TIME BANDITS (1981) Revisited: Fantasy Movie Review

[@TheCoachBrendan]

I saw this as a kid in the theaters and loved it, When Was in my 30's I showed it to my friends' kids and they all loved it and still quote it now that they are grown. Now, I'm 51 and I still get a smile and a few laughs whenever I watch this. Such a great movie! Every actor did a tremendous job. When I saw Yoda in the original trilogy, I never once thought, "That's a puppet." His character was so well done that I was engrossed in the story, the world, the universe George Lucas had created. Same with Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits. Although the special effects and makeup were not what they are today, each of the actors did such a perfect job, that I was caught up in who they were and what they were doing.. I hope more kids get to watch this movie while they are still kids and not spoiled by all the 'lights, bells, and whistles' of today's modern special effects.

[@ICONICPARIS]

This takes me back to my childhood. I'll never forget this movie. So ahead of it's time. A true CLASSIC!! I love this movie.

[@theirishpotato6588]

Same

[@countofdownable]

Saw this at the cinema as a kid.

[@JonnyHolms]

You took the words right out of my mouth. Just can't believe so much time has passed. Man,I am old now .

[@ericpanissidi6761]

How much a ticket cost ​@countofdownable

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I loved this movie so much as a kid. This video really reminds me I need to go re-watch it as an adult.

[@bluelivesmatter719]

Same here

[@dk4evr]

@@bluelivesmatter719 And here.

[@brianstiles1701]

It holds up

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

I didn't get to see it at all until I WAS an adult! And it's one of my favs too! =) LOL!

[@judgeberry6071]

@LastOne155 Say good morning ya scum LOL

[@hideousruin]

God I miss how deep kids movies were back then. And they didn't shy away from having truly horrific and/or dark subject matter. There was just much more respect for the audience in my opinion. Anything for kids these days has to have all the sharp edges filed off and anything that might require minimal thought has to be thoroughly explained - usually in exposition or narration. Hell, who am I kidding, most stuff for adults these days is like that.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

Sadly, you are not wrong... =( =)

[@brianedwards7142]

Don't blame the kids. They are stuck with what adults heave done with the place.

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

@@brianedwards7142 Boy, doesn't that sound familiar? LOL! =) (kinda describes the plot of the movie too!)

[@centauri0]

RIP David Warner, thank you for entertaining my childhood. Such iconic talent.

[@-NateTheGreat]

This movie scared the crap out of me as a kid and I loved it.

[@archlich4489]

Ditto.

[@keithvoss9048]

A classic. One of the best films ever made, period.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

OMG!!! I used to watch this movie like twice a week when it was on cable in 1983, and I was 12 years old. I still love it, because it's so charming and unique. Ever since the first time I saw this movie, I find myself using the line "don't touch it! It's pure, concentrated evil!!"

[@ThinWhiteDude]

Fantastic film - Ticks a lot of boxes. They don't make 'em like this any more. 😥

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

Side note: at the end, kevin can still go back to Agamemnon because he still has the photo of the time map he used to escape evils castle!

[@moonkeele]

Yes! I'm amazed this video doesn't mention the post credit scene that replays Kevin taking the photo.

[@thricemindblown7883]

Holy heck, you're right. I was thinking this movie's begging for a sequel and you just worked out how to start it.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

@@thricemindblown7883 Kevin could go back, train as a warrior, then travel through time collecting heroes to battle evil's disciples during world war 3. Also, why does Agamemnon speak english? Lol

[@thricemindblown7883]

@@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat Totally. What else would he do? Except maybe a warrior/thief considering his other "father figures". It would be a dream to get as many original cast and/or Warwick Davis and/or Peter Dinklage on the team. Make the project driven by dwarves and the like. A "little people epic".

[@rottensquid]

Given that Agamemnon's wife ends up murdering him, I doubt that would have been a wise move.

[@SirSmoldham]

BRILLIANT! I saw this at the Egyptian in Hollywood and was so mind blown I called my roommate from the theater to come down and see it. BEST ENDING EVER!

