Jabberwocky (film)
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| Jabberwocky | |
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 DVD cover for Jabberwocky |
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| Directed by | Terry Gilliam |
| Produced by | Sanford Lieberson |
| Written by | Lewis Carroll (poem) Charles Alverson Terry Gilliam |
| Starring | Michael Palin Harry H. Corbett John Le Mesurier Warren Mitchell Max Wall Rodney Bewes John Bird Bernard Bresslaw Derek Francis Neil Innes Terry Jones Terry Gilliam |
| Music by | Modest Mussorgsky |
| Cinematography | Terry Bedford |
| Editing by | Michael Bradsell |
| Distributed by | Cinema 5 |
| Release date(s) | 1977 |
| Running time | 105 min |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Jabberwocky (1977) is a comic medieval film by Monty Python's resident animator, Terry Gilliam. It stars Michael Palin as a young cooper who is forced through a series of clumsy, often slapstick misfortunes to hunt down a terrible dragon after the death of his father. The name is taken from the nonsense poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.
The film, Gilliam's first as a solo director, was not well received by critics or audiences, although it has since become something of a cult film. Despite its lack of initial success, Jabberwocky strongly established Gilliam's distinctive visual style and dark sense of humour.
The film is close in setting and comic style to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, on which Gilliam had worked. As well as Palin, Terry Jones also appeared in Jabberwocky, giving it a distinctly Python-esque feel, with many scenes (such as the "hide and seek" jousting tournament) heavily reminiscent of Holy Grail. For its American premiere the film was initially advertised as Monty Python's Jabberwocky, but this was dropped following protests from Gilliam.[1]
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[edit] Themes
[edit] Commerce
One of the most noticeable themes in the film is the importance and influence of commerce in making decisions. Dennis Cooper, after being gleefully disowned by his dying father, is unable to continue his work as a barrel maker (hence the name cooper). Despite having good ideas about raising productivity, the merchants and businesspeople he meets are quite unwilling to listen to him. Cooper moves from his village to the "town" (it is never named), enclosed by castle walls, in search of business opportunity. There he discovers that the guilds and merchants have complete control over what is sold, and that ordinary people are struggling to survive, let alone make a living. While in the city he discovers Wat Dabney, a legendary cooper and inventor of the "inverted firkin". Despite his obvious skill, Wat is unable to break into a market controlled by the guilds, and has cut his foot off in a deliberate attempt to become a beggar — an act so successful that he ends up cutting off his other foot by the film's end.
The top merchants in the town, though, are profiting handsomely from the fear the Jabberwocky monster has caused the populace, and are noticeably reluctant to help the King find a solution to the problem. Moreover, the Bishop is very happy that such fear has led to increased giving to the church and increased attendances at mass and confession. The Bishop is so unimpressed by the King's choice of a champion to slay the monster that he blesses the champion by simply flicking holy water at him with his index finger. The merchants eventually conspire to send the "black knight" to kill the king's champion, and are aghast when Dennis Cooper arrives back at the town with the monster's head.
[edit] "Creaking bureaucracy"
King Bruno the Questionable and his aide, Passelewe, are aged rulers in a castle that is falling apart around them: darkness, dust, cobwebs and fallen plaster lie everywhere. It is so dark and decrepit that the town outside the castle is refreshing in comparison. So entrenched are these two in their misrule that the only solution the king can come up with to fix the problem of the Jabberwocky is to emulate the deeds of his great great great great great grandfather (Max the Vainglorious) and set up a bloody tournament to select a champion - a decision that only works because Dennis Cooper manages to accompany this champion (Cooper, by chance, slays the Jabberwocky after the champion is killed by the Black Knight).
The "creaking bureaucracy" — a theme fleshed out far more in Gilliam's 1985 film, Brazil — also includes the inept behaviour of his herald, who is far more concerned with his own process of heralding than in the message he is trying to communicate - a process which eventually prevents the King from actually speaking, and results in the herald being executed.
[edit] Accidental and unconventional happiness
A major theme that Gilliam himself cited on the film's audio commentary is the theme of happiness from one's perspective. By the end of the film, Dennis gets everything a fairy tale hero would want (the recognition for killing the beast, the princess's hand in marriage, and half of the kingdom) all by accident. Also, all Dennis wanted was to live a humdrum life with a peasant girl, who didn't even like him. In the most part, he is forced into the stereotypical form of happiness, which would later be a theme in Brazil.
[edit] Trivia
- During the scene where the Black knight falls off his horse, a lorry can clearly be seen in the background.
- The man inside the Jabberwocky suit is facing in the opposite direction the monster is facing.
- Many of the props and costumes were recycled from the set of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
- Terry Gilliam plays a man who discovers diamonds in the woods outside the castle, but which are just rocks.
- 'Allo 'Allo! actor Gorden Kaye plays "Sister Jessica", one of the Blessed Sisters of Misery who attend to the princess. Kaye later appeared in Terry Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil
- A tavern in the town is named The Queen's Haemorrhoids.
- One of King Bruno's ancestors was Emperor Otto the Bent.
- The narrator of the film's trailer warns that it is so terrifying "No one will be admitted to the theatre until the last ten minutes of (the) film".
- Passel ewe can mean "a large amount of female sheep"[2]
- Dennis Cooper rows a Coracle up to the Fishfinger household.
