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Now Showing: Time Bandits (1981)
The story goes that when Terry Gilliam was in his 20s and working in advertising in Los Angeles, he was semi-regularly stopped by the LAPD who for whatever reason were convinced that he was a drug dealer. One thing led to another and Gilliam immigrated to Britain and became the animator on a children’s TV show called “Do Not Adjust Your Set,” where he met some funny blokes with funny accents. They went on to creation “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” with Gilliam continuing in his role as animator. Fans of the Flying Circus and the subsequent Monty Python movies will remember, perhaps with some trepidation, the incredibly odd, darkly funny animated interludes in between sketches. These were Gilliam’s work. They were always short, often surreal, and occasionally made very little sense.
In between production of Monty Python’s the Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, which he wrote, Gilliam tried his hand for the first time at directing. That film, 1981’s Time Bandits, proved to be not just entertaining, but creatively daring and intellectually provocative as it takes on big topics including consumerism, fate and the nature of authority while superficially appearing to be a children’s movie (it most definitely is not). More than anything, Time Bandits feels like the inevitable result of Gilliam’s weirdness played out as a feature film, rather than 15 second humorous animation. It also makes one wonder if the LAPD was actually on to something.
To call Time Bandits strange would be an understatement. It delivers weird in a totally unflinching and even celebratory barrage until the viewers are so cowed by its world view that they are forced to acquiesce and suspend all disbelief. The plot of the film is almost stupidly simple. A young boy who is obsessed with history lives with two incredibly dull, materialistic parents, and one night a bunch of little people crash through the wall of his bedroom while fleeing from the Supreme Being who is mad at them because they stole a map. The boy quickly is absorbed into the group, and they proceed to flee across time and spacing using a series of holes in the universe, which are marked on the map. They meet Robin Hood, Agamemnon, a giant, Napoleon, and a lot of other strange folk. Meanwhile, Evil Genius—who resembles the devil and is imprisoned in a terrifying castle and wants to escape so he can learn about microprocessors—lures the dwarves and the child to his lair so he can steal the map. I would say chaos ensues, but the whole thing is pretty chaotic to begin with.
The inherent oddness of the story is brought to life in a dazzling low-fi way via the liberal use of puppets, models and animation. The production design in Time Bandits feels like a mad mashup of H.R. Geiger, Hieronymus Bosch and M.C. Escher. There are stairs that simply appear, trap doors in space, gross beasts and unusual physics galore. An all star cast including John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughn and David Rappaport brings the film’s supple, darkly satyrical script to life. Even almost 40 years later, Time Bandits remains a provocative, terribly entertaining and profoundly strange film that is guaranteed to stick with you in your dreams for weeks after you watch it. It’s simply bonkers.
Fake News Finds Hollywood
Fake news is typically thought of as a plague of political discourse. We’re almost inured now to the myriad of fabricated or distorted stories propagated across the internet by hostile foreign nations, trolls, conspiracy theorists and political consultants conversant in the dark arts of winning elections in the 21st century. Unfortunately, though, the phenomenon is not limited to politics.
Twitter was abuzz on Wednesday with the “news” that Donald Glover, AKA rapper Childish Gambino, would reprise his role as Lando Calrissian in a new Disney+ show. Donald Glover and Lando were trending for hours, and a host of entertainment news websites rushed to publish articles on the tidbit. After all, a show about Lando Calrissian would be a huge event for Star Wars fans and could draw rafts of new subscribers to Disney’s streaming platform.
There was one teensy, tiny problem, of course. The news isn’t really news at all, at least not yet. Indeed, it’s nothing more than a rumor that originated on the Twitter feed of Kessel Run Transmission. Kessel Run Transmissions is a podcast about all things Star Wars, and the hosts have been known to score a scoop from time to time. However, attempts to confirm with Disney the existence of the show or Glover’s attachment to it were totally unsuccessful. Indeed, the podcast’s host didn’t disclose the source of their information, or anything beyond that it was something they had heard. There’s literally zero evidence supporting that the show is happening or that Glover is involved. Naturally, just because Disney isn’t confirming the story doesn’t mean necessarily that the rumor is false, but it also doesn’t mean that it is true.
While the existence of a Lando show on Disney+ is far lower stakes than a presidential election, and Hollywood gossip mongering is a tried and true pastime, this little episode speaks to a larger cultural trend away from fact-based conversations and toward pure conjecture. For whatever reason, rumors are now reported as if they are news. Hopefully the show is real—I’d love to watch it—but don’t hold your breath.
Care for a drink?
This week we’re keeping it simple. I recommend a nice summer ale or pilsner. Recently, I’ve been particularly enjoying The Boards, a golden ale brewed exclusively for the boardwalk concessions on Rockaway Beach by none other than the Rockaway Brewing Company. It’s the perfect hot weather beer. Not too heavy, not too hoppy, but with just enough crisp flavor to help you relax while watching the waves crash on the sand. Enjoy!
Reading List:
It’s summer, and that means it’s time for… reality TV. No, seriously, hear me out. Bravo’s Below Deck is an absurdly addicting show about the daily grind of working on a luxury yacht while hosting some of the worst, most vapid people in the world. It’s great. There’s interpersonal drama and sometimes the anchor gets stuck. Plus, the show is actually incredible from a production standpoint. The Times has the details on the complexities of making reality TV at breakneck speed on a boat.
There’s a nice profile of John Williams in The New Yorker. Arguably one of the greatest film composers ever, Williams continues to write original work and seems to remain incredibly modest, at least if the interview is to be believed.
Masha Gessen also has an article in The New Yorker about what happens if Donald Trump refuses to acknowledge an electoral defeat. It’s required reading, I’m afraid. Hang in there, everyone.