[@thegadflygang5381]

I am so glad to know there are other huge David Warner respecters out there. As a very small child my two HBO obsessions were *A) TIME BANDITS* and *B) TIME AFTER TIME* ((a predictive sign of my future life pursuits in history and anthropology)). Both, largely due to the wonderfully frightening, although very different performances of David. He was oily and cruel in TB but even more frightening as the friendly psychopathic serial killer in TAT. I watched both movies on endless occasions and Time Bandits in particular was the two hour imaginatively funny and scary feast that a quite unpopular only child needed to make it through the day after a rough time in school. Great vid as usual (as a child I was quite put off by the behavior of "The Creator" (ie God) and his seeming ambiguous behavior toward all creation and death, but as an adult I do not see him as cold but the most realistic possible portrayal our feeble minds can conceive of an omniscient creator. The ending also made me cry for the first dozen viewings and left my scarred until one day my beloved Grandpop explained to me something similar as your take....... *"They aren't like your mom who loves you more than life itself. Not all moms and dads are good people, and for this little boy, this was his best chance for a happy life. Maybe the King found the time portal and traveled into the future to adopt him 😁"* My Poppop was a special soul)

[@Jjrmtv]

that is so beautiful!

[@jeanpaulmichell7243]

Cool.

[@ImReloading...]

From vhs as a kid to DVD to blu ray... Have them all as they released.. This movie has been one of my favorites my whole life.. Thank you for spotlighting this gem...

[@mjwbulich]

Same. And when they release it on 4K I'll be the first in line. Get to work Criterion.

[@MrRezRising]

I still have my copy of the script in book form. 40 years on my bookshelves.

[@vhagerty]

'Time Bandits' and 'Time After Time' are my two favorite David Warner films. ♥

[@MrRezRising]

1000% agree. Watched them both over and over.

[@hideousruin]

Oh man the memories are coming back to me. I had no relationship with my father and seeing this is a little kid I so wanted to go back in time and have Connery's Agamemnon as my Dad. I remember having dreams about that. Wow, I hadn't thought about that in a lifetime.

[@hpa2005]

Trivia bit: "According to Terry Gilliam, David Rappaport believed he got his part for his acting ability alone, without size being a contributing factor. As a result, he didn't socialize with his co-stars. During the Invisible Barrier scene, when the other bandits retaliate against Randall, the actors were expressing their frustrations with Rappaport." (from IMDB)

[@justindearmond1]

This was one of my favorites as a kid. The old man who played God was also the wizard in Dragonslayer (best dragon on film by far, no contest, its not even close.) The cow skull monsters freaked me out when i was young. A really dark kids film, which is probably why i liked it. Same vein as Legend, the Dark Crystal and The Secret of NIMH among others.

[@iliveinthe80s38]

This gem was the first on my list of favorites back in the day.

[@iliveinthe80s38]

It’s been 20 years plus since I’ve seen it. I’ll have to revisit this for the meta behind the vision of what this movie is.

[@maycontainviolence5587]

It's movies like this which is proof why 80's kids are just cooler and smarter then any others. Look at the films we watched! Come. At. Me. Brooooooo. 😁

[@attorneyrobert]

This was a great video, Jessica. Time Bandits was always on Cable/Satellite in the early 1980s and it is such a fun ride.

[@Rich-hm9ux]

This was probably THE MOST INSANE movie I ever saw as a kid growing up in the 80s. The visuals scared the crap out of me.

[@UncleJackOnline]

Im now 53 and still love this movie

[@davee.9906]

I've loved this movie since it came out. I was a young kid and I always felt like I was Kevin because he was just like me at the time. And I'm Welsh on my mom's side so we went to visit her family in London and Wales almost the same time as the movie's release. Which really made the movie feel like it was possible.

[@bob7975]

I remember some of the dwarf actors saying in an interview that this was the greatest movie ever for them, because they got to do action stuff little people are rarely asked to do in a film, running and climbing and fighting.

[@Quinn-jt6jo]

David Warner is fantastic. He was also a great Bob Crachett in the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol, and I last saw him in a small role in The Alienist TV series. He elevates everything he is in.

[@matthewdaley746]

Even, TMNT2, that film truly didn't deserve him, even, Judith Hoag, (who never had a career, before, or, after, the original), didn't return, telling.

[@jamesdenton3438]

This became my first movie obsession. I saw it in theaters approximately 10 times. Thankfully my mother was equally obsessed with Grease and could not deny me seeing the same film over and over.

[@wstine79]

I'll bet these guys were excited to play characters without creature costumes.

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, truly new experience for most actors, seriously, no doubt.

[@ShaneyBright]

David Warner is an amazing human chameleon of an actor. When he's bad, he's good and when he's good, his character gets decapitated. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, in, Time After Time, he was great, and, Malcolm McDowell, the, "hero," was paint-dryingly boring.

[@peterd788]

A wonderfully original and nicely silly movie. Something sorely missing from today's Hollywood landscape.

