Time Bandits Blu-ray - Sean Connery

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Terry Gilliam
UK 1981

Plunging headfirst into history, director Terry Gilliam fearlessly brings the logic of children's fairy tales to bear as he navigates through myth and legend in a bizarre, ingenious retelling of THE WIZARD OF OZ. A boy and six good-natured little persons careen through time-twisting interactions with Napoleon, Robin Hood, and Agamemnon, among others, with a map the little people stole from their employer, the Supreme Being. But their intention is to rob their way through the past, which does not make their boss happy. Meanwhile, Evil is after the map in order to become the Supreme Being himself. The result is an extraordinarily visual extravaganza that overflows with Gilliam's ecstatic vision. The film is shot from a child's viewpoint, both through the character of Kevin and the placement of the camera. One of the morals of this thoroughly enjoyable, charming fantasy is that heroes aren't always all they're cracked up to be. Fun special effects and great supporting performances abound, including terrific turns by Ian Holm, John Cleese, Ralph Richardson, and especially David Warner as Evil.

***

In Terry Gilliam’s fantastic voyage through time and space, a young boy named Kevin (Craig Warnock) escapes his gadget-obsessed parents to join a band of time-traveling dwarves. Armed with a map stolen from the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), they plunder treasure from Napoleon (Ian Holm) and Agamemnon (Sean Connery)—but the Evil Genius (David Warner) is watching their every move! Featuring a darkly playful script by Gilliam and costar Michael Palin, Time Bandits is all at once giddy fairy tale, revisionist history lesson, and satire on technology gone awry.

Posters

Theatrical Release: July 13th, 1981 - UK

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Anchor Bay - Region 2- PAL vs. Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Anchor Bay (DiviMax - SE-2 disc set) - Region 1- NTSC vs. Optimum - Region B - Blu-ray vs. Image Entertainment - Region A - Blu-ray

Big thanks to Mikkel Svendstrup of DVDsnak for the Region 2 DVD captures!

1) Anchor Bay - Region 2 - PAL LEFT

2) Criterion - Region 1 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Anchor Bay - SE - Region 1- NTSC - THIRD

4) Optimum - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - FOURTH

5) Image Ent. - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - RIGHT

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Anchor Bay Region 2 - PAL	Criterion Collection - Spine # 37 Region 1 - NTSC	Anchor Bay (DiviMax series) Region 1 - NTSC	Optimum Region 'B' - Blu-ray	Image Entertainment Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:51:04 (4% PAL speedup)	1:56:12	1:55:48	1:55:54.113	1:56:25.678
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.23 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.80:1 Slightly cropped Average Bitrate: 6.78 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.38 NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 34,953,645,726 bytes Feature: 31,850,692,608 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1080i Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,223,096,383 bytes Feature: 23,149,234,176 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Anchor Bay Region 2
Bitrate: Criterion
Bitrate: Anchor Bay
Bitrate: Optimum Blu-ray
Bitrate: Image Entertainment Blu-ray
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1,Dolby Digital 2.0 )	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)	English (Dolby Surround 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX)	Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit	DTS-HD Master Audio English 4185 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4185 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	None	English (CC), and none	None	None	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by director Terry Gilliam (not stated on Box) • Ltd edition map • Dolby 5.1 Surround sound • Trailer • Scrapbook • Biographies: Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, David Rappaport ans Sean Connery • Film Notes • Dream Facts • Production Photo Gallery • Missing Storyboard Scene • Story Board Extracts • Interview with Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin • Hidden Spiderwoman Story Board and Photo with Script • Original Treatment DVD Release Date: September 30th, 2002 Keep Case Chapters 24	Release Information: Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterbox - 1.80:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by director Terry Gilliam, co-writer and actor Michael Pallin, and actors John Cleese, David Warner and Craig Warnock • Theatrical trailer • Time Bandits scrapbook • Widescreen letterbox format DVD Release Date: March 30, 1999 Keep Case Chapters 23	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • New high-definition transfer • AFI Program The Directors: Terry Gilliam (59 mins) • Interview with Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin (27 mins) • Fold-out map of the universe and liner notes • DVD-ROM: Original screenplay Two page liner notes by Jay Marks (and small map poster) • Widescreen anamorphic format • Number of discs: 2 DVD Release Date: January 27th, 2004 Keep Case (single holds 2 discs) Chapters 23	Release Information: Studio: Optimum 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 34,953,645,726 bytes Feature: 31,850,692,608 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with Terry Gilliam (2009) - 18:02 • Scrapbook • Trailer Blu-ray Release Date: October 5th, 2009 Standard UK (thicker) Blu-ray Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment 1080i Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,223,096,383 bytes Feature: 23,149,234,176 bytes Video Bitrate: 19.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Interview with Terry Gilliam (2009) - 18:12 • Trailer Blu-ray Release Date: August 24th, 2010 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 16

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: (August 2010) Image Entertainment Region 'A' - Blu-ray: Short story - don't buy this Image Entertainment Blu-ray. It is 1080i (interlaced) - and riddled with artifacts. Skin tones may be reporting more accurate hues but overall this transfer is a mess. It is single-layered but the interlacing is enough of a deterrent - we don't need to look any further.

Surprisingly though audio is 5.1 lossless and quite dynamic at over 4000 Kbps. There is also a standard Dolby surround and French DUB and no subtitles are offered. My Momitsu has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

The only extras is the same 18-minute Gilliam interview and a trailer - despite the reasonable price we say 'pass' - no reason to encourage this type of severely limited image transfer.

***

ADDITION: (December 2009) Optimum Region 'B' - Blu-ray: This is a competent transfer from Optimum and it looks significantly superior to any of the existing DVDs. There is visible, textured, grain, detail improves, as does contrast and colors seem to finally be 'correct'. There is even some depth. There are a few speckles here and there but mostly frame specific. No lossless surround but the linear PCM 2.0 channel (original) is clean and tight.

We lose the commentary but gain an insightful, 18-minute, 2009 interview with Gilliam who talks about the film production stemming from the frustrations of Brazil - and a lot more information as well. There is a 'scrapbook' and a trailer. There are no subtitles - which seems a mistake with the multiple accents possibly problematic for some.

The A/V is a demonstrative jump forward and makes the Blu-ray a viable option for those wishing the best available transfer of Time Bandits. It gave me a very satisfying viewing.

- Gary W. Tooze

***

ON THE DVDs

ADDITION: (January 2004) Anchor Bay Region 2- PAL: The image of the Anchor Bay Region 2- PAL edition is not as sharp as the Region 1 - but other than looks quite the same - similar colors with a shade more red in the PAL release - same picture area (no cropping). The Region 2 version does have some great Extras with a commentary from director Gilliam and a host of other small details including an interview with Gilliam and Palin. Extras seem best for the Region 2 - picture for the Region 1- and perhaps sound for the Criterion.

Well, its not often we get to criticize the greatest DVD production company in the world, but... The Criterion release is cropped, has too much red in the image, is hazy and non-anamorphic. I suppose its saving grace is the commentary track which I'll put on equal billing with Anchor Bay's fine Extras... The Directors: Terry Gilliam (59 mins), Interview with Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin (27 mins). But also the Criterion audio track was quite strong. The Anchor Bay SE DVD is really quite wonderful in the image department - the EX 5.1 sound seems to have some issues with its separations, but I found it strong regardless - just different. Great contrast and very truest skin tones in the Anchor Bay.