Jabberwocky (1977)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (poem)
Charles Alverson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 April 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it

Plot:

After the death of his father the young cooper 'Dennis Cooper' goes to town where he has to pass several adventures...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Kingdom | Medieval | Knight | Cult Comedy

Cast

Michael Palin	...	Dennis Cooper
Harry H. Corbett	...	Squire (Ethel)
John Le Mesurier	...	Passelewe
Warren Mitchell	...	Mr. Fishfinger
Max Wall	...	King Bruno the Questionable
Rodney Bewes	...	Other Squire
John Bird	...	First herald
Bernard Bresslaw	...	Landlord
Antony Carrick	...	Third merchant (as Anthony Carrick)
Peter Cellier	...	First merchant
Deborah Fallender	...	Princess
Derek Francis	...	Bishop
Terry Gilliam	...	Man with Rock
Neil Innes	...	Second herald
Terry Jones	...	Poacher

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (1977) (cut) | UK:PG (1993) | Finland:K-16 (1989) | Australia:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Australia:M (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Bosherton Quarry, Bosherston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK

Company:

Python Films

Trivia:

King Bruno, the Questionable's herald, refers to his king as "conqueror of Freedonia," a reference to the mythical country Groucho Marx ruled as Rufus T. Firefly in the film Duck Soup (1933).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the fanatics parade through the village, rolling a huge wooden wheel before them, a stack of camera equipment, partially covered with a blanket, can be seen in the background.

Quotes:

King Bruno the Questionable: Guards... kill that man...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Directors: The Films of Terry Gilliam (#1.2)" (????)

Soundtrack:

Night on a Bald Mountain

My...God!

Jabberwocky has more gore and mayhem than a mace fight, and that is its theme, purely and simply. It's an ode to carnivorous, vicious, rampaging monsters, exploding people, dismemberment, impalement, et cetera. The climax is met after what seems like endless rising action, loaded to the brim with blood and guts. That is its charm.

The cinematography is grainy and bad, almost on purpose, but it's definitely not charming. What Terry Gilliam gives this film that works so well is a great intensity in its pace. It begins fairly slowly, but it sneaks up on you and accosts you.

Its sense of humor is one of the most morbid I've ever experienced, and it's very funny, I must say. All of the things I said this film is an ode to are at some point played for laughs at least a handful of times in Jabberwocky.

I suppose the verdict on Jabberwocky is that it's not a great film and it's not one that I care to see again, b ut during the time I was watching it, I was laughing and I was successfully bashed by its intense outpour of action, violence, and excitement, all in wonderfully bad taste.