The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

Country of Origin: UK/West Germany/Italy/Spain
Year of Production: 1988
Running Times: 125 mins
Format: Eastmancolor 35mm 70mm
Ratio: 1.66:1
Sound: Dolby SR 70mm 6-Track (70mm prints)

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Columbia Pictures Corporation / Prominent Pictures/Laura Film/Allied Film-Makers
Executive Producers: Jake Eberts, Alyssa Cartegena (uncredited)
Production Executives: Robert Edwards, Joyce Herlihy
Supervising Producer: Stratton Leopold
Producer: Thomas Schühly
Co-Producers: Ray Cooper, Ilya Salkind (uncredited)
Line Producer: David Tomblin
Supervisor: Stratton Leopold
Production Supervisors: Arthur Tarra, Joyce Herlihy
Production Managers: Charles Torbett, Gianni Fivino
Production Manager (Italy): Pino Butti
Production Manager (Spain): Francisco Molero
2nd Unit Production Manager: Giorgio Russo
Unit Managers: Fernando Marquesire, Vittorio Fornasiero
Production Coordinators: Gail Samuelson, Nancy R. Levin, Susana Prieto

SCRIPT
Script: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown
Stories: Erich Raspe

DIRECTION
Director: Terry Gilliam
2nd Unit Director: Michele Soavi
1st Assistant Directors: John Cozzo, Lee Cleary
2nd Unit 1st Assistant Director (Spain): Javier Chinchilla
Assistant Director (Italy): Luca Lachin
Assistant Director (Spain): José Luis Escolar
2nd Unit Assistant Director (Italy): Catherine Ventura
2nd Unit 2nd Assistant Director (Spain): Javier Balaguer
3rd Assistant Director: Manuel L. Cañizares
2nd Unit 3rd Assistant Director (Spain): Manuel Zarzo

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Giuseppe Rotunno
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci
Camera Operator: Franco Bruni
1st Assistant Camera: Gianmaria Majorana
2nd Unit Assistant Camera: Roberto Marsigli, Umberto Lucignano
2nd Assistant Camera: Giovanni Piperno, Daniele Cimini
Supervising Gaffer: Renato Sardini
Gaffer: Spartaco Sardini
2nd Unit Gaffer: Spartaco Sardini
Electricians: Claudio Frollano, Francesco Quattrone, Gianni Gentili, Giorgio Pasqualini, Giuseppe Bertucci, Giuseppe Fabrizi, Ignazio Maccarone, Luciano Marrocchi, Mario Bramucci, Massimo Bertucci
Key Grip: Aldo Colanzi
2nd Unit Chief Grip: Elio Bosi
Stills: Franco Bellomo, Sergio Strizzi
Video Operator: Ian Kelly
2nd Unit Video Operator: Giovanni Piperno

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Peter Hollywood
Assistant Editors: Ben Palmer, Bill Barringer, Christine Newell, Martyn Robinson, Mick Monks, Natalie Baker, Stefna Smal, Steve Maguire, Chris Blunden
Associate Editor: Chris Blunden

MUSIC
Music: Michael Kamen
Song: Eric Idle, Michael Kamen
Orchestrator/Conductor: Michael Kamen
Additional Orchestrators: Alan Arnold, Ed Shearmur, Fiachra Trench, John Fiddy, Rick Wentworth
Music Producers: Michael Kamen, Ray Cooper
Music Recordist: Stephen McLaughlin
Music Editor: Christopher Brooks
Orchestral Engineer: Eric Tomlinson
Orchestra Manager: Paul Talkington
Music Preparation: Vic Fraser

SOUND
Sound Designers: Frank Jahn, Peter Pennel
Sound: Frank Jahn
Boom Operators: Günther Ruckdeschel, Raymond Meyer
Sound Mixer: Frank Jahn
Supervising Sound Editor: Peter Pennell
Sound Editors: Bob Risk, Colin Miller, Peter Horrocks, Rusty Coppleman
Chief Dubbing Mixer: Graham V. Hartstone
Dubbing Mixers: Michael A. Carter, Nicolas Le Messurier

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up Supervisor: Fabrizio Sforza (uncredited)
Make Up Designer: Maggie Weston
Make Up: Pam Meager, Enrico Iacoponi, Alfredo Tiberi, Antonio Maltempo, Cristina De Rossi, Gino Tamagnini
2nd Unit Chief Make Up (Spain): Fernando Pérez Sobrino
2nd Unit Make Up (Spain): José Pérez, Manuel Martín
Hair Supervisor (Italy): Iole Cecchini
Hair: Carla Indoni, Elisabetta De Leonardis, Giancarlo Marin, Pam Meager
2nd Unit Hair (Spain): Alicia Regueiro
Costume Designer: Gabriella Pescucci
Wardrobe Supervisor: Gregorio Simili
2nd Unit Wardrobe Supervisor (Spain): Martín Díaz
Wardrobe Master: Gregorio Simili
2nd Unit Wardrobe Master (Spain): Gianni Doddi
Wardrobe Mistress: Irene Santarelli
Wardrobe Assistant: Celeste Franzi

