Customer Reviews

Gulliver's Travels [VHS]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Contrary to popular belief, Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" was never intended to be simply a children's fantasy / fairy tale. Although the Lilliputans are cute as heck, this story has some serious overtones. As a matter of fact, although more subtle perhaps, there are aspects of this tale which are as dark and bitter as the commentaries on humankind written by the likes of Dostoevsky, Camus and Kafka. Jonathan Swift never was a very happy man.

This rendition of Swift's classic is, in a word, fabulous. It reaches to the heart of the message Swift was trying to convey while at the same time is accessible to all. It is also appropriate for a family to watch. I cannot remark enough on just how well done this film was; it would have been so easy to do a half-baked job and let it be yet another ambitious television movie that somehow went awry. I'm so glad that didn't happen here.

In truth, I have never cared too much for Ted Danson. However, in this film he delivers a surprisingly exceptional performance. So much so, in fact, that looking back I can't imagine anyone else as Gulliver. The rest of the cast did a superb job as well, and the inclusion of Peter O'Toole as the king of the Lilliputans was a great touch. (Then again, when can having Peter O'Toole in the cast of a movie ever HURT?) The direction and the way they chose to tell the story was wonderfully done. The soundtrack (written by Trevor Jones, who co-wrote the soundtrack to "The Last Of The Mohicans" among other things) was right on the $$$ for emotionally gripping scenes.

This is the type of ambitious, fervent film-making that studios can be proud of. If one Jonathan Swift were around today, I have no doubt that he could not and would not have asked for a better adaptation of his prose. A GREAT movie!

I recall being enormously impressed with this 2-part made-for-TV movie when it was first broadcast in 1996, and the intervening twelve years have not diminished it any. The production is fairly true to Swift's original, and contains many innovative and surprisingly-effective special effects (for the time). All of the cast members give boffo performances, particularly hammy Peter O'Toole in the role of a lifetime. But most impressive of all is the gentle and very sly interweaving of fantasy and insanity, where Lemuel Gulliver's state of mind continuously shifts between frames of reference both in size and veracity.

Swift's vulgar sense of humor is given free expression, and the biting satire of his political wit still rings familiar 270 years later. The film contains the free-wheeling giddiness of Terry Gilliam's "Time Bandits" (1981) and the time- and frame-of-reference-shifting vertigo of "Smoke Signals" (1998). Tiny details and thrown-away background elements make it a production for rewarding repeated viewing.

In short this is a film of Brobdingnagian proportions which has received Lilliputian acclaim. This is a gap of Yahooian injustice.

But this Hallmark TV production was so exceptional, I felt five was the least this sucker deserved.

This was the first of an extended series of high-toned TV movies produced by Robert Halmi Sr. for NBC and ABC that had production values previously unseen on television. In art direction and general feel, this production of the Jonathan Swift classic resembled "Amadeus" more than it resembled "The Winds Of War" or "Mother, Can I Sleep With Danger?".

And considering the choice for the titular lead, comic actor and former model Ted Danson, it could have been a real disaster. It wasn't! The man acquits himself nicely as the somewhat incredulous Lemuel Gulliver, the hero of a satirical tale told by the very cynical Jonathan Swift, Britain's answer to Voltaire. (Actually, Voltaire was a good deal younger than Swift and "Gulliver's Travels" was written 32-33 years before "Candide", allegedly, but they _were_ contemporaries, and had even met!)

The story features very fanciful alllusions to pettiness, classic paranoia of the delusions of grandeur variety, pomposity, a favorite target of Swift's, and superciliousness. There's the tiny Lilliputians, their opposites, the Brondignagians, the equine Houiynihms, (who, I seem to remember, were supposed to resemble giraffes as well,) and many other fantastic characters, all rendered beautifully in this, the first of a distinguished list of first rate classical adaptations shown on NBC in the late 90s.

