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From hellina_till
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From Filmofilia (Reveiws)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Reviews
Posted by Fiona 22 May, 2009Heath Ledger’s final performance in “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” directed by Terry Gilliam has been presented at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.
Ledger died after completing the real-world portions of the film. Gilliam finished the film with Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell taking Ledger’s role in three trips to make-believe realities. Gilliam’s first thought when Ledger died in New York was to ditch “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” which was only half finished.
“The choice I made was to close the film down,” Gilliam told reporters at the Cannes film festival, where the out-of-competition movie has its world premiere.
“I couldn’t see how we could finish it without Heath because we were in the middle of production. Fortunately, I was surrounded by really good people who insisted that I shouldn’t be such a lazy bastard and I’d better go out and find a way of finishing the film for Heath. That’s what we did.” I started calling friends, Johnny Depp, and he said ‘I’m there’. And I basically was just calling people who knew and loved Heath.
“Everyone in the cast and everyone in the crew was determined that this film would be finished and everybody worked longer, harder and somehow we got through. It was really … people’s love for Heath that propelled this thing forward.”
The movie closes with the dedication: “A film from Heath Ledger and friends.”The fantasy adventure is orchestrated by the ageless Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), who has the power to project people into their own imagination. However, the fascinating journey always ends with a choice, which can lead to the best or the worst. And Parnassus, as an inveterate gambler, has his own problems. Having won a wager with the Devil, he has made two successive deals with Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) over the ages. Granted immortality first and eternal youth next, he once agreed to deliver his first-born to the Devil when he or she reached the age of 16. And now that Valentina (Lily Cole) is only days away from the fatal age, the Devil is already prowling in the vicinity.
“…This is the purest expression of Gilliam’s distinctive sensibility in a long while, complete with outbursts of Pythonesque humour, entrancing dream landscapes, strange creatures, a dapper devil and a wise midget. It is an incredibly rich stew of a film and an often wilfully eccentric proposition for a mainstream audience. Despite the attractions of a stellar cast, its appeal will be largely confined to loyal Gilliam fans and those seeking a last look at the legacy of the late Heath Ledger, who died during the film’s production. The end credits for Imaginarium bill it as a film from Heath Ledger and friends…” ScreenDaily
“…The first shot of the actor is of him hanging from a bridge, seemingly dead. Dramatic in any situation, it’s particularly poignant for the audience…All eyes are naturally on Ledger’s performance for the time he remains on screen…
…It’s bittersweet to see him in the flesh and to hear lines spoken to him in the film about those who go before their time: “They are forever young, they won’t grow old.” It’s also hard to judge his performance as the film cuts between his replacements - Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. However, Gilliam’s multiple choices work well, with Ledger and Depp actually looking curiously similar…” BBC“Marred by shoddy special effects and half-formed fantastical conceits, Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” has the feeling of a comic fantasia desperately seeking to find its rhythm. Nearly abandoned after the sudden death of leading man Heath Ledger prior to completing production in January of last year, the final result reflects the frantic cobbling together of missing pieces…” IndieWire
“…Many Ledger fans certainly will turn out just to see his final performance. But it’s genuinely interesting to see how, under duress, Gilliam contrived to work the other actors into the role. The way it plays out in the finished picture is that Ledger’s incarnation of Tony, a man rescued from death who provides a possible way for Doctor Parnassus to win a wager with the devil, occupies the London-set framing story, while his three successors play versions of the character in the CGI sequences set in fantastical other dimensions. It all comes off well, without terribly disruptive emotional-mental dislocations…
…It’s 66 minutes into the picture when Depp first appears, and you have to look twice to make sure it’s him, so closely has his pulled-back hair, moustache and beard been tailored to match Ledger’s. At one point, Depp’s Tony conducts a middle-aged woman to the river of immortality and says that there she can join the likes of Valentino, James Dean and Princess Di among those who never got old, which serves to ease Ledger’s unspoken admission to that group…” Variety
“The first big question about Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” involves how the filmmaker managed to complete the film when his star Heath Ledger died in the middle of shooting. The answer is with great imagination and skill.
