Interesting concept, but flawed theology, tiresome slapstick, and pointless soft pornographic interludes.

Fun for all ages. The story centers on a boy being visited by dwarfs that are stealing things of value from history via a time portal. He joins them for the sake of an adventure away from his domineering parents and they are all chased from historical events by a variety of famous histoical figures. Some great acting and cameos from the stars listed below:

John Cleese ... Robin Hood
Sean Connery ... King Agamemnon/Fireman
Shelley Duvall ... Pansy
Katherine Helmond ... Mrs. Ogre
Ian Holm ... Napoleon
Michael Palin ... Vincent
Ralph Richardson ... Supreme Being
Peter Vaughan ... Winston the Ogre
David Warner ... Evil Genius
David Rappaport ... Randall
Kenny Baker ... Fidgit

Great comedy and wonderful sets make this a step above many adventure movies. Definitely a very imaginative story. I recommend it for the whole family. Some of the Monty Python crew are in it.

Please read the technical details on this DVD. The DVD I received had one disc with no extras. It is Widescreen format. Good quality Widescreen DVD but the Anchor Bay Edition I bought does not contain any extras.

In view of the sheer output of Monty Python, the term "Monty Python" could be interpreted to mean an entire genre. The Meaning of Life, for example, is one of the finest offerings that Monty Python has bequeathed upon humanity. The first 20 minutes of The Meaning of Life is, arguably, the most astonishing 20 minute sequence in the entire history of film. The Meaning of Life deserves at least 5 stars. But movie under review, Time Bandits, deserves no more than 3 stars. First of all, the videotape is unconscionably blurry. Unlike films such as As Good As It Gets or Sleepless in Seattle, which can be enjoyed as a radio show, Time Bandits derives its attraction from its visuals, e.g., period costumes and science fiction special effects. Hence, much is lost in the videotape. And for that matter, unless you have a high definition television, much would also be lost with viewing from a DVD and an ordinary TV. Time Bandits really cannot compete with other fantasy and science fiction movies from the early 1980s. Time Bandits was released during the same time frame as, e.g., Indian Jones, Superman, and Poltergeist. In Time Bandits, the actors materialize in different historical situations, and visit, e.g., Napoleon, Robin Hood, a Greek emporor, and The Titanic. But what happens during most of these encounters is not really coherent and does not make for appealing viewing. Most irritating is the finale, which involves extensive and arbitrary use of explosions and smoke bombs. Is there anything good that I can say about Time Bandits? Yes. I very much admired the extensive use of the Andante from Mahler's Sixth Symphony in the soundtrack. It was also nice to hear a George Harrison composition during the final credits.

I sat through about half an hour of this film. It was the dumbest movie I have ever seen. I couldn't sit through anymore. It felt like I was getting stupider by the minute. I can't believe that this movie would be made. I am sure there are a lot of better scripts that have been written.

This is a great movie, one of Terry Gilliams three great fantasies (though all of his movies have their fair share of magic.)

The one problem no one seems to mention for the criterion disc is that there were definitely several parts (most noticably the scene near the end where God helps them clean up the big mess) where the print quality was kind of poor, with white flecks in the image and holes in the film and everything. Definitely not something I'd expect from a Criterion Collection release.

Actually, the previous non-Criterion release, though it has no commentary, and is a lower quality transfer, seems to be transferred form less damaged film, and has fewer flecks and holes in the film! Still, this is a great movie, and a good DVD, with great commentary. And ending credits music I jsut realized is by George Harrison, awesome!