The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Are you ever in the mood for something fresh and original? Are you tired of all the safe movies designed for the masses?Well, take a trip through the mirror of Doctor Parnassus. Terry Gilliam I like his films...Most people know that this was Heath Ledger's last role and that he died during the filming process, but what surprised me was how much he is actually in the movie.I would say around 50% of it.His performance is really good here as expected. He showed us that we were looking at a guy who had just begun to scratch the surface of his talent.Christopher Plummer (Doctor Parnassus) and Tom Waits (Satan) both turn in equally excellent acting showcases. Even newcomer Lily Cole does a good job. Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell fill in the gaps that Ledger could obviously not. Depp gets the least amount of time, but all three bring the right amount skill to each "tribute" version of Ledger's character. Since Ledger was able to film all the reality parts before his death, his ever changing look could easily be explained in the fantasy realm.I think most who give it a shot will find themselves lost in the the mind of one Dr Parnassus and love it. :-)The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is first and foremost a Terry Gilliam film, which could make or break the overall experience for you. Gilliam has a very specific style that is best described as an LSD trip with a more cohesive story. His films are usually incredibly visual, are wrapped around a unique story, and above all else spectacularly weird. The one thing his films can always guarantee though is originality. Doctor Parnassus is very similar to Gilliam's The Brother's Grimm, which also starred Heath Ledger. At least as far as visuals go. So if you're not a fan of other Gilliam films like Time Bandits, Baron Manchausen, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Brothers Grimm, or Tideland among others, then it's safe to say you probably won't enjoy this film.The other piece of information that's worth knowing going into this is to not expect much Heath Ledger. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell were brought in for a reason. You're left wanting more, which is probably a good thing. It's not a stab at Depp, Law, or Ferrell as they all portrayed Tony pretty flawlessly. Ledger is around long enough to show potential. He has a few standout scenes and a great speech or two. Then he's gone. Out of the three actors that also played Tony, Depp did the best job. When you first see Johnny Depp as Tony, he still looks like Heath Ledger. His actions, his body language, his dialogue, it all feels like the same character. Without giving too much away, it feels as if Tony changed every time he stepped through the mirror. Well, that's not entirely true. It's more like Tony's true nature was revealed more and more with each transformation.

What hurdles has Terry Gilliam had to hop during his long and remarkable career? One has but to watch "Lost in La Mancha" to catch a glimpse. Then Heath Ledger croaks while this one is well into production. Not to worry, a crew of notables headed up by the thrilling Johnny Depp make a brilliant patchwork quilt of the role Heath was initially to play solo. Certainly would've been a shame to lose the last performance of such a talent on the cutting room floor.Having supposedly been "released" on Christmas day of '09, I was all primed and ready to rush out and catch this one at the theater, however, I can find no showtimes for it anywhere in the U.S. much less my own area. You can't possibly tell me that this film couldn't make money! Sheesh, market it as "The Last Performance of Heath Ledger" or "A Johnny Depp Film" if you must, there ARE plenty of people out there longing to have more cinematic options than all that glitzy, chintz mediocrity they continuously flood the theater complexes with. Alas, Dr. Parnassus seems to have met the same fate of many recent films which attempt to supercede the limitations of standard mainstream fare-- the money brokers/film distributors won't release them to the "general public"! Well, I for one, feel more than a bit cheated, much as I was when I couldn't find any listings for the much-heralded film, "The Road" starring Viggio Mortensen that was supposedly "released Thanksgiving Day. It's not as if such a film couldn't make money, all you'd have to do is market it as a film featuring blood-thirsty cannibals in a post-apocalyptic setting and people would come out in droves, am I right? I mean, how many people came out to see 2012 just on the premise that it would show the destruction of this modern-day, nightmare world? So what are the REAL motives for keeping such films locked away from our prying eyes? Anyone with keener insight into the methods and rationale employed in this matter, feel free to leave me a comment. I have heard rumors that Gilliam is now ready to once again embark on his Quiote epic. Could this really be true? I will keep my fingers and toes crossed.

Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) ist Inhaber eines Wandertheaters, das man von der Optik her irgendwo im 19. Jahrhundert verorten würde. Tatsächlich ist er damit aber im modernen London unterwegs, zu seiner Truppe gehören seine Tochter Valentina (Lily Cole), der junge Anton (Andrew Garfield) und der kleinwüchsige Percy (Verne Troyer). Auf großes Interesse der Zuschauer trifft das Theater heute nicht mehr, doch was keiner von ihnen vorher weiß: Tritt man durch einen Spielgelvorhang, der auf der Bühne steht, gelangt man in eine Welt, die aus der Fantasie des Besuchers geformt ist. In dieser wird man schließlich mit seinem größten Laster konfrontiert und hat die Wahl, ob man diesem entsagen oder sich ihm hingeben möchte. Das geht zurück auf gleich mehrere Wetten, die der eigentlich schon mehrere hundert Jahre alte Dr. Parnassus mit dem Teufel, auch bekannt als Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), laufen hat - und einer der Einsätze ist die Seele von Valentina, die davon aber nichts weiß. Eines Tages entdeckt die Theatergruppe einen unter einer Brücke erhängten Mann (Heath Ledger, später auch Johnny Depp, Jude Law und Colin Farrell), der sich als noch nicht tot erweist. Jedoch hat er sein Gedächtnis verloren und schließt sich der Gruppe an. Es gelingt ihm, relativ viele Zuschauer zum Theater zu locken - doch auch er selbst erfährt hinter dem Spiegel etwas über sich, und das ist nicht unbedingt angenehm...Das Kabinett des Doktor Parnassus (Originaltitel: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) ist ein 2009 erschienener Fantasyfilm von Terry Gilliam (Regie, zum Teil Drehbuch). Wer sich mit Gilliams Werken auskennt, der weiß, dass diese eigenwillig und mal mehr, mal weniger abgedreht sind: Brazil, Twelve Monkeys und Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas gehören etwa dazu - ganz zu schweigen von den Filmen, die er mit seiner berühmten Comedy-Truppe Monty Python gedreht hat. Und so ist auch Das Kabinett des Doktor Parnassus kein gewöhnlicher Film, er trägt eindeutig Gilliams Handschrift. Das geht bei dem eigenwilligen Look los und über die schrulligen Charaktere bis hin zu der fantasievollen Story. Bei der liegt sozusagen aber auch der Hase im Pfeffer: An sich ist die Geschichte interessant und originell gemacht, sie verliert sich mit der Zeit jedoch im völligen Wirrwarr, so dass man zum Ende hin nach einem roten Faden sucht, diesen aber nicht mehr findet. Die Schauspieler agieren wirklich gut, ihnen gegenüber stehen allerdings CGI-Effekte, die auch im Jahr 2009 schon wahrlich nicht gut ausgesehen haben. Clever ist hingegen die Idee, Tony, den Mann ohne Gedächtnis, hinter dem Spiegel von anderen Darstellern verkörpern zu lassen. Urpsrünglich war das so nicht geplant, aber da Heath Ledger während der Dreharbeiten verstarb, musste sich Gilliam etwas einfallen lassen.Wie dem auch sei, Das Kabinett des Doktor Parnassus ist sicherlich kein schlechter Film - und vor allem ist er einfach mal was anderes. Leider hat er so seine Schwächen, hier wäre meiner Ansicht nach mehr drin gewesen. Bei der Blu-ray gehen Bild und Ton in Ordnung, auch das Bonusmaterial kann sich sehen lassen.

Sicuramente non tra i film più riusciti di Terry Gilliam, costretto a profondi rimaneggiamenti dalla morte di uno dei protagonisti a riprese ancora non completate, ma anche alle prese con un argomento più grande delle sue capacità.Un diavolo filosofo e piuttosto bonaccione aiuta un dio assai materialista e in crisi a farsi da parte e lasciare l'umanità ai suoi affari.A dispetto di una messa in scena brillante, per non dire fantasmagorica, il film, che risente senza sposarli in pieno di molti miti ripresi da varie culture religiose, mantiene un andamento ondivago e, a dispetto di molte idee geniali buttate là (come quella dell'eterno raccolto, del carrozzone antico in stridente contrasto con la città moderna, del diavolo rispettoso di regole e tutore del diritto, dell'immaginarium, delle scelte che si presentano, ...), lascia un'impressione di fondo di incompletezza, come se l'autore non avesse voluto o potuto risolvere i vari spunti, e rimane fondamentalmente ambiguo nel suo percorso nei suoi esiti.

