• Time Bandits is Gilliam’s third feature—a little less straight comedy than Jabberwocky, leaning into the fantasy side of his mind a bit more. It is co-written by fellow Python trope member Michael Palin and for the third straight time Gilliam at least spends some time in the Middle Ages.

Time Bandits is Gilliam’s third feature—a little less straight comedy than Jabberwocky leaning into the fantasy side of his mind a bit more

  • There is talent galore in the cast-some amount to almost cameos from Sean Connery to Ralph Richardson as The Supreme Being, Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm—John Cleese has about 20 words. David Warner seems to be having the most fun as Evil Genius.
  • One of the great feats of the film is Gilliam’s decision to shoot much of the action at low-angles given his lead characters and the child’s imagination point of view. Gilliam didn’t invent this but this is the year before Spielberg’s E.T.

One of the great feats of the film is Gilliam’s decision to shoot much of the action at low-angles given his lead characters and the child’s imagination point of view

  • A fairy tale, folklore and legend—I think it is certainly intentional that instead of going into the wardrobe like C.S. Lewis—the time bandits here literally jump out of the wardrobe into the bedroom of the young boy
  • Gilliam’s critiquing the modern technology-crazed parents who are hooked to their TV and have about six blenders in their kitchens
  • There’s some Ray Harryhausen influence- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. Rear projection, a giant coming out of the water shot at different scales,  Gilliam uses miniatures here heavily

There is talent galore in the cast-some amount to almost cameos from Sean Connery to Ralph Richardson as The Supreme Being, Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm—John Cleese has about 20 words. David Warner seems to be having the most fun as Evil Genius

  • Time Bandits is certainly imaginative, a very refreshing change of pace, and it is auteur cinema—hoarder’s art, fantasy, escapism—but from a quality standpoint the gulf between this and Gilliam’s next solo feature Brazil (1985) is staggering.
  • Recommend but not in the top 10 of 1981