Year: 1977
Director: Terry Gilliam
Country: UK
Language: English
Jabberwocky was not the first film Terry Gilliam directed, that would be Monty Python and the Holy Grail alongside fellow Pythonian Terry Jones, but it was his first solo venture. In some countries promoters were confused and billed the film as Monty Python's Jabberwocky against Gilliam's wishes. Once he threatened legal action all Python references were removed from subsequent reissues.
A young peasant (Michael Palin), with no interest in adventure or fortune, is mistaken as the kingdom's only hope when a horrible monster threatens the countryside.
The budget for Jabberwocky was ridiculously small; according to the DVD commentary it was so small that they could only afford one corridor. Many scenes were also shot in a single shoot because they couldn't afford retakes and they borrowed much of the medieval costumes from Gilliam's previous picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Its shoestring budget brought about mixed critical reception, though it would guarantee the film made its budget back.
Jabberwocky is a bit of a mixed bag of comedy. At times the zany demented British humour makes for quite a laugh. I particularly liked the scene in which the princess in the castle mistakes the foolish peasant for a noble prince. Granted, during other times the pacing slows to a crawl and you feeling like yelling at the screen for the scene to be over. It has a great amount of imagination, but ultimately comes off as Monty Python lite.
Terry Gilliam would make far greater pictures within the same vein of comedy he was going for, certainly Life of Brian (1979) and Brazil (1985) instantly come to mind. That's not to say this film is a waste of time, there is certainly a decent amount of memorable scenes, but this isn't a "must see" within his own filmography. Watch it after you've watched everything else he has to offer.
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