The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Terry Gilliam's tale based on the stories of Baron Munchausen, a monumental liar, and a teller of tall tales. The movie opens with a German town under siege by the Turkish army. Inside the town, a troupe of actors are putting on a stage verison, of the stories of Baron Munchausen. The real Baron Munchausen arrives at the theatre and claims not only to have started the war, but also to be able to save the town from the siege. He encounters only mockery from an incredulous townsfolk who dismiss the Baron and his stories. Whoever, the Baron continues, telling the story of the origin of the war, as the Turkish army continued to pound the town. Cannon file interrupts the play and scattering the town members. However, a young girl named Sally, daughter of the head of the acting troupe, press to hear the rest of it. She witnesses some of the Barons fantastic deeds and determines that he is indeed the real Baron Munchausen. He constructs a plan to locate his four superheroic servants and return to save the town. Bertholdt, who can run faster than a bullet; Albrecht, who is very strong; Adolphus, who can see for miles; and Gustavus who can blow faster than a thousand winds. The evil public servant wants him arrested for trying to execute this plan as the town pitches in to help him get under way. Sally becomes a stow away and comes along on the adventure as they escape the town via a hot air ballon en route to the moon. That starts the adventure as they engage in the tales of Baron Munchausen. The Baron continues to dodge the angel of death, going from being young to old and back, as they go from the moon, to the depths of the world, to the south seas, and back to the town. Here is where he and his exceptional servants, now old and weary to fight, must try to defeat the turk and save the town.

BIG Black

Visible crew/equipment: In the scene after the storm, the ship moves in the sand. Look at its front and you'll be able to see a wire that moves the ship. It's very visible.

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Trivia: Despite being nominated for 4 Academy Awards (and despite its decades-long cult following), this film was a box-office disaster upon its release, grossing only $8 million against a reported production cost of $46 million. Director Terry Gilliam denied the film cost anywhere near $40 million, and other reports place the total cost at around $35 million. But, even with this more conservative estimate, Gilliam went far beyond his initial budget of $25 million.

Charles Austin Miller

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Question: When Baron Munchausen and his cohorts clean out the Sultan's vault, the Sultan's horrified Treasurer crosses himself in the Catholic fashion. But, in this film, the Sultan is head of the Ottoman Empire (a Muslim empire), and the closest members of his court (such as his Treasurer) would surely be Muslim. So the treasurer's Christian gesture stands out as unlikely, at best. This seems to be a character error, but was it intended as a deliberate joke? If so, what was the joke?

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The Baron is a teller of tall tales and massively exaggerated stories, so it is all from his limited point of view. The Ottomans did have Christian members of staff, especially doctors and such but the treasurer would never be a non-Muslim.

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