The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
| 01 July 1962 (USA)
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A 20th century man lands on the Moon and discovers that Baron Munchausen has beaten him to it, accompanied by Cyrano de Bergerac and the characters from Jules Verne's novels about the conquest of the satellite.

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Lucybespro

It is a performances centric movie

HeadlinesExotic

Boring

Livestonth

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

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LJ27

I don't see how anyone will ever top Karel Zeman's version of this story. It's unfortunate that it is so difficult to find. It has a beautiful score and the execution of the animation and visual effects are flawless. Zeman's artwork is quite amazing and is the grandfather of the look in films that was yet to come with the advent of CGI. He combines animation, matte paintings and stop-motion puppets to create the world of Baron Prasil or Baron Munchausen if you saw it in the United States. Released to laserdisc back in 1989, it is now only available on Japanese Region 2 NTSC DVD. I managed to get a copy but it is not dubbed or subtitled into English but that's okay because in a Karel Zeman movie, the visuals ARE the story so you can probably figure out what is happening without understanding the dialogue. Some people consider this to be Zeman's finest film. I have a hard time deciding if I like this one better than INVENTION OF DESTRUCTION or JOURNEY TO PRIMEVAL AGES. In any case, it's a remarkable and unique film so catch it if you can.

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Tuttle

Zeman created a hugely imaginative version of the Munchausen story; he is a visualist along the lines of Georges Melies ("A Trip To the Moon") who, through his elaborate matte and composite shots, points the way to the boundless digital worlds of Lucas's "The Phantom Menace." Despite Zeman's trippy whimsy and resourcefulness with special effects, the film is mostly unengaging, due to slack direction and detached performances. The strongest elements are an exciting horseback chase sequence carried by a rousing score, and the Baron's perpetually pathological optimism, which is central to the story and acts as a hilarious counterpoint to the fantastic events in which he finds himself. Despite the film's faults, it has to be appreciated for Zeman's distinctive overall style, and how it must reflect the artistic sensibility of its day in Eastern Europe. (Interesting observation: the eerie Theremin chords which permeate the scene by the steamboat recall the same device used a few years later on the extraterrestrial sets on "Star Trek.") Zeman's style is said to be an influence on the work of Terry Gilliam (seen most sharply in his "Monty Python" cut-out animation). As far as comparing Gilliam's 1989 version of "Munchausen" to Zeman's, Gilliam's is definitely superior: more hedonistically fantastic, entertaining, and fun. For all of Zeman's craftsmanlike wonders, his version is indeed rickety in comparison, but must be admired for the heights of fantasy it reached with the considerably more limited resources available to him.

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vinniex

Unfortunately, I was only able to see the Czech version one time. But it made a lasting impression on me and I've been looking for it ever since but just can't seem to get my hands on it. It's elusive, but well worth searching out. I thought I had it once at a rental store, only to find out it was the 1943 Nazi version and it just didn't capture the surrealism that the 1961 Czech version did. When Terry Gilliam's version came out in 1988, it disappointed in comparison as well.So, if you liked the 1988 remake, you owe it to yourself to see the Czech version - if you can get your hands on it!

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BugEye

Probably the most charming of the filmic adaptations of Raspe's 'Baron Munchausen". Czech animator Zeman creates a wonderland by combining live actors, animated models, and old prints to relate the Baron's marvelous adventures. A tour de force of the visual imagination.

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