The Brothers Grimm [2005]

See Larger Image	List Price: £19.99 Our Price: £4.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Starring: Matt Damon, Julian Bleach, Bruce McEwan, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare Directed By: Terry Gilliam Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 8717418083311 Format: Dubbed Label: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2006-03-13 Running Time: 114 Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 2005
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Editorial Reviews: Fairy tales come vividly to life in The Brothers Grimm, a long-delayed fantasy/horror comedy that greatly benefits from the ingenuity of director Terry Gilliam. In lesser hands, the ambitious screenplay by prolific horror specialist Ehren Kruger (who wrote the American versions of The Ring and The Ring 2) might have turned into an erratic monster mash like Van Helsing. But Gilliam's maverick sensibility makes the film more closely comparable to Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, with the added benefit of impressive CGI effects and lavish (though cost-efficient) production design, making the most of a challenging $75 million budget. Kruger's clever conceit is to turn "folklore collectors" Wilhem and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, respectively) into 19th-century con artists who perform bogus exorcisms of "evil enchantments" while travelling from village to village in French-occupied Germany. The two soon find themselves ensnared in a genuinely supernatural crisis involving the curse of the Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci) and such fantastical marvels as the Big Bad Wolf, the Gingerbread Man, and a host of other truly enchanted (and not altogether friendly) flora and fauna. It's kind of a mess, switching from over-the-top humour (mostly from Peter Stormare as a manic villain) to serious fantasy involving the beautiful Angelika (Lena Headey), who proves to be the Grimm Brothers' most reliable ally. And like many of Gilliam's films, Grimm suffered from production delays (during which Gilliam filmed Tideland), distributor fallout, and several changes in its theatrical release date, but none of these issues prevent the film from being a welcomed addition to Gilliam's remarkable list of credits.--Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: The dark side of fairytales, but lacking something Comment: As a lover of fairytales and folklore, I watched this film for what it is; entertainment based upon the dark world of the Brothers Grimm, with a little bit of comedy thrown in for good measure. Although in ways the film could have been better, it did have elements that I enjoyed. The story is about the Grimm brothers, Wilheim and Jakob, two con men who take advantage of villagers and their belief in common folklore. Offering their services as what is akin to exorcists, they in fact create the monsters themselves before bravely ridding the town of them at the cost of the people. But then they are called to a small village where young girls have been disappearing from the forest. It seems, after all, there are elements of truth to folklore tales, and they are the ones employed to rid the evil that resides in the forest. For anyone who enjoys fairytales there may be much to like about this film. Along the way you see touches of the familiar charaters - there are allusions to Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella and Rapunzel to name a few. Rightly so, the film is also dark; both how it has been shot but also the atmopshere of it. This fits perfectly with how the Grimm fairytales were; they were not light and fluffy like Andersen. But, despite these touches, there did seem to be something missing overall. The comedy was very subtle in places, whilst in others it verged on the ridiculous or lame. The brothers themseleves didn't seem that well developed either - as they were the heart of the film, this was a problem. This resulted in the film seeming to be quite disjointed, more like a hodge-podge of fairytale references which rather than adding to the main storyline instead sometimes made it feel contrite and forced. Having said that, not a complete disaster. Customer Rating: Summary: I Don't Understand Comment: I'm not one to create reviews that are a reply to other reviews, but I'm feeling sorry for the poor guy who hasn't seen this film and would like to know whether to bother. The answer is yes, don't bother with these 1 and 2 star reviews, because frankly I don't understand where they're coming from. They must've seen a completely different movie to me. Now before I go on, let us remember that this is The Brothers Grimm, a tale that encompasses as many fairy tale references as it can. Fairy tale is the key here. If you're sat there watching it and you think "but that doesn't make sense", well neither do moving trees, feeling a pea under a pile of mattresses, or a walking, talking ginger-bread man. Quick summary; Two brothers, one of logical thinking, one of fantasy thinking, con villages out of money by pretending to vanquish witches and monsters. After one successful con, they are dragged to the authoritative figure of the French invasion who sends them after the people responsible for the disappearance of young girls in a secluded village. It isn't long before the brothers find that this is a real curse. To be honest, that's pretty much it, so what people are finding so messy and confusing I have no idea. Acting is pretty decent. I've certainly seen a lot worse. Okay, so their accents may not be 100% perfect, but this is a light-hearted fantasy, why should they be? The special effects are pretty decent too. The characterisation was good, I really felt for the two brothers, especially Jacob. Script was almost faultless. Agreed, it could've been better, but that doesn't mean it has any faults. A recurring theme - this film is not perfect by any means. The ending is awfully cliché, but it's a fairy tale, why shouldn't it be? The Queen appeared really late in the film so she barely got any screen time, which is a shame. The French characters were also pretty annoying, I just wanted them to die so they could leave the brothers to it. Give this film a try, watch it with an open mind. This obviously isn't for everyone, but from where I'm sat, 95% of these negative reviews are complete rubbish. Remember, it's a fairy tale. Customer Rating: Summary: a mess Comment: My heading is taken from the Amazon review - and it is, it was impossible for me to engage with this film. I liked the idea, and there have been some good attempts at taking tradional fairy stories and adapting them in varying ways. But this, I fear, is not one of them. Customer Rating: Summary: Glorious, Rollicking, Intelligent, Madcap Mayhem... Comment: This is a full blooded Terry Gilliam film. It defies easy categorisation as all his films do. It's a morality tale, a swashbuckling adventure, a wicked comedy, a fantasy romp and a horror film all rolled into one. It features excellent performances from all the leads, including an outstanding turn from Matt Damon as a preening, vain, overconfident con-man. The Bourne films clearly only use 1% of his acting ability - and here we get a full tour de force. If you liked Munchhausen, if you liked Brazil - then you will love this. If you want Van Helsing, a swords and corsets historical romance or you like your films explained to you every 5 minutes - then run away now... Customer Rating: Summary: A wonderful fairytale and fun too!!! Comment: I really enjoyed this wonderful telling of the Brothers Grimm, as they inform you in a behind the scenes peak on the extras this is not attempting to tell the tale of the Brothers Grimm so much as put the Terry Gilliam stamp on proceedings which I think it succeeds on doing very well. Both Matt Damon and the late Heath Ledger are clearly having a ball as the Brothers Grimm, plus there are some fine turns by Peter Stormare, as well as British actors Jonathan Pryce, MacKenzie Crook and Richard Ridings who all add depth and quality to the cast. The imagination that has gone into this film is wonderful, everything looks great too, the death scene near the end of the film has to be one of the very best and imaginative scenes I've ever witnessed in film. Let your mind flow and your body will follow, well worth taking a look at, especially if you like other Terry Gilliam projects. More Reviews