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The Brothers Grimm [2005]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Fairy tales come vividly to life in The Brothers Grimm, a long-delayed fantasy/horror comedy that greatly benefits from the ingenuity of director Terry Gilliam. In lesser hands, the ambitious screenplay by prolific horror specialist Ehren Kruger (who wrote the American versions of The Ring and The Ring 2) might have turned into an erratic monster mash like Van Helsing. But Gilliam's maverick sensibility makes the film more closely comparable to Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, with the added benefit of impressive CGI effects and lavish (though cost-efficient) production design, making the most of a challenging $75 million budget.

Kruger's clever conceit is to turn "folklore collectors" Wilhem and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, respectively) into 19th-century con artists who perform bogus exorcisms of "evil enchantments" while travelling from village to village in French-occupied Germany. The two soon find themselves ensnared in a genuinely supernatural crisis involving the curse of the Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci) and such fantastical marvels as the Big Bad Wolf, the Gingerbread Man, and a host of other truly enchanted (and not altogether friendly) flora and fauna.

It's kind of a mess, switching from over-the-top humour (mostly from Peter Stormare as a manic villain) to serious fantasy involving the beautiful Angelika (Lena Headey), who proves to be the Grimm Brothers' most reliable ally. And like many of Gilliam's films, Grimm suffered from production delays (during which Gilliam filmed Tideland), distributor fallout, and several changes in its theatrical release date, but none of these issues prevent the film from being a welcomed addition to Gilliam's remarkable list of credits.--Jeff Shannon


Glorious, Rollicking, Intelligent, Madcap Mayhem...
Review date: 2008-08-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a full blooded Terry Gilliam film. It defies easy categorisation as all his films do. It's a morality tale, a swashbuckling adventure, a wicked comedy, a fantasy romp and a horror film all rolled into one.

It features excellent performances from all the leads, including an outstanding turn from Matt Damon as a preening, vain, overconfident con-man. The Bourne films clearly only use 1% of his acting ability - and here we get a full tour de force.

If you liked Munchhausen, if you liked Brazil - then you will love this.

If you want Van Helsing, a swords and corsets historical romance or you like your films explained to you every 5 minutes - then run away now...

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Reviews


A wonderful fairytale and fun too!!!
Review date: 2008-06-27 Rating: 8 out of 10

I really enjoyed this wonderful telling of the Brothers Grimm, as they inform you in a behind the scenes peak on the extras this is not attempting to tell the tale of the Brothers Grimm so much as put the Terry Gilliam stamp on proceedings which I think it succeeds on doing very well.

Both Matt Damon and the late Heath Ledger are clearly having a ball as the Brothers Grimm, plus there are some fine turns by Peter Stormare, as well as British actors Jonathan Pryce, MacKenzie Crook and Richard Ridings who all add depth and quality to the cast.

The imagination that has gone into this film is wonderful, everything looks great too, the death scene near the end of the film has to be one of the very best and imaginative scenes I've ever witnessed in film.

Let your mind flow and your body will follow, well worth taking a look at, especially if you like other Terry Gilliam projects.

And they all lived happily ever after
Review date: 2008-05-14 Rating: 8 out of 10

Many of you grew up in the sugar coated version of their tails. Some have read the real ones and recoiled. Well we finally get the real skinny; this fine true to life movie is more of a documentary explaining the real Brothers Grimm.

In French occupied Germany the brothers Jake and Will Grimm (Heath Ledger and Matt Damon) are out to make a fast buck. And they do to, until they are found out by the French general Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce who played Juan Perón in "Evita" [1996]). Now force to work for the French or perish they must confront what appears to be a better organized group of hucksters, or just maybe the real thing.

Will they accomplish their mission and maybe find a new respect for each other? Or will they fail to save a damsel in distress. Can we hold up through all this peril?

Anyway this is an enjoyable film even if a bit too campy. And they all lived happily ever after. Well maybe not.



Not rocket science, people!
Review date: 2008-04-06 Rating: 8 out of 10

I suppose I can say that I enjoyed this film because I took it for what I expected it to be: entertainment pure and simple. This is not rocket science, folks, nor was it billed as such! Yes, OK, I admit that it did get a little long there towards the end when it felt as though they just had to cram one more fairy tale into it, but so what? It is not such a VERY great crime after all. Also, they were no extraordinarially acurate with the history...and, true, WHAT was the music at the end? Not German...not French...not even Italian, really...but, again, so what? It was great music! I think this was probably a bit of a "rest" film for Matt Damon...the hammy acting was SUPPOSED to be there and he did it quite well! If you take this for what I imagine it is supposed to be, you will have an enjoyable evening of it.

Digestive Problems Prove A Little Grim
Review date: 2007-11-03 Rating: 6 out of 10

Take straight and slap-stick comedy, a touch of thriller, a dollop of horror, a sprinkling of suspense and mystery, and season well with special effects, hammy acting, traces of familiar childhood stories, and what do you get? A lumpy stew that's difficult to digest and hard to quantify. Imagine something akin to a cross between Labyrinth and Sleepy Hollow written by a second rate Ben Elton and Tommy Cooper, then expanded (meta)physically by a tired Spielberg and given some snappiness by the likes of Aronofsky, with an acting style that shows the flair of The Young Ones, and you have a film that doesn't know what it wants to be. I would have preferred to have seen this film made as a straight and very dark supernatural horror movie set in a realistic scuzzy Europe of 500 years ago. What I got was a second-rate entertainment that passed the time but did little more. Pity. It was a missed opportunity.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Bruce McEwan
Julian Bleach
Peter Stormare
Heath Ledger
Matt Damon

Creators:
Matt Damon (Primary Contributor)
Julian Bleach (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
EAN: 8717418083311
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-03-13
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 114 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Dubbed)

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