This is a Criterion 4K release — and I didn’t quite expect that to happen. I mean, I saw this movie on VHS back in the 80s, and I remember thinking it was kinda lame? But I remember no details beyond that.

Heh heh, such social satire.

Oh yeah, parody game shows were big back then… before all those parodies became actual game shows.

Whoa. Or rather, I can see how they wanted that to be a “whoa” scene, but it wasn’t quite…

Into the custard!

Whoa.

It’s Napoleon, see?

Gilliam goes for “zany” mixed with “satire” a lot, and neither actually translate to “funny”… But it’s amusing for sure.

Oh, I thought this was a flop? But nope — it was a box office success. I’m probably getting it mixed up with the Munchhausen thing…

See? Zany. But pretty amusing.

Are all the Monty Pythonses gonna make cameos in this?

There’s so many shots like this — where the framing is really uncomfortable, as if the cinematographer has been given no choice but to film like this, possibly because of issues with constructing the sets? So many shots have this cramped, amateurish quality about them — you could just sort of imagine one of the American post-Spielberg directors doing this movie? Like Joe Dante. And it’d be one of “those 80s movies” instead of being this odd thing…

Yes, it’s Sean Connery for a couple of scenes.

These two are the best characters in the movie.

I can totally see somebody having this as their favourite movie ever. It’s just overflowing with oddball ideas and weird settings. And there are some pretty good jokes in here, too. But to me it didn’t quite work? All the famous people cameos, the squishy sets, the off-kilter cinematography… It just left me being bored a lot.

Time Bandits. Terry Gilliam. 1981. ⚃

Yeah, I can see what they mean… difficult restoration. But you’d think they could do something better with AI restoration now (although with an increased likelihood that random faces are replaced with Nick Cage).

Aaah! Now those pants make sense.

Odd hairdo… is that a little wig on the back of her head there?

I have to admit that I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. There’s possibly a dozen different characters, but I’m not quite sure? And there’s a lot of shouting and drama, but I have no idea what it’s all about…?

It’s something to do with herding some sheep across a mountain…?

Very small tables?

I HAVE NO IDEA

The casting director goes for a certain type, I guess.

But I think I’m starting to understand what it’s all about… Smugglers who are being encouraged to take up farming and stuff.

This movie is well-made on a shot to shot basis — we get one striking shot after another. It’s just hard to try to keep paying attention — the characters are so under developed, and things seem to happen with little motivation.

So we get occasional speeches that attempt to drive the plot home, but that doesn’t really work, does it?

OK, that’s a solid joke.

A lotta smokin’ going on.

Yes, that is almost the perfect posture for cutting barbed wire. Get in closer! Closer!

The final scene is amazing. And it’s kind of impressive? But it’s not actually a good movie, so:

Law of the Border. Lütfi Akad. 1966. ⚂

Thank you Martin.

Oh, this is a silent movie from Brazil from 1931?

*fetches popcorn*

I dunno… for a movie from 1931, it seems quite ahead of its time. It’s like some guy with a movie camera trying out a lot of interesting things? And he’s got an eye, so everything looks cool.

But I’m not actually riveted by this.

Now things are getting meta — we’re watching a Chaplin film within this film.

I have to admit I zoned out there for a while, so I don’t actually know what’s going on now…

Why are there three people in the boat? Weren’t there just two people escaping from the jail?

Yes… waxy…

Oh, perhaps there were three people in the boat all along…

CRIME DOES NOT PAY

This movie is definitely an interesting historical artefact. The imagery is so striking, and it’s a technical achievement for sure. Peixoto must have been super talented to be able to make something like this.

But I’m just gonna throw the die based on how much I enjoyed watching it now, so:

Limite. Mario Peixoto. 1931. ⚂