The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Hats off to Terry Gilliam who, despite his status as perpetual underdog, managed to deal with the death of Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and cast 3 excellent actors in his place. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is actually sort of a fairy tale, serving up a visual feast on a diamond platter that I couldn't get enough of :)) Something of a Faustian theme, something of a Monty Python theme, and of course Gilliam's unmistakable signature with his incredible directorial sense – all of this is what his latest effort has so far. It has to be said that 4 stars in this case is a rating of a slightly different character – I don't want to go into greater detail about it, so I'll just say that these are simply Gilliam stars, to which I ascribe greater value than any "fives".:)) (26/01/2010)

What does it matter that the visuals are so charming and interesting when, story-wise, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is an utterly weak spectacle that, after a promising first half hour, gradually lost my sympathy until it stopped at the freezing point? At least the stars are visibly enjoying their participation, although I would be a thousand times happier if none of them had to help Terry Gilliam and Heath Ledger was still among us. More or less only for him, for Johnny Depp and for Jude Law I give the two stars (I don't mention Farrell, because I couldn't watch that long)... (22/09/2012)

Oh, the old fool... again, he forgets that for all the intoxicating gloss, veils and crazy shapes, the whole show sways precariously in an ocean of thought and narrative confusion. But can you be mad at him for it? You can, although The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is levels above the botched film The Brothers Grimm. It’s him again - the whimsical, wasteful, restless child and a collage maker of the impossible... However, despite the excellent acting, his last work is one of his lesser films. However, I cannot hide the fact that this quality is still damn good compared to others. (08/01/2010)

I have one unpleasant memory from the film "Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus", which is why I didn't see Johnny Depp in the movie. Yes, I mainly went to see the film because of Heath, who did not disappoint. I like how Gilliam dealt with the unfortunate situation. All the actors did incredibly well, and visually the film is unbelievably interesting, but that was to be expected from Gilliam. The screenplay does lag a little, but you go into it knowing that it will be more of an artistic experience rather than a popcorn flick. (06/01/2014)

I treated myself to another viewing of a film I saw years ago when my world was still all right. It only confirmed my belief that Terry Gilliam is a true visual artist. Admittedly, I wasn't looking forward to rewatching it, remembering that the story went slightly over my head. It turns out that I just needed to age for it like fine liquor. Nothing threw me off, confused me, or annoyed me this time, and I could enjoy this fantastic, wild ex-Python ride to the fullest without being distracted by a lot of unanswered questions. If the casting of four actors as Tony hadn't been a bare necessity and a last-ditch move, it would still have been a great idea, perfectly suited for this wacky film. My personal favorite was Tom Waits as Mr. Nick. It was a weird film, no question about it, but if you know Terry Gilliam's work, you know that it could have been a lot more bizarre. I simply had to increase my rating after all these years. / Lesson learned: I strongly don't recommend gambling with the Devil. (22/10/2022)