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Supervisor: Richard Conway
Special Effects Technicians (Italy): Beniamino Carozza, Claudio Savassi, Duilio Olmi, Fausto Baldinelli, Giancarlo Mancini, Gianni Indovino, Luigi Battistelli, Marcello Coccia, Marino Erca, Massimo Nespoli, Michele Borea, Simon Weisse
Special Effects Technician (UK): Dave McCall, Bob Hollow, Brian Lince, Chris Corbould, Jamie Courtier, Martin Gant, Norman Baillie, Peter Davey, Steve Hamilton, Tim Willis
2nd Unit Special Effects Technician (Spain): Manolo Gómez
Special Effects Wiremen: Billy Howe, Bob Wiesinger, Kevin Mathews
Special Effects Editor: Brian Mann
Special Effects Plasterer: Allan Croucher
Puppeteers: David Barclay, Jeff Felix

Model Unit
Animatronics Model Designers: Ian Whittaker, Jamie Courtier, Stephen Onions
Model Supervisor: Martin Gant
Model Makers: Brian Cole, Jim Machin
Special Effects Modellers: Christine Overs, Valerie Charlton
Special Effects Engineers: Frank Guiney, Leslie Wheeler
Director of Photography: Roger Pratt
Camera Grip: Peter Butler
Camera Assistant: Simon Fulford
Clapper Loader: Graham Martyr
Gaffer: Ted Read
Electricians: Barry Read, Stuart King, Vernon Connolly
Best Boy: Peter Lamb
Decor Artist: Robert Walker
Art Directors: Ken Court, Michael Lamont
Assistant Art Director: Mark Harris
Set Decorator: Gillian Noyes-Court
Art Department Assistant: Keith Horsley
Construction Manager: Tony Graysmark
Construction Supervisor: Peter Williams
Draughtsmen: Dennis Bosher, Neil Lamont
Art Department Runner: Simon Lamont
Sculptors: John Blakeley, Keith Short
Unit Driver: John Hollywood

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects Supervisors: Adriano Pischiutta, Antonio Parra, Brian Mann, Kent Houston, Richard Conway
Visual Effects: Peerless Camera Co Ltd
Matte Camera: John Grant
Matte Painters: Bob Cuff, Doug Ferris, Joy Cuff, Leigh Took
Matte Photographer Consultants: Stanley W. Sayer, Dennis Bartlett
Motion Control: Kenneth Gray, Peter Tyler
Optical Effects Supervisor: Kent Houston
Optical Effects Coordinator: Martin Body
Optical Camera: Mike Ferriter, Andrew Jeffery, Doug Forrest, Les Broughton, Nick Dunlop, Steve Cutmore, Tim Ollive
Rotoscope Artists: Janice Body, Rashid Khares

DIGITAL EFFECTS
CG Technical Director: Giles Parker (uncredited)
Digital Artists: Alec Knox, Ben Hayden, Kim Aldis, Sheila Dunn (all uncredited)

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Dante Ferretti
Supervising Art Director: Massimo Razzi
Art Directors: Teresa Barbasso, Giorgio Giovannini, Nazzareno Piana
Set Decorator: Francesco Lo Schiavo
Assistant Set Decorators: Atos Mastrogirolamo, Giovanni Passanisi
Property Masters: Charles Torbett, Gianni Fiumi, Gianni Fivino
Property Buyer: Bruno Tempera
Construction Manager (Italy): Luigi Sergianni
Construction Manager (Spain): Ramón Moya
Constructors: Angelo Tiberti, Bruno Colanzi, Domenico Caponecchi, Gianpaolo Maiorana, Mario Pezzotti, Osvaldo Caruso, Pietro Santarelli, Roberto Diamanti, Sergio Conti
Supervising Painter: Sante Barelli
Illustrator: Mauro Borelli
Sculpture Supervisor: Filomeno Crisara
Sculptors: Gianni Gianese, Salvatore Placenti
Title Graphics: Chris Allies

