Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1979)

60%

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Mess of a film, with some brilliantly-imaginative parts, that never manages to cohere into a disquisition on the human imagination that it should have been. Nor is there enough of a dramatic exploration of the psychiatric syndrome named after the good Baron von Munchausen. This renders the characters flat and rather lifeless despite the excessive humor.

The special effects look like models to emphasize the fact that the narrator is a fantasist and that what we see is rather unbelievable, but this is not enough for audience empathy. Nor, sadly, is John Neville's excellent performance as the Baron who is po-faced throughout so you cannot tell - clearly - if he is simply making it all up. A necessary demeanour for a compulsive liar.

Worse, many of the performers seem unsure of how to perform in this would-be absurdist masterpiece and give downright embarrassing performances. A notable exception is Oliver Reed who is beautifully and funnily over-the-top as a sexually jealous Vulcan - steam pouring forth from his ears.

Not as good as the Karel Zeman version.

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