Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (1 Viewer)

[Richard Gallagher]

 

[cineMANIAC]

After viewing a trailer for this I knew I was going to blind-buy it on street date and was ecstatic when I snagged an early copy only to discover the film wouldn't play. The usual trailers and warning menus played fine until the main menu appears, then nothing happens when you hit play. (I'm using Oppo's new BDP-83). I lent the disc to a buddy and he reported it played fine in his Panasonic. If this is a firmware issue, why do the trailers and pre-movie junk work but not the film?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

A thousand-year-old guy with a 15-year-old daughter? I'll have what he's having!

 

[Dick]

On what dvd or blu-ray might we find the trailer for this movie?

 

[cineMANIAC]

Originally Posted by Dick

On what dvd or blu-ray might we find the trailer for this movie?

2012 I think (this is the latest Sony BD I have)

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Dick

On what dvd or blu-ray might we find the trailer for this movie?

The Blu-ray discs of AN EDUCATION and BROKEN EMBRACES both have the Parnassus trailer. It's also on YouTube:

 

[Mike Frezon]

Just because I think it's so cool, I'm going to post again that the HTF's own Scott McGillivray posted HERE that he had a bit part in this film.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon /forum/thread/300112/htf-blu-ray-review-the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus#post_3685399

I didn't realize that, but now that I have looked him up I see that he was involved in one of the funniest bits in the movie.

 

[Edwin-S]

17 trailers on this disc but they couldn't include the one for this movie. I skipped this movie in the theatre because of the mostly negative reviews, but the trailer was the one thing that almost made me go and see it. Does Gilliam cut his own trailers? Because I thought the one for this movie was actually pretty good.

 

[Scott McGillivray]

Cant wait to see it on Blu Ray. Too bad my little part got edited so poorly. We worked like crazy for that little song and dance number and rather than show us, they cut away to reaction shots etc. Oh well...it was still a lot of fun. Jude Law was a really nice guy and Terry Gilliam is pretty much exactly what you would expect. A sort of kind, nutty, genius.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Edwin-S

17 trailers on this disc but they couldn't include the one for this movie. I skipped this movie in the theatre because of the mostly negative reviews, but the trailer was the one thing that almost made me go and see it. Does Gilliam cut his own trailers? Because I thought the one for this movie was actually pretty good.

The original theatrical trailer is included in the extras.

 

[Edwin-S]

So it is. I missed it when I read your review. More than once actually.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Edwin-S /forum/thread/300112/htf-blu-ray-review-the-imaginarium-of-doctor-parnassus#post_3685821

In fairness to you, it's almost hidden. I should have given that fact its own sentence. Sony has been doing a pretty good job lately of including the trailer for the feature on its Blu-rays.

 

[Doug Otte]

Originally Posted by Scott McGillivray

Cant wait to see it on Blu Ray. Too bad my little part got edited so poorly. We worked like crazy for that little song and dance number and rather than show us, they cut away to reaction shots etc. Oh well...it was still a lot of fun. Jude Law was a really nice guy and Terry Gilliam is pretty much exactly what you would expect. A sort of kind, nutty, genius.

What a memorable experience...thanks for sharing.

I didn't get to see the film in the theatres, but I went ahead and bought it based upon the reviews comparing it to Gilliam's earlier work.

The last movie of his that I immediately enjoyed was Baron Munchausen. I now revere 12 Monkeys, but it took years and multiple viewings for it to sink in. Nothing after 12 Monkeys has impressed me very much.

Doug

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Finally got to watch this film on Blu-ray.


I have to admit I was somewhat afraid that it would

go completely over my head. Gilliam tends to be hit

or miss in telling a completely comprehensible story.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that this film was

very easy to follow and overly entertaining.


Spoiler. Please read if you have seen the film:



When Heath Ledger died I remember reading much

about this film and the prospects of it ever getting

completed. There is a lot of footage with Ledger,

and he appears through more than 50% of the film.

It looks as if the fantasy sequences were the last

to be lensed so it was those that were affected by

his death. Gilliam did a very smart thing with the

story by establishing the fact that once the character

entered the fantasy world his facial features would

change. This allowed him to use Depp, Law and

Farrell without the viewer disbelieving the replacements.




It works beautifully.


Really enjoyed Parnassus. I recommend you give

it a try.

 

hello luis

i have bought and returned each of three copies of the movie, "the imaginarium of dr parnassus".

all three played the preview/trailers fine.

when it came to the main movie feature menu, nothing happened, could not play, could not make any selections

i had pressed stop and ejected the bluray disc numerous times for the three copies i had purchased

at home here we have the sony model number BDP-N460.

i will do more surfing to see if there are issues with that particular player.

so far this is the first bluray movie we have encounetered with that does not play

thank you

wesley

 

[TravisR]

^ If you had three copies that did the same thing like that, it sounds like you need a firmware update for your player.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Originally Posted by Wesley Torricer

hello luis

i have bought and returned each of three copies of the movie, "the imaginarium of dr parnassus".

all three played the preview/trailers fine.

when it came to the main movie feature menu, nothing happened, could not play, could not make any selections

i had pressed stop and ejected the bluray disc numerous times for the three copies i had purchased

at home here we have the sony model number BDP-N460.

i will do more surfing to see if there are issues with that particular player.

so far this is the first bluray movie we have encounetered with that does not play

thank you

wesley

Yeah, my player just needed an update. It was my first time experiencing a firmware problem so I wasn't sure what the heck I was supposed to do. I returned one disc only to have the second disc not play so I finally contacted the manufacturer (Oppo) and they sent me a CD-R. People shouldn't have to go through hassles like this to watch movies.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Oh, how I enjoyed this movie! I borrowed the DVD from the library but might add the BD to my collection, as I can see myself re-watching.


I found the story to be (almost) entirely coherent, though -- not sure what trouble it gave Ebert (and others).


To Ron's comment:


The way the replacement actors were incorporated was brilliant -- Johnny Depp, in the old woman's imagination, was "just as I'd pictured you" and Colin Farrell, in Valentina's imagination, came from the magazine photo that she loved. I'll have to watch again to make sure, but I think Jude Law was Tony's own imagination of himself. Only in a Gilliam film. . .

 

[Mike Frezon]

This is a film that has been frustrating me in that I have been looking for a good sale on this Blu-ray--either new or used and haven't been able to find a used copy yet (or that great a sale price). And I look almost every time I go near a store.

I want to see Scott's song & dance (along with the rest of the film)!


But I'm a patient sort...sometimes!