Time Bandits (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

"Time Bandits" is a weird and amusing fairy tale of a boy named Kevin who escapes from his technology-obsessed parents after six dwarfs burst through his wardrobe door. They've stolen a map from the Supreme Being and are intent on plundering the past, but they're pursued through time by the Evil Genius, meeting Napoleon, Robin Hood, Agamemnon, and other characters historical and fictional. This intensely phantasmagorical spectacle is a must-see for children, children at heart, and fans of Terry Gilliam's singularly playful, satirical vision. He lets his imagination run riot, producing a film full of humor, action, adventure, and special effects. It features splendid performances from a cast that includes Ian Holm, Ralph Richardson, Sean Connery, and members of Monty Python. Hundreds of Amazon reviewers have contributed reviews of this classic fantasy -- both glowing and dismissive -- but nearly all of them have been for earlier editions on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, double DVD, Instant Video, HD Instant Video, etc. As usual, all of them are lumped together on a single page. The few who have purchased the Blu-ray praise the film but don't tell you what's on the disc. I will. The 2014 Criterion release is the version to get. It contains a pristine restoration personally supervised by Gilliam as well as full-length audio commentary by Gilliam, co-writer Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner, and Craig Warnock. The picture is clean, sharp, and colorful, and the remastered sound is crystal clear. There's also a new documentary featuring production designer Milly Burns and costume designer James Acheson, a conversation with Gilliam of over an hour filmed at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival, and a clip of actor Shelley Duvall on the Tomorrow show in 1981. Rounding out the package are a gallery of photos, a trailer, and an essay by film critic David Sterritt. My highest recommendation.

I love this movie. The new 2k transfer is really sharp and clear. There are some extra features and stills. I especially like the commentary, gives a lot of backstory, and it's really good to hear Terry gilliam's perspective on things and I learned some extra tidbits, like the correlation between the furniture covered in plastic and the ultimate Evil being being covered in plastic and what that symbolizes. I especially like that Terry Gilliam wanted to shoot a film from a child's perspective at a child's height with camera. I think that's one of things that I enjoyed about the film growing up. That a kid, is smarter than the adults and becomes pretty much the leader of the Gang. Good movie for the whole family. Let the younger ones know that it's more about story than explosions or outrageous special effects.

It was REALLY GREAT, watching "Time Banndits" again after all these yesrs!!!

I have seen the movie many times in the past. Hey guys if your looking for something more interesting or something you won't find in any of the Back to the future movies, I urge you to check this one out. They're called dwarfs in the movie, in real life they're Midgets. They're so funny when they argue. One of my favorite parts of the movie is the end when the OR I M I A song is playing! & the supreme being when he appeared, after Kevin's bedroom became a hallway. The supreme beings voice echoing like it was. That was awesome! Sean Connery is good in this movie as well, here for a little while before Kevin fell from the time hole Sean battles a huge guy with a big mask. He just about had him whipped, broke his sword in half when he stepped on it. I guess Kevin gave him the right advantage. Kevin & Randall whoever he is in real life had lots of exciting adventures. I'm sure giving each one up and moving on had to be hard. & they were on a quest for the fortress of ultimate darkness or just trying to escape the supreme being. Randall finally got use to Kevin after not wanting to put up with him. I liked all the characters in the movie. & the evil one how he faced the knights & cowboys at the end. Doing what he can to hang onto the map. Nobody knows for sure exactly what happens to Kevin's parents in the end when a piece of the evil was accidentally sent back with Kevin. Are his parents dead or alive? Or are they just in another time some place. With nowhere for Kevin to go now would the supreme being ever consider letting him join back up with his friends? I've thought about it before, why they just didn't make a sequel. A second Time bandits movie. I liked the fortress of ultimate darkness too. Those guys aside the evil one must have worn plastic during the movie, they looked like they were going to do some painting. It looks like this movie was filmed in different parts of the world. Several different places. Where Sean Connery was kind of looked like Egypt. But I can't be sure of it. (Sean Connery) has 2 different roles in the movie to play, first where he meets Kevin & Kevin tries to persuade him into letting him stay & live there in the village with him wherever that is, & at the end of the movie as one of the firefighters. They all ran into unusual things, not to mention dropping in on Shelley Duvall & her boyfriend, she'd roll her eyes back & that's when the midgets fell on them. That's what I thought was very funny. Hey Randall? Why not tell those couple gee guys sorry to interrupt love & romance! I thought whoever played the giant had to of been a large person in real life. The giant in this movie tops most of the giants I've seen in other movies. This one must have been almost 1000 feet tall. When I got it on blue ray I was disappointed with just one thing, no subtitles on this disc. Why? I feel like the producers or the distribution place whoever it is that's responsible should take this matter more seriously. I think that's what all of them need to do. Everything else appears to be fine. I've always enjoyed this movie. They travel through time yes, the only difference is they don't need a time machine or nothing like that. Just a simple map. & a magic door appears, & you end up almost anywhere. These guys don't really control their destination. They just travel! I have enjoyed this movie so many times I can't keep count over how many times I've watched it in the past. That's one way to warp through time going through a dark doorway that just appears out of thin air. I've seen other movies & shows about time traveling. To me in this movie this is one heck of way to travel! & it is too bad it had to end at the end of the movie. You know what I think, the supreme being should have just duplicated the map & kept the original one & allowed them to continue to travel through time. Me? I love to go exploring! Traveling through time is a Blast!!!