Una cinta arriesgada, creativa, personal e imprescindible para cinéfilos, concretamente para amantes del cine de autor, y en este caso de Terry Gilliam. Conseguir sus producciones no es tan fácil teniendo en cuenta que su "imaginario cinematográfico" es muy especial y no es cine de evasión para mayorías, de modo que tener esta es un lujo. Esta versión en con distintos idiomas y subtitulaciones además está muy completa. Totalmente satisfecha con el producto y el servicio.

Ein visuell beeindruckender Film, der mit einer Hand von Stars gespickt ist. Nicht zuletzt durch den Tot von Heath Ledger, kamen Stars wie Johnny Depp, Jude Lwa oder Collin Ferrell hinzu, die die selbe Rolle in 3 Verwandlungen innerhalb de Films übernahmen, da der Tot den Schauspieler (viel zu früh verstorben) mitten in den Film pasierte.Der Film selber ist gut, die Story langgezogen und leicht verwirrend, intellektuell etwas zu hoch angesetzt und man muss viel Denken, was das Filmerlebnis etwas trügt, gerade beim ersten Schauen.Im Ganzen ist der Film, ob Szenerie, Design, Kostüme sehr gut gelungen, lediglich die mangelhafte Story und das etwas lahme Ende ziehen dem Film ein paar Sterne ab... um das Erbe von Heath Ledger zu ehren, dennoch allemal einen Einblick wert!

Londra, Inghilterra. Il Dottor Parnassus capo della compagnia teatrale "The Imaginarium" gira per i quartieri della città col suo carrozzone, offrendo al pubblico l'opportunità di vivere i propri sogni entrando in uno specchio magico. Il potere dello specchio dipende da un antico patto stretto col diavolo, Mr. Nick, che in cambio della vita eterna di Parnassus vuole sua figlia, Valentina, al compimento del suo sedicesimo compleanno. Durante il loro girovagare si imbattono in un uomo impiccato sotto il ponte, Tony Shepherd che viene salvato in extremis, ma che non ricorda nulla del suo passato. Unitosi alla compagnia, il giovane misterioso contribuirà non poco al succedersi degli eventi, dato che il diavolo offre un'ultima possibilità a Parnassus di riavere sua figlia: il primo dei due che riuscirà a sedurre cinque anime attraverso lo specchio avrà Valentina. Un film salito agli onori della cronaca a causa della tragica scomparsa, durante una pausa della lavorazione, di Heath Ledger. Il regista Terry Gilliam decide di proseguire le riprese e, dal momento che le scene girate in esterno sono già tutte state fatte, decide di avvalersi di altri tre attori per quelle dietro lo specchio, dove in fin dei conti tutto è possibile, anche una minima trasformazione del personaggio. E devo dire che l'effetto è riuscito. E' un film visionario e onirico, può sembrare caotico, ma la trama c'è eccome e la storia è tutt'altro che banale. Il patto col diavolo, dare per avere, il raggiungimento dei nostri sogni, la scelta che sempre abbiamo nella vita. Percorrere la strada giusta, faticosa e in salita o percorrere quella più facile, comoda e in discesa? In fin dei conti anche noi possiamo influenzare molto il nostro destino. Ottimo il cast di attori, tra cui primeggia il protagonista, Ledger. affiancato da Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits (Mr. Nick) e Andrew Garfield nuova promessa del cinema. Oltre a Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell e Jude Law che hanno interpretato le tre versioni di Tony. Nutriti extra per questo film con un particolare occhio di riguardo al prematuramente scomparso Heath Ledger. Bellissime la scenografia e le ambientazioni, supportate da un ottimo BD.