The second big question is whether Gilliam has produced something to rank with his great fantasies “Time Bandits” and “Brazil,” and the answer is sadly no.A carnival show with a mirror to the imagination allows Gilliam to employ his remarkable gift for imagery, but the worlds he creates will not take the breath away of children or grown-ups. The combined star power involved will generate a plentiful boxoffice return, but the film is neither intelligent enough nor silly or grotesque enough to become a lasting favorite…” HollywoodReporter
From the Huffington Post
Cannes 2009 Day Ten: One Bad Movie After Another
(excerpt)
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS * 1/2 (out of four) -- This modest fantasy feels like a mishmash of the usual Terry Gilliam obsessions, but less so. A traveling troupe led by Christopher Plummer as Dr. Parnassus scurries around central London of today hoping to lure people into their magical mirror.On the other side? A fantastical world of the imagination where you are tempted with a choice between your basest desires (a one night stand with Johnny Depp; a drink at the bar for an alcoholic on the wagon) and a more challenging journey towards true and earned happiness. People usually choose the base desires. Tom Waits is lingering around in bohemian mode as Ole Scratch himself waiting for the lovely daughter of Dr. Parnassus to turn 16 so he can claim her. (They made a deal: immortal life in exchange for his first born child.) The appealing Andrew Garfield is a foundling they took in that is hopelessly in love with her. Heath Ledger is a disgraced public figure/con man hiding out from the Russian mob. When he travels into the imaginary world, he transforms into Depp or Jude Law or Colin Farrell -- a seamless way of making up for Ledger's tragic death that doesn't seem awkward or affect the film in the least creatively.
The story is slight and uninspiring; you know you're in trouble right from the start because virtually every actor other than the leads is broadly cartoonish. But for me the biggest letdown of this mild movie is the special effects. Gilliam has been a standard bearer of sorts for old-fashioned special effects. You can feel the handmade complexity and detailed modeling that make Baron Munchausen, Brazil, Time Bandits and others so delightful. But almost all the effects in the Imaginarium are poorly detailed digital affect. You could call them dream-like but they're really just lazy and uninteresting. Ledger is fine in an unmemorable role with little resonance. We'll remember nis final triumph as The Dark Knight and celebrate the comradeship of the industry illustrated by the actors who stepped in to make this film happen.
From USA Today
Ledger's final bowThe movie world is saying goodbye to Heath Ledger with one more curtain call.
Terry Gilliam's sinister funhouse fantasy The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus premieres tonight and had an early press screening this morning, featuring the final screen role for the posthumous Oscar-winner -- a young man named Tony who gets entangled with a mystical family (led by Christopher Plummer) who control a portal to and from reality.
In a spirited press conference, the cast including model Lily Cole (who plays the Doctor's cursed daughter) and Mini-Me actor Verne Troyer kept the mood light with cheers and jokes for each other as they were introduced, but the serious question was the first to be asked: what happened behind-the-scenes when Ledger passed away from an accidental drug overdose midway through the production last year?
"The first and obvious choice I made was to close the film down," Gilliam said. "I didn't see how we could finish it without Heath because we were in the middle of production and he had done approximately half of his role, and that was it. But fortunately I was surrounded by really good people who insisted I couldn't be such a lazy bastard. And I better go out and find a way of finishing the film for Heath."
Alternate realities are a specialty for the director of 12 Monkeys and Brazil so he chose to use the film's natural fantastic twist to bring in a trio of other actors to play Ledgers character when he passes into fantasy realms. Those also added some major names to the cast list -- Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell.
"We discussed for a long time whether one actor could take the part, and I felt that was impossible and didn't think it was respectful," Gilliam said. "I didn't think it would work at all. And because we had the magic mirror (a plot device in the film) and Heath goes through it three times I thought okay -- three actors, that would be the way to approach it. I think it's more surprising.
Depp, Farrell and Law each got a call from Gilliam, explaining the situation with what was already filmed and what was not, and detailing how they could help.