The cast list is unbelievable...people who had NEVER been on TV before, like Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, James Fox, Isabelle Huppert, Geraldine Chaplin (hello!), Shashi Kapoor and John Gielgud were sprinkled all through it. The sets are incredible and acting superb. If either this or the later "The Odyssey" had been released as feature films, they would have garnered significant praise for production values and acting, as well as fidelity to their sources, (despite some serious key scene omissions,) and probably would have generated respectable box office.

Special effects, cinematography and scene direction made this a good bellwether for a raft of films unlike any TV had ever seen since the fifties, when top quality productions of plays by well known playwrights peppered prime time schedules.

The general take on the story treats the main character, Lemuel Gulliver, as someone just about everybody, including his wife, for a while, thinks is certifiably insane, as he keeps rambling on about the fantastic lands and people he has supposedly seen. Most of the "real world" story, in fact, takes place in either an asylum, where he has been committed, or a courtroom, where his case is being heard.

It's obvious to the viewer, too, that Lemuel has dreamt all of this, because these places couldn't possibly exist. However, a real curve ball is thrown in the end when a truly diminutive sheep is found and provided as evidence that at least proves Lilliput existed.

Mary Steenbergen went on after this, ( a lot of the actors were recycled in future productions of this type by Halmi,) to portray the wife of Noah in a gawd-awful NBC production of "Noah's Ark", a production that mated the story of Lot and Sodom & Gomorah, (sans Abraham,) with the story of the flood. There was a ridiculous dream sequence inserted in this disaster that showed that Halmi's production crew was getting a WEE bit too satisfied with itself as Steenbergen, especially, spoke bubbleheaded lines that seemed WAY out of place for the setting of the story.

She should have stuck with 18th century satires! :-)

The film is told by way of flash backs. Gulliver (Ted Danson) finds himself ashore in England after a harrowing nine year absence from home. Unfortunately, once back at home in England, he suffers from periodic flashbacks wherein he provides narratives about his adventures in Lilliput, Brobdingnag, on a flying island, and elsewhere. Also unfortunately, even his wife (Mary Steenbergen; wife in real life too) does not believe the contents of his flash-back narratives. For example, towards the end of the movie she is asked if she believes her husband. Instead of saying "no," she avoids the question by replying, "I believe in him."

Everybody will be able to enjoy the brightly colored pomp and fanfares found in the various kingdoms that are encountered during Gulliver's travels. The special effects are almost as good as those found in the early Star Wars movies. Unlike most adventure movies, the movie under review has a high degree of character development. The credentials of the actors, e.g., Peter O'Toole, speak for themselves. Excellent "character actors" are also found, such as the rustic wheat farmer who discovers Gulliver and displays him in a one-man circus. In addition to the special effects, the presence of a boy character (Gulliver's son) and a girl character (wheat farmer's daughter) enhance the attraction of the film for kids.

What the movie is really "about" is not tiny villagers, flying islands, or talking horses. What the movie is really about is certain bizarre aspects of the social order, found at the time of Swift's writing. For example, one goal of the Gulliver story was to protest the practice of selling (as opposed to voting) government positions. Therefore, it might be to the advantage of any viewer, or parent, to become familiar with the social/political customs prevalent at the time. A suitable book (which actually covers France, not England), is The French Revolution and Human Rights by Lynn Hunt (1996). As with the Gulliver movie, this book explains the existance of formalized upper and lower classes, and the practice of selling government positions.

Despite its many faults, Hallmark's 1995 version of Gulliver's Travels is still the finest adaptation of Jonathan Swift's satirical classic - largely because it not only includes ALL of Gulliver's many travels but also includes the satire that's often overlooked. Unfortunately the twin problems of the book's highly episodic structure and a television budget (even a fairly lavish one) remain. The book is a somewhat rambling collection of traveller's tales moving simply from one surreal landscape to another, but Simon Moore's adaptation tries to impose some order on the chaos by providing a parallel plot that sees Gulliver returned to England clearly deeply traumatised and trying to prove his way out of the insane asylum where the rival for his wife's affections has had him committed. The England scenes at once mirror and comment on the travels, elements of which occasionally spill over into the real world. The trouble is that for the first hour or so it acts more as a distraction, constantly pulling you away from the story just as it starts to get interesting. The Lilliput scenes suffer worse here, with the feeling that the home scenes are too often designed to save them from filming the more expensive setpieces - this has to be the only version where we don't see Gulliver pulling the Blefescu fleet behind him.

