Rating: 
Summary: weird but good
Review: entertaining. very, very original. but nothing too outstanding about it. if you like weird movies, you'll have a greater chance of liking this movie
Rating: 
Summary: What a trip
Review: Allright, this is one of the weirdest movies i've ever seen, along with a few other gilliam flicks. Ok, imagine you're in a World History Class and it's the end of the semester, and you've been messing around all school-year, and the EOCs are tomorrow, you study your [butt] off, and you fall asleep, with your face in the book, and you have one of those weird dreams you get when you're really stressed out. That's as close as i can get to explaining this movie, it's a great imaginitive adventure, that everyone should watch, but be warned it is WEIRD.
Rating:
Summary: "I would have started with lasers, 8 o'clock day one!..(zap)
Review: If you enjoy films that make you laugh and then later make you think, then I would definately recommend "Time Bandits". As I child, I watched this movie with my dad, appreciating only that little men were singing "Me and my Shadow" to Napoleon (played wonderfully by Ian Holm). Now, I'm a little wiser, and I see the more theological levels to this film - the temptation of evil, the realization of good, etc. I will say this: don't look too hard for these morals, or you'll miss out on a really funny movie. It's a bit of history, mixed with theology, sprinkled with fantasy and set in at least six different time periods. Plus, Evil's fascination with machinery is hilarious, and quite telling to any of us who have had issues with people and cell phones, computers, etc.!
As a DVD however, "Time Bandits" is not the best. Though I usually enjoy just watching the film, I found the extras to be basically non-existent (the trailer is funny as a time piece). There is another edition as I understand it, but focusing solely on this DVD, I was more than a little disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A TRIP BACK IN TIME!!!!
Review: I recently purchased this film on DVD and I must say that I'm a little disappointed at how the DVD release of this film was handled. First of all, the DVD I purchased only includes chapter selections and a theatrical trailor. WHAT???? No behind the scenes featurette nor commentary. I understand that the Criterion version is better, but, I had a hard time trying to find this film on DVD, so, I picked up the first copy I saw. Plus, it's not mastered to 5.1 stereo surround. I wanted to give my system a workout with this film. Anyway, the film itself is almost flawless despite the DVD release. I remember watching this film on THE MOVIE CHANNEL several times back in 1982 (when I was about 7, of course). No matter what part I would come in at, I watched it to the end over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I guess you can say that I really love this movie. Looking at it now, I can say that this film indirectly is pretty educational. Think about it. The characters in this film go through various points of history and legends: Napoleon, Robin Hood, Greek Legends, the sinking of the Titanic, etc. I love this film even more now than I did then. This film also recognizes the spiritual aspects of life and time. For example: The Supreme Being (GOD - The Almighty Father) and the evil genious (Satan). All elements affect mans lifetime and history. Praise GOD. No other fantasy film before nor after this classic has ever acknowledged GOD. Shame on them!! Anyway, if you want a timeless classic to add to your collection, this is it. Now, if only they can get it right with the DVD release and stop clowning around with the hearts of those who really love this film.
Rating:
Summary: Ah, British humor...
Review: Yes, I know Terry Gilliam is an American, and when I first saw this film as a kid I was like, "What the...?" But I recently rented it again for my 8-year-old son who enjoyed it. We get to see Kenny Baker (R2D2), John Cleese as Robin Hood, Michael Palin as the Man who Keeps Trying to Pop the Question to Shelley Duvall, and the late David Rappaport, who, in my opinion, has one of the best lines in movie history: "Waiter! More champagne...and plenty of ice" just before their ship, the Titanic, hits the 'berg.
Rating: 
Summary: The holes in the universe
Review: A film about a boy and a group of dwarves with a map of all the holes in time? This has to be Terry Gilliam! Note that although amazon.com lists starring Sean Connery, but although he's in it, he's only a cameo. The real stars of this film are the kid, Kevin, and the dwarves. There's a whole lot of other cameos such as Shelly Duvall, Ian Holm, and Sir Ralph Richardson as God. TRIVIA: The song in the final credits is "Dream Away" by the late Geroge Harrison, which appears on his hard to find "Gone Troppo" album.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, but not uproariously.
