The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)
89%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 5 nominations
Bursting with Terry Gilliam’s typically imaginative flourishes, this story of a possibly deranged Baron recounting his storied life is a flamboyant and witty visual treat
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is like a wild dream that you never want to wake up from. Terry Gilliam’s imagination is on full display, and it’s a feast for the eyes. The story is a mishmash of fairy tales, history, and legends, but somehow it all works. It’s a movie that’s both silly and profound, and it’s impossible not to get swept up in the adventure. Plus, who doesn’t love a good swashbuckling hero? Baron Munchausen is the ultimate tall tale-teller, and you can’t help but root for him. If you’re looking for a movie that’s both visually stunning and endlessly entertaining, this is the one for you.
Production Company(ies)
Anonymous Britdoc Foundation Final Cut for Real
Distributor
Columbia Pictures, Criterion Collection
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lake View Medical Center – 11600 Eldridge Avenue, Lake View Terrace, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1989
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 6m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 10, 1989 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 8, 2008
Genre(s)
Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Charles McKeown, Winston Dennis, directed by Terry Gilliam, written by Charles McKeown and Terry Gilliam, Fantasy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Sheila Benson, Carrie Rickey, Richard Corliss, Jay Boyar, Dave Kehr, Variety Staff, Mike Massie, Dennis King, Roger Hurlburt, Ralph Novak, Alan Jones, Richard Luck, PG, Thomas Schühly, Columbia Pictures, Criterion Collection, John Neville as Baron Munchausen, Eric Idle as Desmond and Berthold, Sarah Polley as Sally Salt, Oliver Reed as Vulcan, Charles McKeown as Rupert and Adolphus, Winston Dennis as Bill and Albrecht, surrealism, Terry Gilliam’s imaginative flourishes, flamboyant, witty visual treat, bursting with imaginative flourishes, possibly deranged Baron, recounting his storied life, lavish fairy tale, bright children of all ages, voluptuously beautiful, surrealism, true beliefs, Terry Gilliam’s trilogy, Time Bandits, Brazil, based on a real person, late 18th century, Turkish army, European city, inaccuracies, defending the city, theater production, extraordinary heroics, German aristocrat, Baron Münchhausen, attacking Turks, Moon, South China sea, sea monster, Roman God Vulcan, headless King of the Moon, theatre set opening, power of imagination, suspension of disbelief, dazzling visual delight, shallow narrative, all over the place in terms of coherence, decent cast, Jonathan Pryce, bizarre appearance from Robin Williams, Uma Thurman reenacting Botticelli’s Birth of Venus
Worldwide gross: $8,083,123
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $18,314,200
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,742
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,997,186
US/Canada gross: $6,254,148
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $18,314,200
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,438
US/Canada opening weekend: $620,279
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,816,381
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,217
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Eric Idle – Desmond, Berthold
Sarah Polley – Sally Salt
Oliver Reed – Vulcan
Charles McKeown – Rupert, Adolphus
Winston Dennis – Bill, Albrecht
and more.
Director(s)
Terry Gilliam
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Thomas Schühly
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 nominations
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (52) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (4)
The sheer volume and invention of Gilliam’s visual largess sets him apart, and his wit operates for the most part at a dangerously sophisticated level.
November 15, 2013
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
One of the most voluptuously beautiful films ever imagined, Munchausen naturally assumes that surrealism is preferable, that through make-believe we find the way to true beliefs.
November 15, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
A lavish fairy tale for bright children of all ages.
November 15, 2013
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The king is completely out-of-control, and so was Gilliam in making this film. Neither has much of a sense of proportion, but both are hard to ignore.
November 15, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
There is much to see on this journey, all of it presented in the abundant, deep-focus detail that is Gilliam’s visual trademark.
November 15, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
A fitting final installment in Terry Gilliam’s trilogy begun with Time Bandits and continued with Brazil.
October 18, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Like a more family-friendly, comical, delirious take on Sinbad’s swashbuckling exploits; a fusion of mythology, fairy tales (particularly Grimms’), history, and legends.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a fairy tale of large heart and limitless vision. Like its maker, it staunchly defies the exigencies of reason to pursue a bigger vision of imagination.
November 12, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
Dennis King
Tulsa World
Superbly photographed and marvelously lighted, this remarkable set piece of art direction and stunning decor cures many of its own ills, including a screenplay that meanders grandly.
November 15, 2013
Roger Hurlburt
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Its intellectual intent and the physical production seem disconnected, leaving a film that bedazzles the eye even as it bedevils the mind.
November 15, 2013
Ralph Novak
People Magazine
It’s an opulent odyssey that balances romance, comedy and thrills in one glittering and constantly surprising package.
November 15, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Alan Jones
Radio Times
For a picture big on in-camera special effects, few of the explosions and set pieces can eclipse the parade of cracking performances.
November 15, 2013
Richard Luck
Film4…
Plot
Brain surgeon, rock musician, adventurer Buckaroo Banzai is a modern renaissance man and has made scientific history. He perfected the Oscillation Overthruster, which allows him to travel through solid matter by using the eighth dimension. But when his sworn enemy Dr. Emilio Lizardo devises a plot to steal the device and bring an evil army back to destroy Earth, Buckaroo goes cranium to cranium with the madman in a battle that could spell doom for the universe. Along with his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, Buckaroo must stop the evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer our dimension. He is helped by Penny Pretty, the long-lost twin sister of his late wife, and some good extra-dimensional beings who look and talk like they are from Jamaica.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a young Sarah Polley in one of her early acting roles.
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