Time Bandits (Divimax Edition)
Picture: B- Sound: B
Extras: B Film: B-
While Time Bandits (1981) may not be Terry Gilliam’s best film, it
certainly has had a following over the years.
Perhaps its biggest downfall is that its mentality appeals to a younger
audience, while it’s overall design and storyline are more adult natured. This would be Gilliam’s first real adventure
into the world of fantasy only to be followed up by Brazil (1985) and Twelve
Monkeys (1996). Gilliam has been
highly influenced by Italian director Federico Fellini, in that his films
revolve around the world that just borders Fantasy and Science Fiction. Both Gilliam and Fellini have ideals about
escapism and existentialism that pops up from time to time.
That brings us to Time Bandits, which would involve the
idea of crime against time, in other words being able to transport through time
to make changes in order to better the future, or does it better the
future? Now rather than take the Spielberg
approach and tell the story through the eyes of a child, Gilliam supported the
child role with a bunch of dwarves, which makes for an out of the ordinary
partnership as they are the same size as the child, yet are grown up. By doing so the story has validity more than
just through the eyes of just the child.
Movies in the tradition of E.T.
The Extra Terrestrial and The NeverEnding
Story are examples of why using the child as the main perspective can have
mixed results, especially when childish and child-like get blurred. Even the two E.T. cuts have added to the confusion. The
Princess Bride utilized storytelling by an adult to a child in order to
rework the story so that the believability or credibility is not lost.
As with many titles being
re-issued again and again onto the DVD format, this is Time Bandits third time!
Originally released by Anchor Bay
early on with no special features, they have decided to go back and issue the
film upgrading into what Anchor Bay
is calling their Divimax Series, which are High Definition transfers that
utilize the entire space of the disc, similar to Columbia TriStar’s Superbit
Editions. The intent of the series is to
offer optimal sound and picture quality as well as supplements, which are on
the second disc. Thus far they have
issued Manhunter, Halloween, and Day of the Dead (see those reviews on this site). Now, there is still one more issue of Time Bandits and that was the now
out-of-print Criterion edition (itself a recycling of their 12” LaserDisc set),
which was superior to Anchor Bay's original issue.
The Criterion disc was an approved transfer from Gilliam, but was a
non-anamorphic print cropped to 1.80 X 1.
The DVD version’s sound was too thin.
The print also had dirt and debris, aside from a very inconsistent focus
and softness.
So now the biggest
question at hand is this…is the new Anchor Bay
edition superior in picture, sound, and extras to make the Criterion Edition
obsolete? The answer is both yes and
no. True fans will always want both
versions because there are extras that differ on both. The main difference is that the Criterion
disc has the audio commentary with Gilliam, whereas the Divimax Series contains
no commentary. However, that Criterion
disc went for almost double what this new edition does.
As far as picture and
sound go, the Divimax is superior in just about every way imaginable. The picture is cleaner, sharper, and colors
seem much more accurate. Detail is more
in focus; black and white colors are appropriately light or dark. That is not to say that this edition does not
have some drawbacks and the film still could look better, but this is the best
thus far. This new print is not as
cropped either keeping much closer with the original aspect ratio of 1.78 X 1
(near British 1.75 X 1 widescreen), and does not look nearly as reddish as
Criterion’s print, but then again one must ask if this was a director’s intent
to begin with. It could also simply be a
problem with it having been meant for an older analog format.
The new Dolby Digital 5.1
EX mix is a real delight giving more depth and spatialness to what was a really
thin original mix of the film, which had a Dolby A-type analog theatrical
soundtrack in its original release. The
previous DVDs had a Pro Logic recreation, though limited. Going the extra mile, Anchor Bay
chose to encode an EX (middle rear) channel to enable a more surround
experience. By doing so the left and
right rear channels are able to have a more enclosed feel for those capable of
having a sixth channel placed behind the viewer. The only question at hand though is why these
Divimax (if their intent is to offer better picture and sound) that they would
not offer a DTS audio option and take full advantage of the higher bit
rate. The only title they decided to do
DTS on was Day of the Dead, which
was a nice touch, especially since they did the DTS-ES mix, which once again
enables six discreet channels of sound.
And now from the
extras! The new Divimax Edition is a
two-disc set with all the extras residing on the second disc. There are essentially two programs that take
up the most time on Disc Two. The Directors: The Films of Terry Gilliam
is a retrospective on Terry Gilliam and his life’s work with interview with
many of the cast members that he has worked on films with. The second program is more of an interview
session in which Gilliam and Michael Palin as they address Time Bandits more exclusively.
Some may find this to be somewhat repetitious, especially for those that
checked out Lost in La Mancha (see
that review on this site as well).
With the Criterion edition
out-of-print (with barely a few up for sale as of press time) and the
new Divimax offering far better picture and sound only those with a few bucks
to burn might try seeking after the Criterion disc just for the
commentary. Others will find this new
edition to be spectacular, not to mention cheaper. Remember that Criterion disc went for $35 or
more when it was readily available so who knows what some places may charge
now. It should also be mentioned that
the Divimax also includes some other little perks like a foldout map of the
Universe with liner notes, two theatrical trailers, and a DVD-ROM section that features
the original screenplay. I think it’s
fair to say that Anchor Bay has thrown in enough goodies to make this edition
a sought after disc set.
- Nate Goss