[@loganholmberg2295]

I loved this movie as a child, It also haunted my dreams.

[@DetroitAlan01]

“Dead? That’s no excuse for laying off work.” Ain’t it really like that, though?

[@James_Loveless]

Failed to mention George Harrison also had Songs within this Film

[@barttcounts8456]

This was my favorite HBO movie (after Star Wars) as a kid. Mr Ogre was the scariest character outside the old man in Terror Train to 5yr old me.

[@artpena72]

i remember seeing this when it came out, i loved it. Thanks for reminding me of good movies and not the junk that is made today.

[@saiyansomething73]

David Warner had one of the best lines in a movie ever! "Dear Benson, you are so mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence."

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, he was as charming as David McCallum was insufferable, it's a true crime that he got the worse career, an atrocity, no doubt.

[@UncleTermite]

Also when he said he wanted to control the world /people with computers …..looks like that actually came true .

[@kijekuyo9494]

This is very well done. Good pacing, good observations. And after so many videos with synthetic voices---a real human narrator! That really makes a difference.

[@Hiraghm]

Warner was also very good, imo, playing a bat-obsessed scientist in "Nightwing".

[@mooseman1071]

I always really wanted the kid to stay with Agamemnon. He would have had such a happy interesting life.

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

He still has a photo of the time map at the end and so can go back

[@nonamenoone1484]

I loved this movie as a kid, it had everything a lil boy could want in a movie. I had it on VHS then DVD, I have such fond memories of watching it with so many different groups of people over all these years. I just watched it again sometime during the pandemic and it still holds up today as a great movie! Thanks for the vid!

[@jeanpaulmichell7243]

Wonderful film. They certainly don't make 'em like Time Bandits anymore.

[@TheAtariCreep]

This is one of my all time fav childhood movies.

[@larryl3416]

RIP David Warner. His roll's played a big part of my childhood in the 80s.

[@neilscott9281]

//I saw this when I was younger, at school age. There was a special showing, where the star playing 'Kevin' was there for the showing, as for a marketing / promotion type thing. Good show, thanks for sharing, always good to learn more about the genius of Terry Gilliam. Anyway, best not touch any of thst evil, make sure it is properly disposed of... : )

[@Phaota]

Classic film. One Terry's best, next to "The Holy Grail", "Life of Brian", "Brazil" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". Sadly, there is stupid news that the undesired TV series is in pre-production with Taika Waititi, which will fail since it the cast on IMBd doesn't look good at all. None of them are even little folk. Plus, the movie was a slice of history that can not be replicated.

[@andyleclerc3600]

"Little things hitting each other...that's what I like!"😅. As a kid, not knowing much about UK TV, I thought YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE was a real show, lol

[@ahabgaddis7277]

Can't believe this movie only costed 5million to make (like 16mill in 2023 terms). It's so much more fun and cooler looking than using cgi. Gilliam really is a master at getting set design and getting a movie to feel right. Never saw this movie till now, and it holds up. It was good

[@thomastompion2667]

Never really thought of this brilliant black comedy as a kids movie. More adults movie which kids love. One of the best movies of all time. Totally agree about David Warner, great actor. The first film I saw him in was "Morgan - A Suitable Case for Treatment". Excellent from the beginning.

[@rmglover3191]

David Warner!!! Also the 'Arch Mage' in Disney's Gargoyles. I saw Time Bandits as a child. This video made me happy.

[@user-microburst]

This movie fascinated me when I was a kid. Now my kids are fascinated by it, too. There is something to these T Gillian movies so dreamlike

[@OmegaSeraphim]

gary oldman is hands down the greatest character actor in the last 30 years.

[@white-dragon4424]

Gary Oldman isn't in the movie. If you mean the gameshow compare, that was Jim Broadbent.

[@yoitsjustme3116]

It's the most beautiful thing in my childhood. Thank you 💎

[@DuckReach432]

That part where you noticed the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness is made of Lego, take another look. Off to one side, there's a giant, sloped wall made of black and white squares. Then, when Kevin is being rescued from the fire, you get a glimpse of his toys on his bedroom floor. The Lego fort. The tilted 'wall' of a chequerboard to one side. Even a toy tank like the one used by the Bandits in the fight with Evil. That blink-and-you'll miss it shot of the toy Fortress is just one of the brilliant details Gilliam used to blur the wall between fantasy and reality. Genius.

[@edvaira6891]

It’s absolutely ASTOUNDING that Gilliam was able to make this for only $5 MILLION! How?! This looks sooo Expensive, especially with That Fabulous Cast!

