Time Bandits (1981) Travels to the Criterion Collection

On December 9, 2014, the Criterion Collection released Time Bandits on Blu-ray. Terry Gilliam directed film starring Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, and John Cleese.

‘Time Bandits’ Criterion Synopsis

In this fantastic voyage through time and space from Terry Gilliam, a boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) escapes his gadget-obsessed parents to join a band of time-traveling dwarfs. Armed with a map stolen from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), they plunder treasure from Napoleon (Ian Holm) and Agamemnon (Sean Connery)—but the Evil Genius (David Warner“>David Warner) is watching their every move. Featuring a darkly playful script by Gilliam and his Monty Python cohort Michael Palin (who also appears in the film), Time Bandits is at once a giddy fairy tale, a revisionist history lesson, and a satire of technology gone awry.

Read the full summary, and listen to our film review.

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

• New 2K digital restoration, supervised by director Terry Gilliam, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring Gilliam, cowriter-actor Michael Palin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner, and Craig Warnock
• New piece, narrated by film writer David Morgan, featuring production designer Milly Burns and costume designer James Acheson discussing the creation of the film’s various historical periods and fantasy worlds
• Conversation between Gilliam and film scholar Peter von Bagh, recorded at the 1998 Midnight Sun Film Festival
• Appearance by actor Shelley Duvall on Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show from 1981
• Gallery of rare photographs from the set
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic David Sterritt

Cover based on a theatrical poster

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