6. The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
Want to talk about a movie "destroying" a director's career? Here might be exhibit 'A'. Terry Gilliam had managed to carve out an admirable little niche for himself as an "art house" director with a cult following whose films found moderate success; his last film, Brazil, had been the subject of an enormous controversy and threatened studio interference, but it had emerged triumphant, critically acclaimed and revered. Having gone through the fire once, Gilliam plunged into an even
hotter fire on Baron Munchausen, an improperly planned production where budgets and schedules were sent flying out the window. Munchausen cost a fortune, got terrible press about its scheduling woes, and had the grave misfortune to come out right after a regime change at Columbia Pictures; the studio effectively dumped the movie, forgot it ever happened, and swallowed the cost. Gilliam achieved a not entirely deserved reputation as a wasteful director, and had sort of had to struggle ever since; the fact that this man has had an entire movie made about his inability to make a movie should say it all.
None of which obscures the fact that The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a marvelous film -- maybe Gilliam's best. To be fair, the film's first reel is a bit of a mess; one thing Gilliam has never had is a light touch, and for a first time viewer in particular the opening minutes of Munchausen play less as an invitation than an assault, with scenery chewing performances and a muddled, overlapping soundtrack and eye assaulting sets all competing for attention. But once Munchausen begins his journey with young Sally Salt (future director Sarah Polley), the film becomes a feast of arresting images, sweeping adventures (a trip to the moon, into the bowels of the Earth, into the belly of a fish the size on an Island) and marvelous characters (Robin Williams at his improvisational best as the King of the Moon; Oliver Reed, a surprising comic delight as Vulcan, here conceived as a miner with a Northern accent). If you have kids, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is the kind of movie you owe it to them to introduce them to. It's the kind of movie dreams are made of.