- Real horse carcasses are used in the scene where Dennis and the Champion are ambushed by the Black Knight. The horse that the champion rides is visibly disturbed by these surroundings.
- Much of the crew and some of the cast (David Prowse) were working on Star Wars at the same time and hated working on it, saying George Lucas didn't know what he was doing, according to Terry Gilliam's comments on the audio commentary. Also, according to Gilliam, films like Alien and a Blake Edwards Pink Panther film, mostly likely The Pink Panther Strikes Again. In fact, Edwards had his crew burn some of his castle sets so that Gilliam could not use them for Jabberwocky.
[edit] Notable quotes
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Narrator It is the middle of the Dark Ages. Ages darker than anyone had ever expected.
- Dennis Cooper (speaking to Griselda, his unrequited love) It's lovely to see you again. I think about you all day long. I dream of when I'll ask for your hand in marriage... and we'll build that cottage. I'll come home, we'll have supper...
- Roger, Griselda's brother, walks up and begins urinating on/near Dennis
- Dennis Cooper Hey! Roger, what are you doing?
Dennis Cooper rows a boat up to the Fishfinger house. The Fishfinger family are eating noisily inside.
Dennis Cooper Griselda! Griselda, my angel!
Mrs Fishfinger (inside) Go away. We're eating.
Dennis Cooper Is Griselda there?
Mr Fishfinger Is that Dennis?
Dennis Cooper Yes, sir. Can I speak to Griselda?
Mr Fishfinger She's eating. What do you want?
Dennis Cooper I'm going away to the city. I'll come back and claim Griselda's hand.
Mr Fishfinger So you will, Dennis. Goodbye.
Dennis Cooper Griselda, I'm going away. Say something. Say anything.
Griselda Pass the potatoes.
Dennis Cooper I heard that! You are in there. Darling, I'm going. I may not see you.
Griselda Yuck That's rotten!
A rotten potato is thrown out the window. Dennis catches it up and looks at it.
Dennis Cooper For me? Griselda, you do care. A keepsake, something that will always remind me you. Oh Griselda, I'll carry this next to my heart until we next...
Mr Fishfinger Say bye to the boy, Greasey.
Griselda attempts to say something but only manages the muffled noises of a full mouth
Dennis Cooper ...meet. Goodbye, Griselda.
- King Bruno the Questionable is speaking publicly to the champion in front of the crowd
- King Bruno Good Sir Knight, you have proved your worth on the field of honour. And now you must prove yourself in mortal combat, with a monster so terrifying, so awe-inspiring, so horrible, so soul-destroying that even I would hesitate (uncertain pause) to meet it face to face (another uncertain pause) in hand-to-hand combat.
- King Bruno turns to his advisor, Passelewe
- King Bruno Was that all right?
- Passelewe (shrugs shoulders) Well, yes, I suppose so, my darling, yes.
King Bruno is eating a meal while Passelewe is advising him of the deeds of one of his ancestors
Passelewe With that, King Max rode back to the cheers of his subjects, who lined the road for fifty miles.
King Bruno (looking up from meal in surprise) Fifty miles? Do you mean they cheered him all that way?
(Passelewe nods)
King Bruno Wow! They certainly must have respected him!
- Man with Rock (Terry Gilliam) So, you've discovered my diamond mine?
- Dennis Cooper I was gathering firewood.
- Man with Rock Liar! It's diamonds you're after!
- Dennis Cooper Those aren't diamonds. They're rocks.
- Man with Rock Rocks?(smacks himself in the head with the rock hes holding) Quick thinking, but not quick enough to save your skin! The secret of my diamond mine dies with you!
- (Dennis is almost beaten to submission but escapes when the Jabberwocky attacks and eats the man with a rock.)
King Bruno, Passelewe and the Princess watch the carnage that is the tournament
Passelewe Another one on the maimed list. Probably dead by now.
King Bruno A scratch. Plenty more where he came from.
Passelewe Not really, sire.
King Bruno What do you mean, Passelewe, "Not really, sire"?
Passelewe Now, which part of this is giving you difficulty?
King Bruno Well, all of it, frankly. What do you mean by it?
Passelewe I mean by saying "Not really, sire," the true situation is likely to be, ipso facto, to the contrary, and the exact opposite to that which you perceive. I appended, because, after all, you are the king, aren't you? And that's a reasonable way of addressing a monarch.
[edit] Cast
- Michael Palin as Dennis Cooper
- Harry H. Corbett as Squire (Ethel)
- John Le Mesurier as Passelewe
- Warren Mitchell as Mr. Fishfinger
- Max Wall as King Bruno the Questionable
- Rodney Bewes as other Squire
- John Bird as first herald
- Bernard Bresslaw as landlord
- Antony Carrick as third merchant
- Peter Cellier as first merchant
- Deborah Fallender as princess
- Derek Francis as bishop
- Terry Gilliam as man with rock
- Neil Innes as second herald
- Terry Jones as poacher
- Gorden Kaye as Sister Jessica
- Annette Badland as Griselda Fishfinger
- Ted Milton as the Puppeteer
[edit] External links
| Films directed by Terry Gilliam |
|---|
| Monty Python and the Holy Grail • Jabberwocky • Time Bandits • The Crimson Permanent Assurance • Brazil • The Adventures of Baron Munchausen • The Fisher King • Twelve Monkeys • Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas • The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (unfinished) • The Brothers Grimm • Tideland |
