Gulliver's Travels (1996) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Charles Sturridge

Writers:

Simon Moore (screenplay)
Jonathan Swift (novel)

Release Date:

4 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

A Englishman returns after a long time abroad and tells his strange stories about the lands he visited which are allegories about the real world.

Plot Keywords:

Giant | Horse | Sergeant | Surrealism | Horse Actor

Awards:

Won 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Ted Danson	...	Lemuel Gulliver
Mary Steenburgen	...	Mary Gulliver
James Fox	...	Dr. Bates
Ned Beatty	...	Farmer Grultrud
Edward Fox	...	General Limtoc
Robert Hardy	...	Dr. Parnell
Nicholas Lyndhurst	...	Clustril
Phoebe Nicholls	...	Empress of Lilliput
Karyn Parsons	...	Lady-in-Waiting
Edward Petherbridge	...	Dr. Pritchard
John Standing	...	Admiral Bolgolam
John Wells	...	Flimnap the Treasurer
Alfre Woodard	...	Queen of Brobdingnag
Edward Woodward	...	Drunlo
Peter O'Toole	...	Emperor of Lilliput

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements.

Runtime:

186 min (2 parts)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Ontario) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bridport, Dorset, England, UK

Company:

Hallmark Entertainment

Trivia:

This is the first screen version of Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel "Gulliver's Travels" to adapt all four of its parts.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dr. Bates is tearing pages from Gulliver's journal and throwing them on the fire the pages change position between shots.

Quotes:

Lemuel Gulliver: All the yahoo vices I can begin to accustom myself to once more. Except for pride. That I cannot tolerate. I see myself for what I truly am. I have lost eight years of my life... And yet, and yet, the moments I have had, the marvels I have witnessed...

Movie Connections:

Version of Gulliver chez les Lilliputiens (1923)

Danson's best performance

This is an exceptional adaptadation of the book. An all-star cast which gives merit and worthwhile to the tv-film and Danson in his best performance yet as a sailor who becomes lost at sea, only to return some years later a different man - a man who has learnt alot of humanity in his journey's and a man casted as insane.

Throughout the movie you don't know whether Danson's character is sane or not. The amazing effects and direction make it a marvel to watch. The all-star cast enjoy their roles to the hilt.

The sequences within the asylum are disturbing, as are Danson's twisted hatred on humans, and what they have become. And in some aspects the thought-provoking stories that Gulliver went through can still be adapted today.

For example the "we drink when we are not thirsty and eat when we are not hungry" is a typically haunting line. The social commentary which underlines the novel and indeed this film can still be used and adapted today.

This is a thought-provoking, well made TV-film that is very enjoyable, and I recommend you watch it.

My Rating: 8/10