12 Movies Directed by Terry Gilliam

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1975-05-23

Languages:

English, French, Latin

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

91 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

8.3 (346927 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Graham Chapman

John Cleese

Eric Idle

Terry Gilliam

Terry Jones

Michael Palin

Fullplot:

The movie starts out with Arthur, King of the Britons, looking for knights to sit with him at Camelot. He finds many knights including Sir Galahad the pure, Sir Lancelot the brave, the quiet Sir Bedevere, and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Lancelot. They do not travel on horses, but pretend they do and have their servants bang coconuts to make the sound of horse's hooves. Through satire of certain events in history (witch trials, the black plague) they find Camelot, but after literally a quick song and dance they decide that they do not want to go there. While walking away, God (who seems to be grumpy) come to them from a cloud and tells them to find the Holy Grail. They agree and begin their search. While they search for the Grail, scenes of the knight's tales appear and why they have the name they have. Throughout their search they meet interesting people and knights along the way. Most of the characters die; some through a killer rabbit (which they defeat with the holy hand grenade), others from not answering a question right from the bridge of Death, or die some other ridiculous way. In the end, King Arthur and Sir Bedevere are left and find the Castle Arrrghhh where the Holy Grail is. They are met by some French soldiers who taunted them earlier in the film, so they were not able to get into the castle.

Time Bandits

Time Bandits

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1981-11-06

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

110 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

(42798 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Fullplot:

A young boy's wardrobe contains a time hole. Through this hole an assortment of short people (i.e. dwarfs) come while escaping from their master, the supreme being. They take Kevin with them on their adventures through time from Napoleonic times to the Middle Ages to the early 1900s, to the time of Legends and the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness where they confront Evil.

The Meaning of Life

The Meaning of Life

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1983-03-31

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

107 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (77643 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Graham Chapman

John Cleese

Terry Gilliam

Eric Idle

Terry Jones

Michael Palin

Fullplot:

Why are we here, what's it all about? The Monty Python-team is trying to sort out the most important question on Earth: what is the meaning of life? They do so by exploring the various stages of life, starting with birth. A doctor seems more interested in his equipment than in delivering the baby or caring for the mother, a Roman Catholic couple have quite a lot of children because 'every sperm is sacred'. In the growing and learning part of life, catholic schoolboys attend a rather strange church service and ditto sex education lesson. Onto war, where an officer's plan to attack is thwarted by his underlings wanting to celebrate his birthday and an officer's leg is bitten off by presumably an African tiger. At middle age a couple orders 'philosophy' at a restaurant, after which the film continues with live organ transplants. The autumn years are played in a restaurant, which, after being treated to the song 'Isn't It Awfully Nice to Have a Penis?' by an entertainer, sees the arrival of an extremely fat man. He can eat a lot, but also throw up quite copiously. The Grim Reaper brings for the final stage of human life, death, a visit to a mansion, where the people are rather interested in him. But life doesn't stop at death. It's onto heaven, where it's always Christmas.

Brazil

Brazil

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1985-12-18

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK

Runtime:

132 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

(142617 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Genres:

Sci-Fi

Cast:

Writer:

Terry Gilliam (screenplay)

Tom Stoppard (screenplay)

Charles McKeown (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Sam Lowry is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. He dreams of a life where he can fly away from technology and overpowering bureaucracy, and spend eternity with the woman of his dreams. While trying to rectify the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle, Lowry meets the woman he is always chasing in his dreams, Jill Layton. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy has fingered him responsible for a rash of terrorist bombings, and both Sam and Jill's lives are put in danger.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1989-03-10

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, Italy

Runtime:

126 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (39127 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Cast:

Writer:

Charles McKeown (screenplay)

Terry Gilliam (screenplay)

Fullplot:

The fantastic tale of an 18th century aristocrat, his talented henchmen and a little girl in their efforts to save a town from defeat by the Turks. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures.