Yet once Gulliver makes his escape, the tone becomes more consistent as he finds his situation reversed and himself the pet of the giants of the Utopians of Brobdingnag, a guest of the wise men of the floating island of Laputa who are so engrossed in science that they have no common sense left, the guest/prisoner of a historian who learns history directly from the source, offered immortality with all it's terrible consequences before finally finding a world he wants to belong if only he can convince the sublime talking horses the Houynhnhms that he's not an uncivilized Yahoo, each new destination convincing him of what an absurd and petty species humanity is. For the most part it's a darker set of Travels than expected, with only Gulliver's curiosity and commonsense and disappointment keeping it from plunging into irretrievable bleakness - and even this is offset by the scenes in the asylum where it becomes more obvious that even if he is telling the truth it may well have driven him genuinely insane. It's in these latter scenes that Ted Danson's Gulliver really shines, never more so than in an extraordinary speech where he turns his trial into a disappointed judgment on the whole human race.

Being made for television, the Yahoos are rather less literally scatological here than on the page, but for the most part this is a more adult treatment than you might expect with no real dumbing down. The star cast is certainly impressive, and for the most part well-used (if somewhat briefly in a few cases) - Mary Steenburgen, James Fox, Peter O'Toole, Edward Woodward, Omar Sharif, Shashi Kapoor, Edward Fox, Ned Beatty, Alfre Woodard, Kristin Scott Thomas and Isabelle Huppert among them. It's hard to imagine the upcoming Jack Black version even coming close to being a fraction as impressive as this.

Johnathan Swift's beloved satire has amused readers for over 250 years, and shows no signs of waning. So many people have loved (or at least read) it, that it presents difficult target for movie-makers. No matter how they render it, they're sure to violate someone's image of the story. Despite a very few flaws, this version works remarkably well.

For one thing, it presents a reasonably complete telling of Lemuel Gulliver's story. I haven't read the original lately, but this seems to cover the entire tale, not just famous favorites like the visit to Lilliput. It also covers some of the moments that other versions skip, like putting out the Lilliputian palace fire. A parody of academic research holds up well, too, and might be even more relevant today than when Swift poked fun at the Royal Society's experimenters. Competent special effects make it easy to suspend disbelief for the film's duration.

Perhaps it's unfair, but the high points of this recreation work so well that the few low points seem even lower by contrast. The visit to Brobdingnag retains its political bite, buthis made-for-TV movie had to cut a few "adult" moments from Swift's version. The Struldbrugs really suffered at this director's hands, though. Perhaps there was some political correctness issue in toning their senility down, but that passage lost nearly all the impact of the original.

The good outweighs the bad, however, and the good includes some remarkable star power, including Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole, and John Gielgud in brief but significant roles. The storytelling format works too, as flashbacks of story bubble up through Gulliver's damaged mind. This two-disc set is sure to brighten many rainy afternoons, as long as your younger viewers aren't skittish sorts.

-- wiredweird

I didn't know what I was going to see when I sat down to watch this movie. I had read the book many years ago when I was in high school, and didn't remember a lot of it, but certain things had stuck in my mind, and I was curious to see how they would go about matching the things I had in my imagination on the screen.

Well, I'm glad to say that what I saw was a very good adaptation of a novel into a splendidly made movie. From the acting, the scenery to the special effects, this was a well made production, especially considering that it was made as a television mini series when it was released.

Ted Danson does an excellent job of portraying Gulliver, from his wonder at some of the sights he comes upon to his ultimate revulsion of his own kind as he nears the end of his journeys. A lot of time and commitment were spent on ensuring that we are swept along with Gulliver on his travels so that we can understand his feelings.

