Review of Jabberwocky (1977) by Max B — 22 Jun 2011

Terry Gilliam's first hand at solo-directing was obviously not going to be his finest. Enter 'Jabberwocky: a film which is basically if 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' had a completely different plot.

If this seems appealing to you, I recommend it highly. There are, really, no noticeable flaws with this movie. It just doesn't hit as hard as Gilliam's (and the Pythons) other work. Towards the third act, the movie seems to have already run out of steam - almost as if all the good jokes and ideas had already been used up, and the movie plods along slowly and with difficulty. The climax and ending picks things up, and leads to a very 'Gilliam-ish' closure.

However, the movie shows signs of Gilliams later imaginative spectacles. We see samples of his dark humour, and his creative visuals - but it lacks the sense of depth and adventure of his later works, feeling trapped within one location and running on a very simplistic plot.

Lastly - it is NOT a children's movie. Do not let the promise of fantasy and the PG rating fool you. Nearly all the humour is adult-only, and there is blood and nudity within. One scene which I am shocked that censors forgot about involves an insanely Religious man lighting himself on fire and being catapulted over the castle battlements. The setting is also bleak, with bodily-fluids galore. It is an excellent representation of the Dark Ages - but comfortable family viewing it is not.