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Jabberwocky



Amid the filth and muck of England in the Dark Ages, a fearsome dragon stalks the land, casting a shadow of terror upon the kingdom of Bruno the Questionable. Who should emerge as the town's only possible savior but Dennis Cooper (Michael Palin), an endearingly witless bumpkin who stumbles onto the scene and is flung into the role of brave knight? Terry Gilliam's first outing as a solo director—inspired by Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" and made on the heels of Gilliam's success as a member of the iconic comedy troupe Monty Python—showcases his delight in comic nonsense, with a cast chock-full of beloved British character actors. A giddy romp through blood and excrement, this fantasy remains one of the filmmaker's most uproarious visions of society run amok.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New 4K digital transfer from a restoration by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, approved by director Terry Gilliam
• 5.1 surround mix, supervised by Gilliam and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 2001 featuring Gilliam and actor Michael Palin
• New documentary on the making of the film, featuring Gilliam, producer Sandy Lieberson, Palin, and actor Annette Badland
• New interview with Valerie Charlton, designer of the Jabberwock, featuring her collection of rare behind-the-scenes photographs
• Selection of Gilliam's storyboards and sketches
• PLUS: An essay by critic Scott Tobias

Mungo wrote:According to Annette Badland's Twitter, the actress was interviewed today by Criterion on Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky.

Yes! Yes! YES!!!

Wow.

This is a film I watch about every few years and it's always a massive chore. Last time, I had to switch to the commentary track half-way through. I'm a Gilliam fan for life and I truly love the Jabberwock puppetry. It would be great to see this film looking as great as it possibly can. The jokes are bizarre and the throughline is so frustrating. Still, low-tier Gilliam is fine by me.

teddyleevin wrote:This is a film I watch about every few years and it's always a massive chore. Last time, I had to switch to the commentary track half-way through. I'm a Gilliam fan for life and I truly love the Jabberwock puppetry. It would be great to see this film looking as great as it possibly can. The jokes are bizarre and the throughline is so frustrating. Still, low-tier Gilliam is fine by me.

I agree. I'm a big supporter of Gilliam, but his first feature as solo director is pretty weak. The jump in quality from Jabberwocky to Time Bandits is fairly remarkable. I'd be much more interested in Criterion rescuing Tideland (2005) which I re-watched last year for the first time since its theatrical debut and found far more successful and emotionally involving than my first viewing. Of course, no reason they can't handle both releases!

Agreed on "Tideland." The savagery that film received from critics upon its release still baffles me to this day -- particularly since I consider it one of Gilliam's best. :-s It pissed me off that ThinkTank (which released the film on DVD/Blu here in the States) couldn't be bothered to present it in its OAR. No wonder they're not around anymore.

As for "Jabberwocky," I think Gilliam was clearly very much in Python mode when he made it (lest we forget, it was promoted as "Monty Python's Jabberwocky" in some areas), but was probably a necessary flawed step in his development as a filmmaker.

Announced for November

What a missed opportunity. This really should've featured some of Gilliam's non-Python animated works, especially as Jabberwocky was
theatrically re-released in North America with The Miracle of Flight

I think they should release a $399.99 collector's edition blu-ray set that includes a Jabberwocky figurine or action figure, limited to maybe 250.

Most of us here would get three: one to display, one to open, and one just in case!

cpetrizzi wrote:I think they should release a $399.99 collector's edition blu-ray set that includes a Jabberwocky figurine or action figure, limited to maybe 250.

Most of us here would get three: one to display, one to open, and one just in case!

You can have all of my allotment, then

Only Gilliam I haven't seen. This brings me back to a question recently asked on the forum: should one just try and get the whole oevure of a beloved director? I'm not the biggest fan of The Fisher King, but the set itself offered some decent supplements. Should I just get FilmStruck later in the year and see it for the first time there?

There's no reason to assume a non-Janus title will ever appear on Filmstruck.

domino harvey wrote:

cpetrizzi wrote:I think they should release a $399.99 collector's edition blu-ray set that includes a Jabberwocky figurine or action figure, limited to maybe 250.

Most of us here would get three: one to display, one to open, and one just in case!

You can have all of my allotment, then

My sense of humor is lost on most I guess:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYyuo7g ... yNightLive" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm a pretty big Gilliam fan, so this is actually a welcome addition to the collection.

I emailed Jon Mulvaney about the fact that none of the November releases were listing a Trailer in their respective supplements list, despite the fact that each had the trailer on their previous DVD releases. He replied to me that Le Samourai & Jabberwocky will include the trailer.

It was like strangely like that for the October releases as well. None of them had trailers included until a few weeks later where they all got trailers.

Combined with the fact that Sid and Nancy still says More! For the supplements, something has been off with whoever is in charge of the website.

Added:

• Original UK opening sequence
• Audio interview with cinematographer Terry Bedford from 1998
• Trailer

The Narrator Returns wrote:• Original UK opening sequence

I've never heard about this, does anyone know more about it?

Tooooooze wrote:Region: 'A' + 'B'

I know its going to be available in the UK as well (and Gary oftentimes screws these things up) - but if right, then this is either their first region free / multi-region Blu.

Has anyone checked any of the other recent dual-region titles?

I mean...how and why does this have more special features than Stalker? Love the film but same goes for Philadelphia Story.

Minkin wrote:

Tooooooze wrote:Region: 'A' + 'B'

I know its going to be available in the UK as well (and Gary oftentimes screws these things up) - but if right, then this is either their first region free / multi-region Blu.

Has anyone checked any of the other recent dual-region titles?

Towards the end of the review he says

...and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A' disc, although also available in Region 'B' (UK).

which I think means it is A locked?

Robespierre wrote:I mean...how and why does this have more special features than Stalker? Love the film but same goes for Philadelphia Story.

Perhaps because Gilliam has a long-standing history with Criterion, as this is now the fifth film of his that they've put out (not including "Life of Brian")? And, meanwhile, Tarkovsky and Cukor are both, you know, dead (as are most of their collaborators)?

Jabber-Svety

I've been excited to see this, although my S/O is ecstatic - being a huge fan of Holy Grail and all. So, how apt would a comparison between the two be? Or would a comparison to Erik the Viking be better?

It's mildly like Holy Grail, but not trying to be as funny.

I'm a big Gilliam fan but tbh I think it's kind of a huge slog, when I was a kid my mom rented it for me when I was sick and I think it actually made me sicker.