9 April 2008 @ 13:12The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The upcoming film by Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, has me very curious and eagerly awaiting its release next year.

Gilliam’s most recent film, Tideland, was very good in my opinion, but made me fidget in my seat a bit, especially as I watched it with my girlfriend (now my wife) and her dad. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean.

For those who haven’t yet heard the premise of Doctor Parnassus, here it is via its Wikipedia page.

In the present day, immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus leads a traveling theater troupe that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession. Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil, who now comes to collect on the arrangement, targeting the doctor’s daughter. The troupe, who is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony, embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the result of written collaboration between Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown who together also wrote The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Filming began in December 2007, but was disrupted by the untimely death of Heath Ledger who plays the character of Tony. Gilliam cast Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law to play the different characters whom Tony transforms into while traveling through magical realms.

With The Adventures of Baron Munchausen being one of my favorite films of all time, I imagine that I will enjoy The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus by the same writers and director. However, let’s hope that Gilliam and his crew won’t encounter anything else that might prevent the completion of this film.

Links:
The Best of Terry Gilliam DVDs
The official The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus movie site
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on IMDb
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on Wikipedia

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