The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

A traveling theater company gives its audience much more than they were expecting.

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown

Stars:

Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Heath Ledger

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andrew Garfield	...	Anton
Christopher Plummer	...	Doctor Parnassus
Richard Riddell	...	Martin
Katie Lyons	...	Martin's Girlfriend
Richard Shanks	...	Friend of Martin
Lily Cole	...	Valentina
Verne Troyer	...	Percy
Bruce Crawford	...	Face Changed Martin
Johnny Harris	...	Policeman
Lorraine Cheshire	...	Mum
Mark Benton	...	Dad
Lewis Gott	...	Diego
Sian Scott	...	Linda
Simon Day	...	Uncle Bob (as Simon Daye)
Moya Brady	...	Aunty Flo

Storyline

In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus promises the audience a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus, where dreams come true. In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina, the midget Percy, and his assistant Anton, he claims to have lived for more than one thousand years; However, when he fell in love with a mortal woman, he made a deal with the devil (Mr. Nick), trading his immortality for youth. As part of the bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on their sixteenth birthday. Valentina is now almost to the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus makes a new bet with Mr. Nick, whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony, a young man that was hanged on a bridge by the Russians. Tony was chased until he finds and joins the group. Tony and Valentina fall in love with each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his ...

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Plot Keywords:

rescue | bridge | midget | birthday | sideshow | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport [France] Official site

Country:

UK Canada France

Language:

English Russian French

Release Date:

16 October 2009 (UK)

Also Known As:

L'Imaginarium du Docteur Parnassus

Filming Locations:

Battersea Power Station, Battersea, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$334,183 (USA) (25 December 2009)

Gross:

$7,689,458 (USA) (21 May 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Infinity Features Entertainment, Poo Poo Pictures, Parnassus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Heath Ledger improvised half of his comedic dialogue on set.

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Goofs

When Percy, Valentina and Anton are counting money and Valentina says: "Hey, maybe my birthday won't be so bad". Percy is looking down at money in his hands. In the next shot his posture and facial expression is completely different.

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Quotes

Dr. Parnassus: I'll kill you you son of a bitch.
Mr. Nick: Now that I'd like to see.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, Tony's mobile ring tone can clearly be heard

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Lovely Bones/The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus/The White Ribbon (2010)

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Soundtracks

I'm A Little Teapot
Written by Clarence Kelley & George Sanders
Copyright © 1939, renewed 1967, Marilyn Sanders Music LLC
All rights reserved

User Reviews

The Surrealistic and Imaginary World of Terry Gilliam

In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) promises to the audiences a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus where dreams come true. In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina (Lily Cole), to the midget Percy (Verne Troyer), and his assistant Anton (Andrew Garfield), he claims to have more than one thousand years; however, when he felt in love for a mortal, he made a deal with the devil Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) trading his immortality per youth. As part of the bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on the sixteenth birthday. Valentina now is almost in the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus bets with Mr. Nick that whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony (Heath Ledger) that was hanged on a bridge by the Russians that explains why he had been chased and he joins the group. Tony and Valentina fall in love for each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his competitor is a liar.

"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is another original movie with the surrealistic and imaginary world of Terry Gilliam and last work of Heath Ledger that had to be replaced by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell in the "Imaginarium" to complete the missing scenes. Further, the trio of actors has donated their income with this film to Heath Ledger's daughter to guarantee her financial situation in the future in magnanimous attitudes. The duel between Doctor Parnassus and Mr. Nick together with the vision of the world of fantasy of Terry Gilliam is awesome. For those that liked this movie, I would like to recommend the also surrealistic "O Homem Que Desafiou o Diabo". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Imaginário Mundo do Doutor Parnassus" ("The Imaginary World of Doctor Parnassus")