OTHER CREW
Script Supervisor: Nikki Clapp
2nd Unit Script Supervisor: Yuyi Beringola
Accountant (Italy): Enzo Sisti
Accountant (Spain): Santiago Debenito
Assistant Accountants: Luidi Camacho, Alberto De Stefani, Carla Zacchia, Leandro Muslera, Maria Fiorito, Pauline Granby
Production Assistants (Italy): Claudio Corbucci, Riccardo Spada
Production Assistants (Spain): Manolo García, Gonzalo Jiménez
2nd Unit Production Assistant (Italy): Paolo Merosi
Assistant to Terry Gilliam: Nyla Van Ingen
Production Assistant to Terry Gilliam (Spain): Salvatore Mureddu
Production Assistant to Terry Gilliam (UK): Margarita Doyle
Assistant To Producer: Daniella Edelburg
Assistant To Stratton Leopold: Janice Munro
Assistant To Terry Gilliam: Nyla Van Ingen
Assistants to Costume Designer: Alberto Spiazzi, Alfonsa Lettieri, Carlo Poggioli
Production Secretaries: Andrea Costantini, Lisa Dasteel
Production Secretary (Spain): Yolanda Marqueríe
2nd Unit Production Secretary (Spain): Doriana Bonora
Transportation Manager (Italy): Remo Ubertini
Transportation Manager (Spain): Francisco Ardura
Unit Publicists: Eugene Rizzo, Grady Clarkson, Klaus Schuhly
Choreographers: Giorgi Rossi, Pino Pennesi
Assistant Choreographer: Raffaela Giordani
Horse Master: Tony Smart
Pre-Production Coordinator: Daniela Merlo
Production Runner (Italy): Massimiliano Mazzini
Production Runner (Spain): Tino Torrescusa
Dialogue Coach: Jan Green

LOCATIONS
Locations: Belchite, Zaragoza, Spain
2nd Unit Location Manager (Spain): Pepe Panero

STUNTS
Stunt Coordinator: Tony Smart
Stunt Coordinator (Italy): Riccardo Mioni
Stunts: Leslie Maryon, Stefano Maria Mioni (uncredited), Angelo Ragusa, Billy Horrigan, Dinny Powell, Jesus Riaran Torres, Kiran Shah, Riccardo Cruz Moral
2nd Unit Stunts: (Spain): Salvador Marios, Camilo Vila Novoa, Eduardo García, José Garcia, Luis Gutiérrez, Paquito Gomez

CASTING
Casting: Francesco Cilieri, Irene Lamb, Margery Simkin

CAST
John Neville (Baron Munchausen)
Sarah Polley (Sally Salt)
Jonathan Pryce (Horatio Jackson)
Oliver Reed (Vulcan)
Winston Dennis (Albrecht/Bill)
Eric Idle (Berthold/Desmond)
Charles McKeown (Adolphus/Rupert)
Jack Purvis (Gustavus/Jeremy)
Uma Thurman (Venus/Rose)
Ray D. Tutto (rn: Robin Williams) (King of the Moon)
Valentina Cortese (Queen Ariadne/Violet)
Bill Paterson (Henry Salt)
Peter Jeffrey (the sultan)
Sting (rn: Gordon Sumner) (heroic officer)
Alison Steadman (Daisy)
Ray Cooper (functionary)
Don Henderson (Commander)
Andrew MacLachlan (Colonel)
Mohamed Badrsalem (executioner)
Kiran Shah (executioners assistant)
Ettore Martini (1st General)
Jose Lifante (Dr Death)
Franco Adducci (treasurer)
Antonio Pistillo (2nd General)
Michael Polley, Tony Smart (gunners)
Terry Gilliam (irritating singer - uncredited)

Baron Munchhausen spins a fantastic story of how he, a group of unlikely associates and a young girl get caught up in the defence of a town from the Turkish army. He claims to have been swallowed by a giant sea-monster, taken a trip to the moon where he meets the lunar ruler, danced with Venus and had a narrow escape from the Grim Reaper. But how reliable is the Baron's account - just how much of it is true and how much is fantasy?

After the truly stunning Brazil (1985), it seems almost inconceivable that Gilliam's boundless talents could come up with something as visually sumptuous but emotionally unengaging as this massively over-budgeted folly. The film is disastrously over-long and if the well-publicised bust up with his finance company hadn't forced Gilliam to curtail some of his excesses, God alone knows how long it would have gone on for. There are some excellent set-pieces and at least two riotously enjoyable performances (Williams - credited as Ray D. Tutto - as the manic King of the Moon and Reed as the even more manic Vulcan) but what it seriously lacks is a point. Baron Munchhausen is an expensive spectacle of noise and light with no real plot to speak of. It doesn't add up to all that much and it's a curiously uninvolving film, one that tries desperately hard but which never quite makes the grade.