I could go on naming the actors and actresses and how well they portrayed their parts, but I dont' want to get too redundant. If you want to see a well made movie that tells a good story without a ton of violence or a lot of swearing, then I highly recommend you pick up this movie. The price is right on it too.

I didn't have any interest in Danson's previous movies, and when I saw Henson Productions, I thought we were going to see some kind of cutesy kid's thing. How wrong I was!

This is a sumptuously directed series that frees your mind to become totally involved with the story and the underlying analysis and satire of fallen human thinking. This production manages to convey Swift's message to a modern audience with the same kind of impact as the original stinging satire had on Swift's contemporaries.

Danson gives a triumphally convincing performance as Gulliver. I can't imagine anyone doing it better. I hope he plays more roles like this.

The special effects are superb, but are there to support the story rather than for their own sake. I especially enjoyed the episode where Gulliver is a 'guest' in a castle with an sinister host, with a penchant for summoning famous historical figures into the present. Restrained, menacing and downright eerie.

I am really pleased to see Americans take an English classic and turn it into a movie with so much panache and integrity. Watch it!

The image on this DVD has been cropped to produce an artificial widescreen image. It was originally shown in full screen. It's completely possible that the director didn't even authorize this change. The composition of the scenes is [messed] up by this, as tops of heads push the top black bar throughout. Also, there is no feature to watch the movie from beginning to end. The DVD producers were so incompetent that they put a break in between the first part and second instead of combining them. Oh, and they also make you sit through opening credits on the second part. How stupid is that? How about actually using the space which DVD affords you and put the whole thing as 1 movie, instead of part 1 and part 2? The only reason it was split into two was because it was shown on two different nights. But it is *one* movie. There is a nice "making of", but for all the reasons I've listed, I can't recommend this DVD. Stick with the video.

I missed the TV premier of this movie, and finally checked it out at the library. This is a wonderfull tale of a journey through lands that are satires of the extremes of different cultural ideals. The interresting part is how Gulliver is changed as he travels through these different lands.

He finds himself washed up on a beach, and surrounded by little people. He gets to know them, and finds them to be horribly warlike, corrupt, and so rediculous in thier methods of decision making it's laughable. Since he is too large to feel threatened he finds his situation amusing, when we know that these same policies would be disastrous and scary in real life.

Next, he is in a land of Giants, and is at first paraded as a momey-making scam by some pesants before he makes it to the palace of the queen of the land to be a jester. This land is a suposed utopia of freedom and equality in which people all bring thier crops to a central trading area, where the food and wealth is distributed with equality. Gulliver holds a series of lectures about his own society and why they do things the way they do. Of course, these enlightened people who know nothing of war find his stories to be a terrible thing. However, this liberal utopia also has it's faults. Not everyone is really happy with thier place in society, espically the person who Gulliver replaced in the castle. The rich royalty are content to talk about equality and pat themselves on the back for thier tolerance and good treatment of the poor, while giving everyone else the jobs of feeding the pigs and working in the fields.

Next, he finds his way to a great floating island populated by intilictuals who contemplate the sun, moon, stars. At first he is impressed by thier intelect and great powers, but soon enough discovers these geniouses are so full of themselves for thier genious that they cannot see the world for what it is or even communicate with others without being beaten with a baloon to keep them from 'drifting off' while in conversation.

He also finds his way to the home of a sorcerer who keeps him drugged and captive. After finding a creative way to escape this place he is at sea once again and is washed up onto a land of savages and of horses. The cavemen are the opitomy of every vise of people. The horses on the other hand exist in balance and harmony with nature. Gulliver finds a home with these creatures, until some incidences lead the horses to judge him as a 'yahoo' savage, and he is banished once again. With this final tale, he is also in a trial to judge his sanity. Throughoud the whole movie the memories of his journey are like halucinations, and Gulliver himself a madman. He is finally able to use the final experience as a story to plead his sanity, and the rediclousness of some socital vices.

A good family movie, I enjoy it very much.