The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

[Dan]

Here is the UK trailer for the upcoming Terry Gilliam feature "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" starring Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XShVkT5wEI

Still no word on a US release, though.

[Ben]

I'll have to catch this later, but I am so intrigued by this movie. Such a shame that Gilliam can't sell the thing in the US, with <I>Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp</I> in it for goodness' sake!

[Ben]

I love how this review, from the Cannes screening, starts off by saying the film isn't among his best, but then goes on to describe something unique and awesome sounding! And even Gilliam playing off his game is usually much better than a hack making a big silly summer season noise. I hope it rightly seen by more than just a festival crowd.

CANNES -- The first big question about Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" involves how the filmmaker managed to complete the film when his star Heath Ledger died in the middle of shooting. The answer is with great imagination and skill.

The second big question is whether Gilliam has produced something to rank with his great fantasies "Time Bandits" and "Brazil," and the answer is sadly no.

A carnival show with a mirror to the imagination allows Gilliam to employ his remarkable gift for imagery, but the worlds he creates will not take the breath away of children or grown-ups. The combined star power involved will generate a plentiful boxoffice return, but the film is neither intelligent enough nor silly or grotesque enough to become a lasting favorite.

Filled with phantasmagorical images with the occasional echo of "Monty Python's Flying Circus," the picture involves a classic duel between the forces of imagination, led by Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), and the architect of fear and ignorance, known here as Mr. Nick (Tom Waits).

Andrew Garfield and Lily Cole provide youthful love interest, and Ledger is again the joker in the pack as a stranger who is not what he seems.

The setting is a horse-drawn carnival sideshow in modern London, an attraction in which Dr. Parnassus, who claims to be immortal, invites ticket buyers to enter a world of their own imagination by stepping through a large mirror. Once beyond it, faces change and fates vary, which is how Gilliam gets away with having Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell step into the Ledger role.

Ledger makes his entrance as a man being hanged from London's Blackfriar's Bridge with his arms tied at his back. Saved and named George by the members of Dr. Parnassus' troupe, he claims to remember nothing and joins the players. The doctor and Mr. Nick have a lifelong wager in which the soul of Dr. P's daughter (Cole) is the prize, and he suspects the devil has placed George there to make trouble. The rest of the film involves various plunges into the mirror's vast wonderland, with George changing physiognomy along the way.

The visual effects are colorful and entertaining without ever becoming a coherent force. The score by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna has the required flair and sweep.

Plummer and Waits are the twin rocks of the film, and they enter the spirit of playfulness with typical skill. Garfield continues to expand his considerable range, and model Cole makes a pretty picture. The three stars that came to Gilliam's rescue also make amusing contributions, but it's hard not to wonder how much better the film would have been with a complete performance by the charismatic, adventurous Ledger.

The film is dedicated to Ledger and producer William Vince, who died after filming was completed.

Out of Competition

Sales: Mandate International
Production companies: Infinity Features Entertainment, Poo Poo Pictures, Davis Films
Cast: Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Lily Cole, Verne Troyer
Director, Screenwriter, Producer: Terry Gilliam
Screenwriter: Charles McKeown
Producers: William Vince, Amy Gilliam, Samuel Hadida
Executive Producers: Dave Valleau, Victor Hadida
Director of photography: Nicola Pecorini
Production designer: Anastasia Masaro
Music: Mychael Danna, Jeff Danna
Costume designer: Monique Prudhomme
Editor: Mick Audsley
No rating, 122 minutes

[Locall]

I'll have to catch this later, but I am so intrigued by this movie. Such a shame that Gilliam can't sell the thing in the US, with <I>Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp</I> in it for goodness' sake!

Why's that?

[Dan]

No one really knows. I think American distributors are afraid, regardless of Ledger and Depp being attached, of putting out a Gilliam film because they haven't generally been big money makers in the country since 12 Monkeys.

[EricJ]

Most people literally don't know Gilliam's still been making films since "Brothers Grimm", as everyone assumed he'd become unhirable after that, and "Tidelands" opened and closed off the radar.
Clearly the name-value obligation just wasn't in the same place it used to be anymore.

About the only early press it had was as The Film Dead Heath Couldn't Finish, which seemed to be the bulk of Dark-Knight fanboys' interest in it, and when Gilliam's name is mentioned, extends to "Oh, yeah, he did 12 Monkeys fifteen years ago, cool!"

[Rodney]

I think they're just afraid of how to market this film. They don't want to be seen as capitalizing on Heath Ledger's death.