Review: Summary:
A young boy, Kevin (Craig Warnock), has materialistically fixated parents that don't believe his room turns into a portal for adventures on a periodic basis. When he decides to finally get some evidence by taking pictures, the next adventurers to enter his room through his wardrobe are six midgets: Randall (David Rappaport), Fidgit (Kenny Baker (I)), Strutter (Malcolm Dixon), Og (Mike Edmonds), Wally (Jack Purvis), and Vermin (Tiny Ross). The midgets have stolen the map of the universe that has the locations of all of the holes in the universe that let you travel through time from their employer, the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson). They stole it because they were demoted for making a really tall, ugly, stinky tree. Anyway, now that they have it, they have two objectives, keep from being caught by the Supreme Being and steal as much money as possible. Along they way they run into Robin Hood (John Cleese), King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), Napoleon (Ian Holm), an Ogre (Peter Vaughan (I)) and his wife (Katherine Helmond) who try to eat them, a young couple with 'problems' (Shelley Duvall & Michael Palin), and Evil himself (David Warner). As it turns out, Evil has been trying to get hold of the map from the beginning and the bandits were being coerced to bring it to him. The bandits must then defeat Evil with Kevin's help (and a little from the Supreme Being). My Comments:
The premise is pretty funny - a group of midgets that used to create trees are now time crossing thieves - but not very good ones. They run into a bunch of fun, historical characters, and make a mess of every situation they get into. However, because the movie is supposed to be a comedy, the stretches in between laughs (when Kevin is adopted by King Agamemnon for instance) are sometimes quite drawn out and slow the pace of the movie. Yes, it is funny, but not continuously. Of course, the presentation of Robin Hood and the Supreme Being are great, but then the humor surrounding Evil gets old pretty quick; after asking for pain the first time, the dialogue seems to get stuck in paradoxes of whether pain is good or bad and repeating the request doesn't do anything to make it funnier. The visit with the ogre and his wife is pretty lame. Admittedly there are some pretty memorable scenes - the bandits dancing for Napoleon and Robin Hood handing out treasure to the poor only for them to be knocked out by one of his merry men. But there are also plenty of forgettable scenes. Overall, though I love Monty Python and most of their work, this isn't nearly as funny as, say, The Search for the Holy Grail or The Life of Brian. It could be, in part at least, due to most of the original troupe not being in the movie, but then again, it could be that the story just isn't up to snuff. Though I wouldn't necessarily recommend you miss this one, if you haven't seen it, it isn't a must see.
Rating:
Summary: My first ever favorite movie
Review: If you like this sort of thing, you'll love it. If not, forget it! This is not the one to be cutting your teeth on. I absolutely loved the in-between-time surrealist scenes like the hen-pecked ogre with a slipped disk and the suspended cages. But even as a Python fan, I just couldn't get into John Cleese as Robin Hood. What very few reviewers have touched upon is that this whole farce of a movie is a morality play about the nature of good and evil in the modern world. I saw this for the first time at about age 13 and I lost a lot of sleep pondering the questions this movie asks. Only a small handful of movies have ever moved me to philosophical contemplation the way Time Bandits has. Seeing it again as an adult, it has lost some of it's magic, but none of it's depth. I still treasure this movie, but I don't recommend it lightly. Hollywood this ain't.
Rating:
Summary: Time Bandits Steals the Imagination
Review: An instant classic upon its release and holds up after twenty plus years, TIME BANDITS is an inventive tale of adventure with an underlining prophetic message of man's mechanized and computerized world way before the advent of the modern computerized world as we know it today. Five dwarves who had helped the "supreme being" with the making of the universe have a map of the creation showing its imperfections (i.e. holes in time). They use the knowledge of the map to become international thieves going from time period to time period to steal and plunder. Along the way they pick up a young boy,Kevin (Craig Warnock) who is willing to go along on the adventure because his parents are cold, unloving and materialistic. At the same time, they are being chased by the "supreme being" to get the map back. Also, Evil Genius (David Warner) is monitoring their activities as he too wants the map of the universe so he can rule the world. The adventures are historical as they meet Napolean (Ian Holm-LORD OF THE RINGS) and King Agamemnon (Sean Connery), as well as legendary as they meet a cartoonish Robin Hood (John Cleese) etc. Good direction from 'Python'Terry Gilliam, good script (co-written and starring 'Python' Micheal Palin), great special effects for its time, and an impressive cast (including Sir Ralph Richardson) make this a film to be watched over and over again. One outstanding piece of casting is that of actor David Warner as Evil Genius in a diabolical and comedic performance, completing a trilogy of evil roles (TIME AFTER TIME, TRON and TIME BANDITS). The Ctiterion DVD version has an audio commentary from the director Gilliam and co-writer Palin with an interesting guest; a grown-up Craig Warnock who plays Kevin in the film. Note: Look for Kenny Baker (aka R2D2 of STAR WARS fame) as one of the five dwarves - -Also, great song written and performed by the late George Harrison (whose Handemade Films produced the movie) at the end credits.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Children's Film Ever Made
Review: When Time Bandits was released in 1981 I saw the film at least thirteen times while it played at the theater near my house. I went every Saturday during the run of the film. To this day I still love the film. It never ceases to amaze me how, even after all these years, I always find something new in the film each time I view it. A group of dwarves steal a map of the universe from God and then set out to become robbers. They work for God in the shrubbery department. When God docks their pay, the dwarves become disgruntled and steal the map. Along the way they meet up with an eight year old boy and the trio sets off on a wild series of adventures. All of the adventures take place in different historical periods. (The universe was a botch job. It was made in seven days. You see there are holes in the fabric of the universe. When the dwarves go through these holes they are able to visit different periods in history) One of my favorite scenes takes place when the dwarves rob Napoleon, played by Ian Holm. After viewing a Punch and Judy show Napoleon shouts, "That's what I like to see, little people hitting one another!" Another wonderful bit takes place later when Robin Hood, played by John Cleese, refers to one of his merry men as Marion. The costumes are marvelous. All of the sets in Time Bandits look terribly large. Terry Gilliam achieved the look of the film by shooting from the point of view of the child and dwarves. He simply pointed the camera from the ground up because everything looks bigger when you're four feet tall. Most people in my generation, when asked, will say the films they remember from their childhood's are movies like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not me. I'll always remember films like Excalibur and Time Bandits first. Truly inspired works of the imagination. Preston McClear...
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