[@xikiyo2002]

Amazing review! Great movie to grow up to! For me this was the typical movie I always found already started when going through the channels and hardly ever saw the beginning of it.

[@soyburglar77]

I was 4 when this movie came out and I remember thinking after seeing it that the Brits definitely had a leg up in the humor game.

[@henchmen999]

This is like Baby's first Hitchhikers guide and I LOVE It.

[@RavynAngelDarck]

I saw this movie the first time as a teenager in a double feature with Brazil and I enjoyed it but watching it again as an adult with my kid, I love it!!! It's so great and we're going to watch it again on Thanksgiving

[@MendelsonShape]

It's great to see this movie getting some recognition! Although when likening the dwarfs to members of the Python team, you said Terry Gilliam was like Vermin, but showed the image of Wally.

[@heidihobear]

You should just do a video on David Warner he definitely deserves it

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, he's as underrated as David McCallum is overrated, that, totally, painfully, insufferable, hack, has, somehow, had a career longer, than, most marriages, and, several lives, despite, no discernible talent.

[@neilprice513]

Yes I agree David Warner is awesome! 😂

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, the most awesome thing about him is his professionalism, his effort never wavers.

[@garypotter5569]

Brazil is still my favorite movie in this genre, thank you for reminding me of that masterpiece!

[@uncledubpowermetal]

Movies with that episodic quality without being totally Takes from the Crypt; I really love! Like, Waxwork and and Baron Munchausen are some of the best

[@alleahsasseville]

David Warner is so AWESOME!!!

[@matthewdaley746]

David McCallum is, so, underwhelming, the good work he's, in, is, in, spite, of him, and, the bad work he's, in, is, because of him, period.

[@thecocktailian2091]

I never prescribed to Time Bandits being a kids movie. I suppose I saw it in my late teens when it came out, but to me, it was simply a fantasy movie from a brilliant director/comedian. Calling it a kids movie cheapens it, and that is a grave mistake.

[@white-dragon4424]

I think it's because it's a fantasy movie. Most adults expect you to "grow up" and to not have an imagination, but rather, ironically, to be more like the awful materialistic parents shown in the movie.

[@thebarbariansasquatch8108]

"Don't touch it! It's pure evil!"

[@noneed4me2n7]

Said it elsewhere I’ll say it here. Dad took me to this one as a kid at the drive in. Although he’d never talk about it later we used to love watching Monty Python, the young ones, classic and up till the twelfth Dr who together till he passed early 2020. Time bandits really stuck as I got a lot of commentary from dad when we saw some of these flicks, which was like listening to podcasts today. Plus a bunch were drive ins something anachronistic today. Edit: Gotta add red dwarf as I became a huge fan. Shout out to Diamanda Hagen who covers it extensively.

[@JessicaDwyer]

I have so much love for Brit humor and classic sci-fi. If you haven't seen Sapphire and Steel I highly recommend it. Warner actually wound up voicing Steel in the Big Finish versions of the series. Joanna Lumley was stunning as Sapphire. David McCallum played Steel. Just a neat series.

[@noneed4me2n7]

@@JessicaDwyer thanks but your too late😉

[@JessicaDwyer]

@@noneed4me2n7 a wizard is always on time lol

[@noneed4me2n7]

@@JessicaDwyer cute👏

[@tocsiccl.o.c.5175]

I saw this in the theater's when it first came out,,, I believe I was in the 1st or 2nd grade... Love it as much now as I did then... Classic

[@rabbidcow2135]

Probably 10 when I happened on this on TV. Young mind blown.

[@errantknight-f2z]

The Mycenae sequence was my favorite part, and I remember being so irritated at the dwarves for stealing Kevin away! I would have been perfectly happy for the rest of the film to play out in that setting and Kevin to live out his life as the king's adopted heir!

[@Swonder1972]

While already being a time travel and history nerd, I watched this in the theatre when I was nine. Since the main protagonist was around that age, I easily fell into the role play as lead actor. His fascination with the past, spirit, magic mythos left no room for material and technological distractions. A distraction his parents were blindly consumed with. Thus having no real connection with their son the dreamer and researcher. The child that reads and gets excited about subjects while his parents watch game shows. I never grew out of that realm. This movie is a symbolic doorway into the world I live in. The mind will be interesting if you let it...

[@cobykenobi]

I was 4 when this movie came out and it truly grabbed my imagination! They don't make em like this anymore. Back when movies use to be original, not just comics or remakes...

