Time Bandits

Before Terry Gilliam made his name as a great fantasy director with The Fisher King, Brazil and Twelve Monkeys, he was a little known ex-Python who was trying his hand at directing on his own.  During this time he made some really interesting and innovative films: Jabberwocky and Time Bandits.
 
Made while he was trying to get Brazil off the ground, Time Bandits is a fantasy family film which tells how a young boy called Kevin escapes his horribly mundane existence with grotesquely materialistic parents by being surprised in the middle of the night by a group of renegade dwarf thieves.  Out of the boredom of working for the Supreme Being in the tree and shrub department, they have stolen his map of the universe which shows the holes in time and set about jumping through time and space robbing the rich and famous.
 

Led by Randall (except they don't believe in leaders, he just tells them to shut up and do what he says), they inadvertently appear in Kevin's wardrobe and burst out into his room, terrifying the lad before he convinces them that he is not an enemy and follows them when, chased by the Supreme Being, they make their next jump.  On their travels they meet and rob Napoleon, discover the truth about Robin Hood and encounter Agamemnon before falling into the clutches of Evil who wants the map for himself so he can use technology to remake and rule the world.
 
Time Bandits has all the hallmarks of what is now recognised as a Gilliam-esque film: little people, warped humour, the power of imagination and amazing visuals.  It is a hugely enjoyable and surprisingly involving film which shows what a superb writing team Gilliam and Palin were - they obviously bounce well off one another with Palin's laconic attitude acting as a counterbalance to Gilliam's effervescence. 
 
Amongst the cast of big names such as Sean Connery, Ralph Richardson, John Cleese and Ian Holm was young first time actor Craig Warnock whose Kevin is full of utterly convincing wide-eyed wonder and sense of adventure.  Gilliam really knows how to shape a fantasy universe and this is a fine example with plenty different locales, be they England in the Middle Ages, Ancient Greece or a ship run by an ogre and his wife. 
 
It had been a while since I last saw Time Bandits before watching this disc and I thoroughly enjoyed it, finding it surprising how quickly the story, lines and characters came flooding back.  Connery is fantastic as Agamemnon, Holm similarly as Napoleon and Cleese's Robin Hood is a great spin on the folk hero.  In amongst these famous characters are a drippy couple called Vincent and Pansy who try to confess their love but seem to have problems expressing themselves - that and dwarves rudely interrupting their small talk!  Gilliam and casting director Irene Lamb (with whom he's worked with many times) really assembled a great cast with the group of little people/dwarves/midgets (delete as applicable) fantastically mischievous and fun characters.

The Disc

 
Extra Features
Disappointingly the disc only comes with a new interview with Gilliam, a Gallery and Trailer.  Previous DVD releases have had far more material and this was a golden opportunity to gather as much of this together and put out an Ultimate Edition which those who already own the film will find impossible to pass up.  This won't be the case as the trailer and gallery are forgettable and the interview is interesting but only 15 minutes long.
 
The Picture
Again it would have been great if the picture had been comprehensively remastered and a stunning HD transfer was available but the film is inconsistent in its quality with frequent noise and occasional spotting.  After doing a quick comparison between the DVD and BD, this disc has much more vibrant colours but the noise is more noticeable and the skin tones are a little less realistic.  Overall the Blu-ray has a clearer picture but isn't a huge leap from an upscaled DVD.
 
The effects obviously look a little ropey by today's CGI standards with all the effects done optically, in camera or with models, but this is part of the charm and is easily forgivable.
 
The Sound
Along with the old Dolby Digital 5.1 track is a new LPCM uncompressed stereo soundtrack which is very clear and presents the sound as it was originally recorded.  Not uncommon for an Optimum release, this has no subtitles, which is an oddity and, I imagine for many people, very annoying.
 
Final Thoughts
Time Bandits is a fantastic fantasy film for all the family, with wicked humour and bits that will please the adults and enough adventure to keep younger children entertained.  Sadly the disc isn't as good as it could or should be and will probably be of interest only those who don't already own it on DVD.
 
This is a lazy release that is a letdown.  The disc is dual layered but, at 35Gb, has plenty of space for extra special features (such as the commentary from the Anchor Bay DVDs) or even subtitles.  A missed opportunity.