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:

Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 11 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 | bet | immortality | dream | imaginary world | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport [fr] Official site

Country:

UK Canada France

Language:

English Russian French

Release Date:

8 January 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El imaginario mundo del Doctor Parnassus

Filming Locations:

Battersea Power Station, Battersea, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (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

According to Terry Gilliam, Tony wears a white suit because he is a "white knight" come to save the Imaginarium.

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Goofs

When Dr. Parnassus is following Valentina through the concourse two young school girls in uniform pass him. Moments later when he's outside looking in the window, the same two girls can be seen entering the library.

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Quotes

Tony: Nothing is permanent, not even death.

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Crazy Credits

A gold star for behaviour far beyond the call of duty: 'Ray Cooper (II)' (qv)

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Connections

References Mary Poppins (1964)

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Soundtracks

"Say It With Music"
Performed by Chris Garrick, Martin Robertson, Phil Todd, Jamie Talbot,
Derek Watkins, John Barclay, Neil Sidwell, Owen Slade,
, Dave Hartley, John Parricelli, Ian Thomas
Written by Irving Berlin
Licensed courtesy of: Irving Berlin Music Company

User Reviews

A masterpiece - go see it

This is Terry Gilliam's dark masterpiece. It's a brilliant film--there are fabulous, fantastic, surrealistic visual effects; gorgeous cinematography; and stunning performances by an amazing cast of consisting of both famous stars and lesser known (but excellent) actors. It's in the vein of the great European surrealistic movies like Fellini's "8 1/2" or "Satyricon". But--if you're not open to a mind bending, almost psychedelic fantasy and a plot with strange twists and turns that can be challenging to follow, this won't be for you. The cast is terrific--I mean, Tom Waits plays "Old Scratch"--how can you lose? Christopher Plummer is excellent in the title role; Heath Ledger's last performance is stellar. Lily Cole, Johnny Depp, Andrew Garfield, Jude Law, Verne Troyer, and Colin Farrell are also very good. The costumes and sets are gorgeous, though often in a dark and grungy way. By the way--it also ends up being a story about ethical choices in life and how some people are very misleading. Probably not material for a box office hit, sadly, as this film is probably too unusual for most Americans.