[@jerryschramm4399]

First viewed this when I was in my 30's. Outstanding. Brazil, and all the controversy over studio interference (including Roger Ebert making threats if the ending was changed) was a wonderful "sequel". Then came Munchausen. Great cast, wonderfully acted and directed, odd and strange in all the right ways- and really disappointing. Then again, there was Fisher King and Twelve Monkeys, but masterful.

[@GlennDavey]

2:43 LOL Josephine Blosephine is a real comedian!

[@FrankJGZ]

Rest in peace Mr Warner. Thank you for scaring me as a child, thank you for many years of wonderful entertainment and believing in fantasy.

[@JonnyPhive]

I was irrationally concerned about the possibility of medieval knights charging out of my closet after watching this as a kid.

[@brianlagrant9757]

LOL. Me Too. I used to get up in the middle of the night and push the walls of my bedroom hoping they'd move.

[@azforu29]

I used to rent this VHS so much, but all I can recall us a face chasing dwarfs down a hall. David Warner was incredible in Brian Yuznas Necronomicon.

[@mineplow1000]

Oh man, haven't thought about this flick in years. Thank you!

[@williamgreenough8350]

this movie has been very dear to me, when it came out I was studying art history at the time and I was a projectionist also, so like a kid on Christmas day as soon as I was able to put it together, I threaded up the projector and watched it with my best friend and we had a great time point out each time period of the movie, it still takes me back to my theatre days when I watch it to this day

[@brianstiles1701]

One of my all-time favorite movies. I was right at the target age when it came out, and was already into D&D by then.

[@Gothic55]

This is one of my favourite films of all time. Good review.

[@kendannon4435]

David Warner is awesome. I can't believe he's not voicing so many things today. Can you image him playing the watcher in Disney/marvel what if?

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, meanwhile, David McCallum, who got the career he should have gotten, destroys everything he touches, including a near-perfect Titanic IMAX documentary.

[@snapfinger]

Not just the Legos! Some of the toys on Kevin's bedroom floor are in the final battle, too. I liked what you said regarding God treating his creation as toys, and the backdrop of Kevin's toys really underscores that idea.

[@stephenpmurphy591]

Excellent review of my favorite movie! Thank you for such a lovely & touching deep dive into the glorious "The Time Bandits" I do like "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" "What will happen to the Baron"?

[@maxsteel8031]

*I love this movie, I consider it an all-time great, and in a world full of bootlegs,burned CDs and copies, I have gone out of my way to purchase copies in 4 different formats to make sure it's in my personal collection. A true masterpiece.*

[@TheGreg6466]

I wore out a betamax copy of this film when I was a kid from watching it over and over, loved it.

[@timgiraud7591]

81 was possibly the best year in movies ever… and time bandits remains one of my very favorites

[@white-dragon4424]

I've just noticed something extremely subtle in the movie. If you look very closely, you'll see that all of the furniture in Kevin's living room is still wrapped!

[@northernking4787]

This and “The adventures of Baron Munchausen” were my childhood favorites!

[@MistaP13]

Venger from the 80’s D&D cartoon always reminded of this movie’s main villain.

[@adampoll4977]

Agreed; David Warner IS awesome. He gives every role something special, no matter the budget or the production. I have a LOT of respect for career genre actors - they never feel they are ABOVE the material (ie Jennifer Lawrence in the last couple of X-Men outings...)

[@Adrian-X1]

Loved this as a kid! 80's had some of THE best films imo!

[@zombiehampster1397]

David Warner's role in Time Bandits...a freakin masterpiece, but of course anything he's in I'm game to watch.

[@rick9977015]

Lol, my brother recently made me watch this. He said how can you love the Barron Munchousin and not Time Bandits? Couldn't argue with that, so I watched it and loved it! How did I miss this one? IDK, but glad I found it.

[@tiffanyspencer1082]

Definitely my favourite Gilliam movie next to Baron Munchausen

[@carbine090909]

One of my favorite movies.

[@janezverbic2093]

-How long have you been a robber? -4foot1

[@LordSeth-hf8ew]

this movie and pagemaster were fever dreams of my childhood, i remember thinking if they were even real movies at one point they are so wild

[@Briansgate]

Still one of my favorite movies of all time. I have a replica Map on my wall. David Warner as 'Evil' never gets enough credit.

[@thecat5872]

A kids movie really I've never thought of it as such

[@Mayor_Of_Eureka17]

Great stuff... I still have a few I missed and this is one of them. Thanks for the reminder. Pumped to watch it now