Rating: 
Summary: A must see
Review: I saw this cartoon 15 years ago when I was a kid and I remember that the plot really shook me up back then when I went Paris I saw it playing at a movie theater, once back in the states I bought the tape pretty much to relieve my childhood memories -- I didn't really have very high expectations.Boy, was I wrong! 15 years later the story spoke to me on a very different level. The cartoon is simply amazing both in terms of creative imagination and a story line -- there is more originality, meaning and plot in this one cartoon than in 10 Holywood blockbusters!
Rating:
Summary: I really liked it
Review: I saw this movie ten years ago at the Seattle International Film Festival and I've been looking for it since then! At the time I didn't know of Hugh Grant, but the actresses affected me strongly. I don't know how 'accurate' the movie was, but the positive impression it made on me lasted all these years.
Rating: 
Summary: Time Masters - Review not based on DVD
Review: The animation, of course, is not that great. It does, in fact, at times seems Scooby-dooish. But the idea of the film, especially if you are a serious sci-fi fan, should please you. I cannot comment on this particular edition, since my review is based on the countless times I've seen this film in the theater dubbed in Russian. But I was pleased to find a copy in New York years after, and was not disappointed. The film is not recommended for children. But it is both a slightly phylosophical film, and a puzzlement for those who are interested in the time-space continium. The story itself must've been great, just as the planet of the apes, before it turned into a joke.
Rating: 
Summary: Complete Disappointment
Review: The story as stated by Mircha, the romanian student of eastern philosophy back in 1930s about his relationship with the daughter of his professor, is the main content of the novel "La Nuit Bengali". The movie tried to move the story to a modern time, and in that process did a horrific distortion of everything including the local culture and customs, the mindset of a modern Bengali girl, and the parental control exercised by learned parents! The cinematography is quite bad, given that it was filmed only in 1980s when the cinematography has been improved 100 folds from 1930s. If the time frame of the movie was in 1930s, then that kind of cinematography could have been acceptable, probably, just for the sake of the time frame matching! The local language spoken by the actors were terrible, the producers should have found a better solution to this. The leading actresses were not Bengali, and it was an English film, so there was no reason to put Bengali dialogue for them, but the director did, and due to lack of efficient directorial supervision, they came out horrible and wrong. The film also shows the lack of imagination and research in the comtemporary Bengali psyche and mentality and behaviour. If the story had been set in 1930s, the incidents following the discovery by the parents about the relationship of their daughter with the foreigner could have been believable, but in the current context, it has been completely ridiculous, and stupid and it has become a caricature rather than a film. The music was also pretty bad, the set and choice of location has been quite horrible. The director should have seen some of Satyajit Ray films before even venturing into this kind of a project.
Rating:
Summary: A rare gem of French Animation
Review: The Time Masters is a rare example of French Animation. Despite being prolific art film makers the art of animation mainly passed them by. Therefore the skills employed in making this film are probably light years behind what Disney et al were producing with the help of the mighty Hollywood machine but that should not distract from an original and sublime vision that first captured my imagination as a young child. The Time Masters (Les Maitres du Temp in France) was inspired by L'orphelin de Perdide, a novel by French science fiction auther Stephan Wul. Importantly the design is by well known French graphic artist Mobius who is well known in comics circles for his Silver Surfer and Heavy Metal work and who also did the design for The Fifth Element. Overall this helped produce a film that was strikingly different, powerful and full of surprises even if the animation techniques were not as slick and glossy as those of Hollywood where skill and money abounded. I loved this as a kid and would expect any child today to quite enjoy its haunting story. As a big kid today I still enjoy this movie which is a rare gem of French animation. If you do enjoy this movie then check out Director René Laloux's next work La Planète sauvage (Fantastic Planet in the US I think) as you will enjoy that also.
Rating:
Summary: not as perfect as fantastic planet but...
Review: these a very unfair comment about les maitres du temps [time masters]...it's certain that la planete sauvage [fantastic planet] was so great...the comparison is hard to do, but try to do so with an other space opera cartoon...and there is not so many! i am really sure that it's one of the best science fiction cartoon ever made...realy a kind of "film d'auteur" with teh best of french science fiction, giraud (drawings...) apon an astonishing novel by Setphan Wul... sure that almost every science fiction fan will enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: "Light Years" behind 'Fantastic Planet'
Review: Unfortunately, this French-Hungarian coproduction (the film was drawn entirely in Hungary) is a disappointment. Since I really love director Laloux's other work, the wonderful French-Czechoslovekian 'Fantastic Planet' ('La planete sauvage'), as well as the story was based on another book by the author of 'Fantastic Planet', I tried to love this result of another French-East European collaboration as well - but I just could not. The scenery [designed by Mobeius] in 'Time Masters' can not even touch Roland Topor's bizarre yet hauntingly beautiful sets in 'Fantastic Planet'. Likewise, the characters in this film are poorly represented in every way, whereas the well-developed and unique characters of 'Fantastic Planet' are always parts of a nicely coherent picture. I even failed to like - and much less to care about - the little kid (who really annoyed me quite a few times...) In 'Time Masters', with the exemption of the final part perhaps, the music is rather flat and too generic - and the inclusion of two songs even hurt. (On the other hand, matching perfectly the story, the score of 'Fantastic Planet' is truly moving and original.) So, if you are seeking values similar to 'Fantastic Planet', you may not find much in 'Time Masters'. However, there IS one nice little gem, which does match the beauty and originality of 'Fantastic Planet' - a little animation masterpiece based on a story by Kir Bulichev: the Russian 'Secret of the Third Planet' ('Tajna tretey planety'). You can find everything in this charming cartoon you might miss in "Time Masters": very likeable characters, a nice story, and TONS OF beautifully designed sets - obviously apart from 'Fantastic Planet', if any animation owes to Hieronymus Bosch, it is definitely 'Secret of the Third Planet' (the last planetary scenery looks like as if it was borrowed directly from 'Garden of Earthly Delights'). You can find this film on VideoCD at Russian video distributors in the United States. (Although it is in Russian, you will not lose much - after all films, and especially animation, are visual art [e.g., you do not miss anything by not hearing Mona Lisa speaking...].) All in all, if you love 'Fantastic Planet' and seek for similar cartoons, just skip the other works of Laloux [his 'Gandahar' - aka 'Light Years' - is even less successful than 'Time Masters'] along the rest, and go for 'Secret of the Third Planet' instead. Your courage will be rewarded.
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