"I was basically just calling people who knew and loved Heath, That had to be the nature of what we were doing," Gilliam said. "It was quite extraordinary. everybody in the cast and everybody in the crew was determined that this film would be finished. Everybody worked longer, harder and somehow we got through it. It was really people's love for Heath that propelled this thing forward."
Cole said it was "weird and difficult" working with the replacement actors after having already played opposite Ledger's manic energy in earlier scenes. 'You're mourning somebody but at the same time you're immediately going back to work," the model-turned-actress said. "It's such an unusual environment where you're presented with actors who are playing reminders of that character and that person."
She added that it was especially emotional because Depp, Law and Farrell "were all friends with him, so they were missing him too."
The director said he consulted with Ledger's survivors about the best way to proceed and they were enthusiastic about his final work, though incomplete, continuing somehow. "When Heath died, I went down to L.A. and spent a day with the family, and we started crying and then we started laughing," Gilliam said. "So I thought, 'Okay, this will be a positive thing. It will be a celebration of Heath.'"
He added, "I didn't spend a lot of time telling them my plans exactly, but they knew that Johnny, Jude and Colin were all going to come on board and they were delighted. So they've been completely supportive. And they haven't seen it yet, so there still is a surprise for them."
Gilliam said what was important to him was just finishing the film (he has had some fall apart, never to be completed -- such as his Don Quixote movie with Depp, a disaster chronicled through making-of footage that became the 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha.)
Preserving Ledger's work and not letting it fall by the wayside gave him special satisfaction. "I've been very lucky because, while Heath died over a year ago, I've been working with him almost every day in the cutting room so he's been alive and well," Gilliam said. "It's slightly different for me. He doesn't seem to be that long departed from us. He's just the guy I work with daily."
From AP
Gilliam says `Don Quixote' fantasy is back on
May 22, 2009CANNES, France (AP) — Filmmaker Terry Gilliam says a "Don Quixote" fantasy he had to abandon because of a series of mishaps is back on.
Gilliam says filming on "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" is expected to begin early next year.
The director began shooting the film in 2000 with Johnny Depp in the lead but had to shut down the production after a few days when a freak storm washed away equipment and co-star Jean Rochefort took ill.
Gilliam went through a prolonged legal battle to regain rights to the script, which passed to an insurance company that covered investors' losses on the aborted movie.
The director says he is trying to "get the money and get the bodies" to start production again. It is unclear if Depp will star in the new film.
From Reuters
Ledger's last performance hits screen in Cannes
By Mike Collett-WhiteCANNES, France (Reuters) - Australian actor Heath Ledger's final performance before he died of an accidental overdose in January 2008 nearly never made it to the big screen, U.S.-born director Terry Gilliam said on Friday.
The film maker's first thought when Ledger died in New York was to ditch "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," which was only half finished.
But encouraged by people around him to continue, and helped by actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell who played Ledger's character in three separate dream sequences, Gilliam eventually completed the movie.
"The choice I made was to close the film down," Gilliam told reporters at the Cannes film festival, where the out-of-competition movie has its world premiere.
"I couldn't see how we could finish it without Heath because we were in the middle of production.
"Fortunately, I was surrounded by really good people who insisted that I shouldn't be such a lazy bastard and I'd better go out and find a way of finishing the film for Heath.
"That's what we did."
Gilliam decided to use three actors rather than one to complete the role of Tony, made possible because they appear in a land of the imagination entered through a magic mirror.
"I started calling friends -- Johnny Depp, and he said 'I'm there'. And I basically was just calling people who knew and loved Heath.
"Everyone in the cast and everyone in the crew was determined that this film would be finished and everybody worked longer, harder and somehow we got through. It was really ... people's love for Heath that propelled this thing forward."
ENERGY AND AD-LIBBING
Gilliam praised Ledger, who won a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the Joker in Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight," for his enthusiasm and energy on set.
