Terry Gilliam

Time Bandits

Time Bandits

In this fantastic voyage through time and space from Terry Gilliam, a boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) escapes his gadget-obsessed parents to join a band of time travelers. Armed with a map stolen from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), they plunder treasure from Napoleon (Ian Holm) and Agamemnon (Sean Connery)—but the Evil Genius (David Warner) is watching their every move. Featuring a darkly playful script by Gilliam and his Monty Python cohort Michael Palin (who also appears in the film), Time Bandits is at once a giddy fairy tale, a revisionist history lesson, and a satire of technology gone awry.

Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 1981
  • 116 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #37

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K restoration, supervised by director Terry Gilliam, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray of the film with special features
  • Audio commentary featuring Gilliam, cowriter-actor Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner, and Craig Warnock
  • Program on the creation of the film’s various historical periods and fantasy worlds, narrated by film writer David Morgan and featuring production designer Milly Burns and costume designer James Acheson
  • Conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, recorded at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival
  • Appearance by actor Shelley Duvall on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show from 1981
  • Gallery of rare photographs from the set
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic David Sterritt

    Cover based on a theatrical poster

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K restoration, supervised by director Terry Gilliam, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray of the film with special features
  • Audio commentary featuring Gilliam, cowriter-actor Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner, and Craig Warnock
  • Program on the creation of the film’s various historical periods and fantasy worlds, narrated by film writer David Morgan and featuring production designer Milly Burns and costume designer James Acheson
  • Conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, recorded at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival
  • Appearance by actor Shelley Duvall on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show from 1981
  • Gallery of rare photographs from the set
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic David Sterritt

    Cover based on a theatrical poster
Time Bandits
Cast
John Cleese
Robin Hood
Sean Connery
King Agamemnon
Shelley Duvall
Pansy
Katherine Helmond
Mrs. Ogre
Ian Holm
Napoleon
Michael Palin
Vincent
Ralph Richardson
Supreme Being
Peter Vaughan
Ogre
David Warner
Evil Genius
David Rappaport
Randall
Kenny Baker
Fidgit
Malcolm Dixon
Strutter
Mike Edmonds
Og
Jack Purvis
Wally
Tiny Ross
Vermin
Craig Warnock
Kevin
Credits
Director
Terry Gilliam
Produced by
Terry Gilliam
Written by
Michael Palin
Written by
Terry Gilliam
Executive producer
George Harrison
Executive producer
Denis O’Brien
Associate producer
Neville C. Thompson
Director of photography
Peter Biziou
Editor
Julian Doyle
Production designer
Milly Burns
Art director
Norman Garwood
Costumes designed by
James Acheson
In association with
Hazel Côté
Hairdressing and makeup
Maggie Weston
Hairdressing and makeup
Elaine Carew
Music score composed and orchestrated by
Mike Moran
Songs and additional material
George Harrison
Music produced by
Ray Cooper

Current

The Designs of Time Bandits
The Designs of Time Bandits

A supplemental feature on our edition of the film documents the brilliant work of costume designer James Acheson and production designer Milly Burns.

Time Bandits: Guerrilla Fantasy
Time Bandits: Guerrilla Fantasy

The opening installment of Terry Gilliam’s “Trilogy of Imagination” reminds us we’d be better off if we paid more attention to the kid’s-eye view of things.

By David Sterritt

Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits was the most critically well-received children’s film in nearly two decades—and also the most challenging and rewarding fantasy-adventure movie since Alexander Korda’s The Thief of Bagdad, released forty-one years…

By Bruce Eder

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