The Fisher King

The Fisher King

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1991-09-27

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

137 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.6 (59127 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Fullplot:

After hearing a popular DJ rail against yuppies, a madman carries out a massacre in a popular New York bar. Dejected and remorseful, the DJ strikes up a friendship with Parry, a former professor who became unhinged and then homeless after witnessing his wife's violent death in the bar shooting. The DJ seeks redemption by helping Parry in his quest to recover an item that he believes is the Holy Grail and to win the heart of the woman he loves.

Twelve Monkeys

Twelve Monkeys

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1996-01-05

Languages:

English, French

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

129 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

8.1 (420302 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Cast:

Writer:

Chris Marker (film La Jetèe)

David Webb Peoples (screenplay)

Janet Peoples (screenplay)

Fullplot:

An unknown and lethal virus has wiped out five billion people in 1996. Only 1% of the population has survived by the year 2035, and is forced to live underground. A convict (James Cole) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to 1996 to gather information about the origin of the epidemic (who he's told was spread by a mysterious "Army of the Twelve Monkeys") and locate the virus before it mutates so that scientists can study it. Unfortunately Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1998-05-22

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.7 (198691 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Genres:

Comedy

Cast:

Writer:

Hunter S. Thompson (book)

Terry Gilliam (screenplay)

Tony Grisoni (screenplay)

Tod Davies (screenplay)

Alex Cox (screenplay)

Fullplot:

The big-screen version of Hunter S. Thompson's seminal psychedelic classic about his road trip across Western America as he and his large Samoan lawyer searched desperately for the "American dream"... they were helped in large part by the huge amount of drugs and alcohol kept in their convertible, The Red Shark.

The Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2005-08-26

Languages:

English, French, German, Italian

Countries:

USA, Czech Republic, UK

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

5.9 (92547 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Fullplot:

Folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. They are put to the test, however, when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.

Tideland

Tideland

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2006-08-11

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, Canada

Runtime:

120 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.6 (25412 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Genres:

DramaFantasy

Cast:

Writer:

Tony Grisoni (screenplay)

Terry Gilliam (screenplay)

Mitch Cullin (novel)

Fullplot:

Pre-teen Jeliza-Rose's parents are hopeless drug addicts. When pa, rocker Noah, finds ma's OD'd, he fears to be charged with homicide and takes Jeliza along to his ma's place, in a desolate country region. With Noah passed out, the girl mentally transfers to a fantasy world she and her doll heads enter magically. Jeliza's adventures also star the crazy locals, notably Dell, and Dell's grown but intellectually disabled brother Dickens.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2010-01-08

Languages:

English, Russian, French

Countries:

UK, Canada, France

Runtime:

123 min

Rated:

PG-13

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (119634 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Fullplot:

In London, the sideshow troupe of Doctor Parnassus promises the audience a journey to the "Imaginarium", an imaginary world commanded by the mind of Doctor Parnassus, where dreams come true. In the stories that Doctor Parnassus tells to his daughter Valentina, the midget Percy, and his assistant Anton, he claims to have lived for more than one thousand years; However, when he fell in love with a mortal woman, he made a deal with the devil (Mr. Nick), trading his immortality for youth. As part of the bargain, he promised his son or daughter to Mr. Nick on their sixteenth birthday. Valentina is now almost to the doomed age and Doctor Parnassus makes a new bet with Mr. Nick, whoever seduces five souls in the Imaginarium will have Valentina as a prize. Meanwhile the troupe rescues Tony, a young man that was hanged on a bridge by the Russians. Tony was chased until he finds and joins the group. Tony and Valentina fall in love with each other and the jealous Anton discovers that his competition may be a liar.

The Zero Theorem

The Zero Theorem

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2014-08-19

Languages:

English

Countries:

UK, Romania, France, USA

Runtime:

107 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.1 (28696 Reviews)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Cast:

Writer:

Pat Rushin (screenplay)

Terry Gilliam (additional dialogue)

Fullplot:

A hugely talented but socially isolated computer operator is tasked by Management to prove the Zero Theorem: that the universe ends as nothing, rendering life meaningless. But meaning is what he already craves.

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