Time Bandits
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Synopsis
In this fantastic voyage through time and space from Terry Gilliam, a boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) escapes his gadget-obsessed parents to join a band of time travelers. Armed with a map stolen from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), they plunder treasure from Napoleon (Ian Holm) and Agamemnon (Sean Connery)—but the Evil Genius (David Warner) is watching their every move. Featuring a darkly playful script by Gilliam and his Monty Python cohort Michael Palin (who also appears in the film), Time Bandits is at once a giddy fairy tale, a revisionist history lesson, and a satire of technology gone awry.
Picture 9/10
Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits receives a 4K upgrade from The Criterion Collection and is presented here on a triple-layer disc in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Dolby Vision. The 2160p/24hz ultra high-definition encode is sourced from a recent 4K restoration taken from a scan of the 35mm original camera negative. Criterion also includes a standard dual-layer Blu-ray disc that consists of a 1080p presentation of the film taken from Arrow's 2K restoration from 2013. Besides the disc art, the Blu-ray is a replica of Criterion's 2014 version.
The film is one of those titles that seems to receive new home video releases regularly every few years from one label or another, all of varying quality, and while it was typical for each release to look better than the last (usually), it wasn't until Arrow's restoration and its presentation on Blu-ray where I finally came away from the film feeling as though I had just watched it for the first time. It was so much cleaner and sharper, not dupey and mushy, with gorgeous colors and broader contrast. Even if Criterion's encoding of it hasn't held up terribly well, it was still lovely to see the movie with something closer to a film texture than a video one. It looked fantastic.
Impressively, this new 4K presentation managed to give me the same sort of vibe. Detail levels are a little better, and grain resolves nicely (in SDR, grain can have a slight buzz in some smokey shots), leading to a firmer film look. But the colors and the wider contrast ultimately elevate this presentation to what it is. Shadow detail is more comprehensive, as shown in the opening bedroom sequences, the Napolean portion, and the Evil Genius's lair, leading to better depth. The last portions in the lair look incredibly gorgeous, like that sequence where our hapless heroes are trying to escape from the suspended cages, all thanks to the smoother gradations from light sources into the darkness. Smoke is also rendered cleanly and looks more natural compared to the older Blu-ray presentation. The wider contrast helps the brighter sequences, too, like an early one where the head of the Supreme Being comes charging down a hall. On the previous Blu-ray, it looks far more blown out, while here, there is far more subtle shading between the darker and brighter portions of the frame. Highlights throughout the film, from the borders of those time doors to the light reflecting off of metallic surfaces, all look outstanding as well.
The restoration has been thorough, though that isn't too much of a surprise, considering Arrow's was the same way. There are dupey looking shots and sequences here and there, though some of that comes down to optical effects and is to be expected. Ultimately, this is the cleanest, sharpest, and most dynamic presentation I've seen for the film. Until the subsequent home video release, at least...
Time Bandits - Screen Captures
Audio 8/10
Although newly restored as well, I can't say I spotted too big a difference between the 4K's lossless PCM stereo soundtrack and the one found on the previous Blu-ray, outside of this one being a bit sharper, possibly. It still shows impressive range with a few very loud moments, and there is no damage or distortion to speak of. Dialogue is clear, and audio is effectively mixed between the speakers.
Extras 9/10
Along with a 1080p presentation of the film (using Arrow’s 2013 2K restoration), the second standard dual-layer Blu-ray disc holds all of the release’s video features. To play along with the film, it and the UHD disc include Criterion’s 1998 audio commentary featuring Gilliam and actors Michael Palin, John Cleese, Craig Warnock, and David Warner, with all participants recorded separately. Gilliam and Palin spend much of their time discussing the script's development, with Gilliam further detailing the film's look and design. Despite having a distaste for kid’s movies, Gilliam liked that the genre allowed him tremendous freedom, and he could let his imagination fly. Warnock talks a lot about the experience of working on his first film (his brother is the one that went to the audition, but Gilliam ended up liking how Craig came off more natural) and shares some anecdotes. Warner chimes in once in a while after his character, the Evil Genius, makes his first appearance. Cleese disappointingly only shows up during his short Robin Hood sequence but talks about how he approached the character, whom he plays more as a Duke.
I had been initially disappointed by the track when I first listened to it on the original DVD, finding it surprisingly serious for what is a rather fun film. I still feel that to an extent, but it is still engaging with some fun moments and a few surprises.
Creating the Worlds of Time Bandits is a 23-minute visual essay narrated by David Morgan featuring interviews with Production Designer Milly Burns and Costume Designer James Acheson. Both state that the film is a designer’s dream since they got to mix fantasy and historical elements seamlessly. The feature explores several sequences, and through the interviews, sketches, photos, designs, and clips, it covers the various influences for the look and how they accomplished them with a limited budget. It's nicely assembled and offers a firm film design overview.
Criterion, digging into footage shot at the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Finland, next delivers an 80-minute discussion between Terry Gilliam and Peter von Bagh, recorded in 1998. Though edited down a bit, leaving behind obvious cuts, the piece offers a rather impressive overview of Gilliam’s career. He talks about his childhood in Minnesota, his school life, and then his move to L.A. He covers how he eventually became a member of Monty Python, even talking about their development process in creating each episode of Flying Circus , and then explains his transition to filmmaker. He goes over each of his films (skimming over Jabberwocky) and discusses their respective productions, including some of the difficulties he faced around each. Special attention is paid to The Adventures of the Baron Munchausen in this area, which should not be a shock since it's the one that made the director question whether he wanted to be a director. It's an excellent inclusion working through Gilliam's filmography (up to that point), though it ends up having very little related to Time Bandits. In fact, there is probably more discussion about The Fisher King than any other film.
Also from the archives is an interview with Shelley Duvall filmed in 1981 for an episode of NBC’s Tomorrow. Duvall talks a little about the film, even recalling a moment when Gilliam fell on her (Gilliam and Palin also cover this in the commentary), and then talks a little about how she got into acting after Robert Altman discovered her. Duvall seems a little nervous, but it proves to be a charming interview, even more so when she recalls the first time she was recognized in public shortly after the release of The Shining. Though it has very little about Time Bandits (despite her presence to promote it), I love that Criterion still includes it here. It runs just shy of 9 minutes.
The disc then closes with a small 24-image gallery and the film’s odd trailer, which is more Monty Python in spirit. Criterion also includes a foldout insert similar to the one found in their previous Blu-ray, replicating the time map from the film. The other side presents the same essay by David Sterritt, going over the satirical elements of the film and its overall appeal. The release also comes with a 3D lenticular o-card sleeve, similar to the previous Blu-ray. Those o-cards eventually disappeared with future printings, so I'm assuming it will be the same case here.
In all, they're still an entertaining and thorough set of features.
Closing
Criterion's new 4K presentation delivers the most dynamic and rich presentation for the film yet, improving upon the already impressive 2K restoration from ten years ago.
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