2/16/1: I think it's between Terry Gilliam and the Coen Brothers who my all time favorite directors are. Terry is an absolute film-making genius. His films take place in some fantasy world that is all his own. Starting out as an animator with the world famous Monty Python group. You can see his animation stylings still apparent in his work today. Nothing about his films is "normal" or "average", it is all his own creations.

Terry does seem to have some horrible luck when it comes to making his films. His fights with Universal while making Brazil are legendary. The budget for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen went spiraling out of control. Check out the documentary The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys, on the Twelve Monkeys DVD, to see all his problems on that film. And his latest film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is dying, and may never be finished. So even though he's been directing since 1975, he's only finished 9 feature length films.

"You don't frighten us, English pig dogs! Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person! I blow my nose at you, so-called "Arthur King," you and all your silly English K-nig-hts."

Perhaps the funniest film ever made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) can not be attributed solely to Terry. He just happened to be the one behind the camera, you can see Terry's work in the photography of the film. But this was a pure group effort for the Monty Python boys, as they do their version of the Knights of the Round Table. Between the six of them, they play 90% of the characters in the film. Terry's main character is Patsy, King Arthur's servant, he's the one banging the coconut at the very beginning of the film. His only memorable line in the film is, "It's only a model."

Coconuts banged together to pass off as horses, a pissed off animated God, cats banged against walls, 10 foot knights who say "NI!", enchanters named Tim, a flesh eating rabbit, and the most brilliant comedic dialogue ever put on film. These are some of the things you will see.

Things I love about this film.

Things I don't like.

"You see, to be quite frank, Kevin, the fabric of the universe is far from perfect. It was a bit of botched job, you see. We only had seven days to make it. And that's where this comes in. This is the only map of all the holes. Well, why repair them? Why not use them to get stinking rich?"

Gilliam came up with the idea of Time Bandits (1981), while waiting for Brazil to go through. It's Gilliam's version of a family movie, basically it is a take off Wizard of Oz. (All of Kevin's toys turn into characters in the film.) He wanted to shoot the whole movie from a kids point of view, but didn't want the trouble of working with a bunch of child actors. So he came up with the idea of a group of midgets as the hero's of the film. It's typical Gilliam with great photography, trippy sets and costumes, and full of whacky characters.

God is not perfect, in building the universe he left many holes in time and space. This group of midgets (who work for God) steal a map pin-pointing these holes and try to use it to become international robbers. Along the way they pick up Kevin, the only kid in the film, he is the brightest and most level-headed of the bunch. In their travels they visit Napoleon, Robin Hood and sail on the Titanic. A technology obsessed Evil (The Devil) is after them and the map. And all the while they're trying to elude God. The climax of the film, when they battle Evil, is a bit of a let down. And only in a Gilliam family flick would the child be left without parents in the end. (Not that, that's a bad thing.) "A film intelligent enough for children and exciting enough for adults." - Gilliam

Things I love about this film.

Things I don't like.

"One of the things you learn after years of dealing with drug people is that you can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug. Especially when it's waving a razor-sharp hunting knife in your eye."

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) is probably the most despised of all Gilliam's work. An esoteric film, enjoyed by only those who appreciated the adaption of Hunter S. Thompson's cult novel, or those who just enjoy trippy cinema. Having never read the book, I fall into the second category.

Fear and Loathing is the closest replication to a bad drug trip I've ever seen. It is a difficult movie to watch, but Gilliam's style overpowers it and the film becomes enjoyable. Under any other director the film would mostly likely have become a horrible mess. An acid trip though the neon stained 1970's Las Vegas is right at home in Gilliam hands. The film is constant in it's insane photography, full of weird lighting schemes, extreme close-ups and funky camera angles.

The film is worth watching for the contribution of two of the best actors working today. Johnny Depp turns in a maniac performance as Raoul Duke, Hunter's alter ego. His narration, stolen directly from the book, is about the only thing that makes sense in this film. Benicio Del Toro is monstrous and almost unrecognizable as Dr. Gonzo, Duke's partner in debauchery. The duo tear through nearly every drug known to man and Vegas hotel rooms at a frightening pace.

Things I love about this film.

Reviews like this coming for the rest of his films sometime soon.