BOTTOM LINE: Monty Python fans will almost certainly enjoy the hijinks, but Sci-Fi and Fantasy film aficionados will also discover much to interest and amuse in this Brit-flavored adventure. TIME BANDITS is one of those films that everyone should see at least once. 4 STARS THE STORY: Six dwarfs who have become bored working for countless eons as gardeners for The Supreme Being steal his map of doorways in time and plan to use it to become filthy rich. A young boy is inadvertently caught up in their scheme. Will he be able to return home? After adventuring thru the millennia with the half dozen rambunctious half pints, (and realizing how truly vacuous life was with his bland, stodgy parents), will he even want to? THOUGHTS: One of director Terry Gilliam's more interesting films. A few Monty Python cameos add to the fun. Plot is fairly free form and those not used to Gilliam's scattershot stream-of-consciousness style may find it all rather confusing. It actually gets better with repeated viewings, as do most of his works. All of the actors here are fun, most especially David Warner as "Ultimate Evil," along with his wonderfully dopey minions. I don't think I've ever seen Sean Connery look so relaxed on screen, and then of course there's the always unflappable Sir Ralph Richardson, who makes for a delightful Supreme Being. Fans of Pythonesque humor will find more to mine from this film that others, but there's pretty much something for everyone to chuckle at here. Surprisingly, it's fairly inoffensive and safe for the entire family; a rarity with Gilliam's work. The effects are pretty good, given the modest budget, and still manage to charm even 35+ years after the fact. THE BLU-RAY: Criterion gives us a pretty good hi-def release of TIME BANDITS. That's not to say that this presentation is perfect. Far from it. There are instances of dirt & debris scattered throughout the film, albeit none too terribly distracting. The focus isn't as sharp as I had hoped (or as it should be). Also, many of the darker shots & scenes in the film exhibit a disappointing amount of crush (video noise). This is a decent transfer, but a full-on frame-by-frame restoration would have been preferable, especially given Criterion's always steep asking price. I bought mine used, so I feel I got a good deal.

This is one of those films--rather like the classic Warner Brothers cartoons--that you can watch with children who will find it delightful while there are subtle things going on the kids won't notice, but the adults will. For example, King Agamemnon and queen Clytemnestra (probably her, they've taken liberties with that classic tale) clearly have a deadly power struggle going on, but this will sail over the heads of children. And I love the sound track, which was partly written by ex-Beatle George Harrison! Reality is so grim, sometimes you need some cheerful nonsense!

"Time Bandits" is simply one of the best films ever made. This edition is the best and when you put those two things together, you're missing out if you don't buy this. Really.

This review is for the Criterion Blu-ray of Time Bandits. The picture and sound were unbelievable and a noticeable step up from the Criterion DVD release, which was the previously best released version (IMHO). The extras are good as well, with the commentary ported over from the Criterion DVD, An interesting (over hour long) conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, recorded at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival, Shelley Duvall on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show from 1981, the original trailer and other tidbits. Overall I think it is well worth the re-purchase for this edition if you are a fan of the movie.

Gran peli, buenos extras, únicamente idioma ingles sin subtitulos en otros idiomas, recomendable solo como pieza de colección

In light of my order being defective, I would never dream of ever talking negative about a wonderful masterpiece such as this delightfully piece of art that I’ve had the privilege of watching while growing up. I highly recommend this movie, the nostalgia is enough to bring the child out of a grown up who was fortunate enough to have grown up with this movie. I hope my replacement disc finally allows me to truly enjoy this amazing fantasy movie.

Obra de arte de terry gilliam, muy a su estilo y al de Monty Phyton. No es de sus mejores como Brazil o 12 monos, pero conforma una oarte importante de la filmografía de este cineasta

I didn't realize the Criterion Collection was such high quality releases. Compared to the other release that i returned, this film had captions (the specials did not though), the case was much nicer, and it included a map from the film.

A great not well known movie