Jabberwocky (1977)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (poem)
Charles Alverson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 April 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it

Plot:

After the death of his father the young cooper 'Dennis Cooper' goes to town where he has to pass several adventures...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Kingdom | Medieval | Knight | Cult Comedy

Cast

Michael Palin	...	Dennis Cooper
Harry H. Corbett	...	The Squire
John Le Mesurier	...	The Chamberlain
Warren Mitchell	...	Mr. Fishfinger
Max Wall	...	King Bruno the Questionable
Rodney Bewes	...	The Other Squire
John Bird	...	1st Herald
Bernard Bresslaw	...	The Landlord
Antony Carrick	...	3rd Merchant (as Anthony Carrick)
Peter Cellier	...	1st Merchant
Deborah Fallender	...	The Princess
Derek Francis	...	Bishop
Terry Gilliam	...	Man with Rock
Neil Innes	...	2nd Herald
Terry Jones	...	Poacher

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (1977) (cut) | UK:PG (1993) | Finland:K-16 (1989) | Australia:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Australia:M (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Bosherton Quarry, Bosherston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK

Company:

Python Films

Trivia:

To lend a more realistic bird-like look to the Jabberwock's leg movements, the monster costume was designed so that actor Peter Salmon had to wear it backwards. The fight between the Jabberwock and the Black Knight was choreographed differently than what we see, but Salmon slipped and fell, and director Terry Gilliam decided this looked so natural that he edited the fight sequence to include the fall.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the fanatics parade through the village, rolling a huge wooden wheel before them, a stack of camera equipment, partially covered with a blanket, can be seen in the background.

Quotes:

Dennis: I keep your potato.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in What the Pythons Did Next... (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Great Gate Of Kiev

A pleasant surprise for those who have heard it sucks

Terry Gilliam's fantasy satire (looks like a spoof, but it's a satire) is halfway between "Holy Grail" and "Time Bandits", and about half as good (which ain't bad). The wit is sardonic, and the story pretty well reverses every rule of the fantasy genre -- a dimwitted "champion", out to secure the hand of his 300+ lb. "princess" by killing the evil Jabberwocky that is making life tough for the local peasantry (but very pleasant for the merchants).

Great photography, decent production values. The direction is very good, and although the script's wit is shining, there are not enough really funny jokes (mostly it's stuff you'd have to think about to laugh at). I particularly like, though, how a lot of the good jokes come out of how the value of something is relative -- Palin carrying around a rotten potato discarded by "Griselda", which he prizes for sentiment, but which the townspeople want for food.

Superior medieval satire shows Gilliam was on the right track towards his masterpieces.