Time Bandits

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Template:Infobox Film

Time Bandits (first released on July 13, 1981) is a fantasy film, produced and directed by Terry Gilliam (who created animations for Monty Python's Flying Circus), and is one of the most famous of more than 30 theatrical features produced by Handmade Films, the London-based independent company backed in part by former Beatle George Harrison. Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears in the film in multiple roles.

Tagline: All the dreams you've ever had - and not just the good ones..

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Themes 3 Production 4 Sequels 5 Cast 6 External links

Plot summary

The story begins with an unappreciated young boy named Kevin being kidnapped from his bedroom by a group of six dwarves who have just stolen a map. The map is no ordinary map: it is a map of time portals, holes in the fabric of space/time. The map grants the holder extraordinary powers, allowing him or her to jump from time to time through the portals. The dwarves stole the map from the Supreme Being, apparently a title for God. Initially they worked for him, helping create members of the Plant Kingdom in the world and universe.

After being demoted to the Supreme Being's Repairs Department as punishment for desigining a particularly noxious species of tree, the dwarves decided to use the map, entrusted to them for use in repairing the space/time fabric, to get "stinkin' rich" by becoming the greatest robbers of all time and space. However, the Source of all Evil (personified by David Warner) is also after the map to gain control of the universe from the Supreme Being, and remake it in his own image.

The band of thieves roams history stealing all that they can, moving from Napoleanic Italy to the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood to Mycenaean Greece to the early twentieth century voyage of the Titanic. With the unsolicited assistance of Evil, they are transferred to the Time of Legends. After commendeering a sailing ship from an ogre and his wife, they journey to the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness where they confront Evil. Despite recruiting help from various eras of human history, the bandits get much the worse of the encounter until the appearance of the Supreme Being, in the person of a middle-aged gentleman in a rumpled business suit played by Ralph Richardson. The Supreme Being cleans up the "mess" and returns Kevin to his home.

Themes

As might be expected given the participation of half of the Monty Python troupe, the film was much remarked on for its dark and irreverent sense of humor. It also was the first film in which Gilliam's unique visual style was fully extant: he would go on to develop the style further in his subsequent fantasy films Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen. Students of Gilliam's films have dubbed these three movies the so-called "Trilogy of the Imagination," in that the connecting link shared by each film is the fact that each celebrates the spirit of imagination, and is anchored by a quixotic central character whose imagination is suppressed by forces not of his own choosing or design (in this case, Kevin). In each film, the character must undergo a fantastic journey that will allow his imagination to be given its freedom as God (here called the Supreme Being) had originally intended. What binds these three together is that in Time Bandits the dreamer is a boy, in Brazil a man, and in Baron Munchausen an old man.

Production

Those who skim the film's complete credit sequence may notice that executive producer George Harrison is credited with "songs and additional material"; whereas, the musical underscoring and orchestrations are credited to Mike Moran, with Ray Cooper, Elton John's longtime percussionist, serving as producer of the musical material. Harrison did in fact write songs for the film at the request of co-executive producer Denis O'Brien; but the song score was apparently developed without the participation of Terry Gilliam. As a result, the only song attributed to Harrison, "Dream Away," which the former Beatle performs, is heard over the aforementioned credits. Sometime following the release of "Time Bandits," "Dream Away" was included on Harrison's album "Gone Troppo," on his own Dark Horse record label. The recording of "Dream Away" was produced by George Harrison and Ray Cooper in collaboration with Phil MacDonald; Mike Moran appeared on keyboards and synthesizers; and Billy Preston, Syreeta and Sarah Ricor joined Harrison as backing vocalists.

"Time Bandits" was filmed at Lee International Studios, Shepperton, Middlesex, England, and on location in England, Wales and Morocco.

Sequels

The computer game Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress is loosely based on this film.

A sequel to Time Bandits has been the subject of rumors, and Terry Gilliam once expressed his intentions of making one. However, with three of the six "Bandits" now dead (David Rappaport, Jack Purvis and Tiny Ross) this seems unlikely.

Cast

Kevin is played by Craig Warnock, who has since gone on to play keyboards for New Wave of New Wave/ Britpop band These Animal Men and lately Mo Solid Gold. Kenny Baker of R2-D2 fame plays one of the dwarves, while the group's self-appointed leader, Randall, is played by David Rappaport. Director Gilliam has commented that this film was a rare chance for the six dwarfs to create actual characters, instead of doing stunt work or playing one-dimensional costumed monsters.

The characters make reference to a dwarf named "Horseflesh" who has apparently died sometime previously. In a preface to the published screenplay, the writers note that an early draft of the script included a part in the film for the Horseflesh character. However, during the revision process, the writers realized that releasing a film with seven dwarf characters might get them in legal trouble, hence the need to kill off Horseflesh prior to the beginning of the story. Despite this, the role of Horseflesh was cast and Marcus Powell is credited with the role in the closing credits. Powell appears very briefly and sans dialogue as one of Evil's minions.

External links

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• {{{2|{{{title|Time Bandits}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
• Time Bandits: The Littlest Classic
• Bruce Eder essay at criterionco.com

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