said from an overdose but it looks like accidental asphyxiation to me) Jeliza-Rose and her father journey to his mother's home in the country, which turns out to be a deserted husk of a house in the middle of a field of weeds. Eventually Jeliza gets involved with a neighboring woman named Dell (an alarming Janet McTeer) and Dell's rather extravagantly mentally damaged brother Dickens (Brendan Fletcher).

I can't really give away much more without giving away too much. A good part of the effect of the film is the flat-out surprise it generates. Certain scenes are literally jaw-dropping. Make no mistake: this is no genteel Focus On The Family-friendly fantasy. TIDELAND owes as much to Tobe Hooper as it does to Lewis Carroll. Gilliam makes it clear in his introduction that the film is about innocence and the resilience of children, and he may be understating. For Jeliza-Rose to make it to the end of the events of this film with anything like a semblance of a shred of sanity left calls for more than resilience and a refuge in fantasy: it requires flat-out Miraculous Intervention.

TIDELAND, like Gilliam's FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS and Linklater's A SCANNER DARKLY, will take more than one viewing to fully appreciate. I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

Yes Ive seen Lost In La Mancha. MAN I wish that had become a reality, but *supposedly* its back in the works here

Yeah, I liked The Fisher King as well, but I need to watch it again. Its been years

i liked the fisher king, but it's been a long time since i viewed it.

i have wanted to see lost in la mancha since it came out. i keep forgetting to put in my queue...i'm going to remedy that now.

hey, long time no see, KD!

Social sci-fi.

Glad someone else saw Tideland. My favorite is probably Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Nobody has mentioned The Fisher King. And has anyone else seen the documentary Lost In La Mancha, about the disastrous attempt at filming The Man Who Killed Don Quixote? It's pretty amazing.

I'm hardly forgetting BRAZIL, I just don't think of it as being particularly sci-fi. Yeah, Orwellian and all that, but I don't see the technological advances that I'd say are a requirement for sci-fi.

I guess I think it is closer to DR. STRANGELOVE than 2001. But of course folks think STRANGELOVE is sci-fi, too, so there you go.

Yeah, I think Tom is definitely forgetting about Brazil. 12 Monkeys is awesome too. So is Fear And Loathing. And for the record, I saw Tideland in the theatre and while it was awkward and made me squirmy at times, I really loved it and I think Jodelle Ferland is a brilliant little actress (and I usually dont like child actors).

Brothers Grimm SUCKED though!

i never saw tideland. sounds like i should check it out?

i always felt brazil sort of lives in an orwellian, futuristic sci-fi world. wasn't there some sort of dsicussion on what is sci-fi that said something about narratives that explore society (in a certain way)....sorry i'm forgetting the wording, which is essential in this case.

i love baron munchausen. i should revisit that one soon. i also really admire his adatpation of fear and loathing. not a lot of people appreciated that one, but i sure did. good fun.

My favorite Gilliam films are the least Sci-Fi. BARON MUNCHAUSEN, BRAZIL, FEAR AND LOATHING, even his sadly underappreciated TIDELAND.

Only TWELVE MONKEYS to me really fits into the Sci-Fi genre, with its dazzling time-travel games.

Unless I'm forgetting one...