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:

Gruesome | Crushed To Death | Cult Comedy | Bed | Black 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:

The fight between the Jabberwock and the Black Knight was originally choreographed quite differently. During the shooting, however, Peter Salmon, who played the monster, slipped and fell. Director Terry Gilliam decided the fall looked so natural that he edited the fight sequence to include the fall.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Wires can be seen holding up the head of the monster at the end of the film.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Soundtrack:

Night on a Bald Mountain

A pleasant surprise for those who have heard it sucks

Terry Gilliam's fantasy satire (looks like a spoof, but it's a satire) is halfway between "Holy Grail" and "Time Bandits", and about half as good (which ain't bad). The wit is sardonic, and the story pretty well reverses every rule of the fantasy genre -- a dimwitted "champion", out to secure the hand of his 300+ lb. "princess" by killing the evil Jabberwocky that is making life tough for the local peasantry (but very pleasant for the merchants).

Great photography, decent production values. The direction is very good, and although the script's wit is shining, there are not enough really funny jokes (mostly it's stuff you'd have to think about to laugh at). I particularly like, though, how a lot of the good jokes come out of how the value of something is relative -- Palin carrying around a rotten potato discarded by "Griselda", which he prizes for sentiment, but which the townspeople want for food.

Superior medieval satire shows Gilliam was on the right track towards his masterpieces.