Argentina
Video Distributor: LK-TEL

Germany
DVD Distributor: Columbia/Tristar (11774)

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia/Tri-Star
Video Distributor: RCA-Columbia

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia
Video Distributor: RCA-Columbia
Laserdisc Distributor: Criterion (CC 1281L; includes - audio commentary by Terry Gilliam); Columbia/Tristar (76986); RCA/Columbia (50156)
DVD Distributor: Columbia/Tristar (76989)

Argentina
Rating: 13

Chile
Rating: 14

Finland
Rating: K-12/9

France
Rating: U

Germany
Rating: 6

Sweden
Rating: 11

UK
Rating: PG

USA
Rating: PG

1990
Academy Awards, USA
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Schiavo) - nominated
Best Costume Design (Gabriella Pescucci) - nominated
Best Effects, Visual Effects (Richard Conway, Kent Houston) - nominated
Best Makeup (Fabrizio Sforza, Maggie Weston) - nominated

British Academy Awards
Best Costume Design (Gabriella Pescucci) - winner
Best Make Up Artist (Pam Meager, Fabrizio Sforza, Maggie Weston) - winner
Best Production Design (Dante Ferretti) - winner
Best Special Effects (Richard Conway, Kent Houston) - nominated

Hugo Awards
Best Dramatic Presentation - nominated

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
Silver Ribbon: Migliore Fotografia (Giuseppe Rotunno) - winner
Silver Ribbon: Migliori Costumi (Gabriella Pescucci) - winner
Silver Ribbon: Migliore Scenografia (Dante Ferretti) - winner

Young Artist Awards
Best Family Motion Picture Family: Musical or Fantasy - nominated
Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture (Sarah Polley) - nominated

1988
December
8: West Germany - theatrical release

1989
March
8: France - theatrical release
10: USA - theatrical release
17: UK - theatrical release

May
11: Argentina - theatrical release

August
1: Italy - theatrical release

September
8: Finland - theatrical release

December
1: Sweden - theatrical release

1992
November
20: USA - laserdisc release (Criterion (CC 1281L))

1995
May
9: USA - laserdisc release (Columbia/Tristar (76986))

1999
April
27: USA - DVD release (Columbia/Tristar (76989))

October
1: Germany - DVD release (Columbia/Tristar (11774))

Remarkable. Unbelievable. Impossible. And true.

Adventure, Comedy, Romance. He was full of it.

A true story. We've got the film to prove it.

Bull. He was full of it.

Die Abenteuer des Baron von Münchhausen - German title
Las aventuras del barón Munchausen - Spanish title
Paroni von Münchhausenin seikkailut - Finnish title
Les aventures du baron de Munchausen - French title
Münchausen báró kalandjai - Hungarian title
Le avventure del Barone di Munchausen - Italian title
Przygody barona Munchausena - Polish title
Baron Münchhausens äventyr - Swedish title

SEE ALSO
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1929)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1947)
Adventures of Baron Münchausen (NO DATE)
Les aventures de baron de Munchhausen (1911)
Avventure del Barone di Münchausen (1914)
Baron Munchausen (1909)
Baron Munchausen (1962)
Baron Prásil (1961)
Münchhausen (1943)

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique July 1989 pp.44-45, 59 (USA)
illustrated article

Fear March/April 1989 p.37 (UK)
review

Flickers 'n' Frames 6 p.3 (UK)
review

Network Video no.8 p.6 (UK)
review

New Musical Exress 18 March 1989 p.25 (UK)
review

Photoplay March 1989 pp.16-19 (UK)
review

Première March 1989 p.17 (France)
review (by Thierry Decourcelle)

Strange Adventures Summer Special 1989 (UK)
review

Studio March 1989 p.14 (France)
review (by Christophe D'Yvoire)

TV Guide 25 March 1989 p.50 (UK)
credits

BOOKS

The A-Z of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films p.11
credits, review

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen: The Screenplay by Charles McKeown and Terry Gilliam (New York/London: Applause Theatre Book Publishers (1989))
script

Creature Features Strikes Again p.12
credits, review

Elliot's Guide to Films on Video p.6
credits, review

Elliott's Guide to Home Entertainment (4th Edition) p.5
credits, review

The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film p.4
credits

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 pp.15-16
credits, review

Horror and Science Fiction Films Volume IV pp.3-4
credits

Losing the Light: Terry Gilliam and The Munchausen Saga by Andrew Yule (New York City: Applause Books (1991))
production notes

Psychotronic Video Guide p.5
credits, review

Shock Xpress Book 1 pp.125, 166
review

Video Source Book 13th Edition (1992) Volume 1 p.27
credits

Virgin Film Yearbook 8 pp.16-17, 23-25
credits, review

battering rams; book into film; sea monsters; the moon; space travel; hot air balloons; greek mythology; the grim reaper