"Heath was enjoying himself so much and he was ad libbing a lot which I don't really allow that much ... in my films. He got everybody else going. Everybody was just energized by Heath, he was extraordinary, he was almost exhausting."
Ledger plays Tony, who is found hanging from a bridge in London but is revived by Anton and Valentina, members of a horse-drawn traveling theater which has the power to allow people to walk into a world of their dreams.
Christopher Plummer stars as Doctor Parnassus, an man who has lived for centuries after making a pact with the devil, performed by Tom Waits.
The devil plans to take away his daughter Valentina when she turns 16, but gives Parnassus one last chance to save her.
The action moves from the streets of London and inside the rickety old wagon to fantastical, special effects-laden landscapes that represent people's imaginations.
"I just know that story telling and the restructuring of the world through stories is vital," Gilliam said. "What I'm talking about is using one's imagination to expand the possibilities and the view of the world people have."
Ledger's family, who Gilliam said supported him completing the film, have yet to see it.
"What was important for me was just to make a film with Heath's last performance up there alive and well, and I think they're going to be delighted by it."
From Reuters
Deal-making gains momentum at Cannes festival
Fri May 22, 2009 3:03am EDT
By Steven ZeitchikCANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Cannes Film Festival is winding to a weekend close just as film buzz and deals are ratcheting up.
Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" makes its long-awaited public debut here Friday night. Starring Johnny Depp and featuring Heath Ledger's last film role, the adventure fantasy is expected to generate strong media attention.
But the screening is not just another media opportunity. A strong reception for "Parnassus" could compel U.S. buyers, who thus far have stayed on the sidelines, to step up with a distribution deal for the film; a weaker reception might give them pause.
Other deals were coming together as the festival prepared to close this weekend.
Sony Pictures Classics acquired Jacques Audiard's "Un Prophete," a mob-prison drama that has been discussed as a possible Palme d'Or contender. The label beat out Oscilloscope and IFC for the movie in a deal representing SPC's third festival pickup, or half of its six-film tally from last year's festival.
It was a good day all around for the New York-based art-house label, which unspooled "The White Ribbon," Michael Haneke's German-language pre-World War I tale, to one of the most enthusiastic receptions of the festival. SPC executives, who are considering replacing the film's German voice-over narration with an English version, hope to use strong critical response to the artily composed black-and-white film to springboard a specialty run and a possible Oscar campaign.
With most of the big titles already having screened, it's unlikely that there will be any blockbuster deals besides one for "Parnassus," though the Rachel Weisz-toplined period drama "Agora" remains available and could fetch a deal in the coming days.
From Cinetology
Early look at Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
May 17, 2009 – 12:27 pm, by Luke BuckmasterHeath LedgerDuring the opening ceremony at Cannes earlier this week a long show reel of festival films provided tantalising glimpses of yet-to-be released features, including a clip from Heath Ledger’s final performance in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The video, which can be found here, is almost half an hour long but footage of the late Australian actor only lasts for about 15 seconds, so if you’re not in the mood for sitting through an un-subtitled French ceremony and want to jump the gun to Ledger fast forward to 21:26. Expect to hear reports about Ledger’s performance begin to surface next week.
Heath LedgerThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus follows the story of Parnassus (Christopher Plummer), the 1000-year-old head of a travelling theatre group who made a deal with the devil to become immortal. One day a mysterious con man named Tony arrives on the scene, and this is where Ledger’s character comes into play. Production commenced in 2007 and Ledger passed away around halfway through the shoot. The film was put on hold until production recommenced two months later with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law joining the cast. They each play transmogrified versions of Tony who emerge after the character falls through a magical mirror.
Heath LedgerFrom the outset the film has resembled vintage Gilliam, director of many a fantastical mind-bend including lunacy-lavished classics Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Fisher King. In a statement seemingly aimed at fans soured by his recent work - namely Tideland (2005) and the much-maligned The Brothers Grimm (also 2005) - Gilliam has described Parnassus as “like the kind of films I made when I was younger.”
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has been slated for a September release in Australia.
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