[Locall]

Jut found this on Variety,

'Parnassus' finds Stateside buyer
Sony in advanced talks to pick up Ledger film
By SHARON SWART

Heath Ledger’s final film has finally found a Stateside buyer.

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group is in advanced talks to pick up "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," with plans for it to go out theatrically, likely this year, via Sony Pictures Classics.

Pic is expected to be a lucrative homevideo title due to the Ledger angle and the other star power. Terry Gilliam’s adventure also features Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, who replaced Ledger in various fantasy scenes after the thesp died during the film’s production in January 2008.

"Parnassus" was officially unveiled at Cannes this year in an out-of-competition slot toward the end of the festival. Several buyers screened the film just before Cannes, but a deal didn’t immediately emerge.

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has been a key player in a number of pic deals lately, including for "The Young Victoria." That film will go out theatrically via Bob Berney and Bill Pohlad’s new Apparition label, and SPWAG will handle all ancillaries as part of a three-way deal on the pic.

SPWAG has a homevid deal with Apparition.

The "Parnassus" deal with Sony has long been in the works and could be made official this week.

Reps on the deal, including sales agent John Sloss, remained mum.

The film goes out in the fourth quarter through various distributors in European territories including the U.K., France, Germany and Italy, plus Australia and New Zealand.

[Ben]

I am not <I>too</I> surprised: Sony also has Jabberwocky and Munchhausen under its control from Gilliam, and The Fisher King through their TriStar banner, so I'm guessing the thinking is that would make a fairly decent box set at some point.

Plus the fact that the recent Munchhausen special edition was a highly lauded affair and has finally rewarded the studio after many years, so the numbers somewhat add up for them to jump back into business with the director, more so than any other studio currently.

I was going to say that the only thing that surprised me was it took this long, but the story does mention the deal has been "long in the works". I wonder why they didn't announce it before now, but it could well be so that the international distributors were not scared off by a heavyweight dictating any terms.

In any event, this feels like the right way to go and should see a fair return for the kind of release it will likely be. Good news!

[Sunday]

starring Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger, Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.

*ahem*... and Tom Waits.

Plus the fact that the recent Munchhausen special edition was a highly lauded affair

Reminded me of this artistic send-up of a wonderful "what if?" release:

[GeorgeC]

I think they're just afraid of how to market this film. They don't want to be seen as capitalizing on Heath Ledger's death.

What? A sense of bad taste is going to stop Hollywood from marketing a film featuring a beloved deceased actor? This from the same industry that released a remake of Black Christmas on the holiest of Christian holidays?

What a bunch of hypocrites!

Seriously though -- market and release the darn film already.

They owe that much to both Gilliam and Ledger.

[Rodney]

Now that I think of it, I bet it's a pricetag issue. Gilliam's producers are probably asking a higher price than most American distributors (in this current economic climate) are willing to pony-up. His last few movies haven't been box-office hits and they're probably afraid they won't recoup their investment - Ledger or no Ledger (plus Depp, Law, Farrell).

[Ben]

Um...Sunday...

Remember that Muchhausen <I>was</I> a part of the Criterion Collection, albeit on LaserDisc.

Sony reclaimed the home video rights and, after a lacklustre no-frills edition, has put out the current set that is every bit as good and, indeed, better than what Criterion could have done with the title.

The Blu-ray is especially gorgeous.

[Sunday]

Yes? Sony reclaimed the rights, like you said. And I thought Criterion did a pretty good job on the likes of Time Bandits and Brazil. Why wouldn't they have been able to pump out a magnificent HD transfer in a double-barreled multidisc release with dynamite packaging?

[Ben]

Criterion's Time Bandits and, especially, Brazil, were excellent discs. With something like Brazil, obviously there was enough material to fill out a three disc set...especially with the two cuts and the amount of documentary material.

Bandits only enjoyed a single disc because there isn't much else to fill out a multidisc set, as Anchor Bay found with their Divimax special edition. It's the same with Munchhausen...there simply isn't a lot of stuff to pack out anything more than a good, solid single disc, unless they make a new documentary retrospective. Oh, wait...they did, and that's what's on the current two-disc Sony DVD and, naturally, single-disc Blu-ray, which does indeed have "a magnificent HD transfer".

As for the packaging, I believe the two-disc DVD does have a slipcase, just like some Criterions, though the BD came in a simple blue case. I really can't see the point of more than one disc, or what they would have put on it, but some deluxe packaging would have been nice. On the other hand, the movie still isn't a blockbuster that's going to shift five million copies and, given the option between nice packaging and an absolutely brilliant documentary expose on the making of the film that's on the current disc, I know what I'd go for...