Losing the Light: Terry Gilliam and the Munchausen Saga (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Arnon Milchan, Gilliam's Israeli-born producer on Brazil once portrayed himself with typical modesty as "young, slim, good-looking amiable and clever..." (more)
Key Phrases: moon sequence, completion guarantor, ballroom sequence, Film Finances, Terry Gilliam, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Gilliam's 1988 film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was one of the greatest financial disasters in film history. Yule ( Life on the Wire: The Life and Art of Al Pacino , LJ 10/1/91) here recounts how a talented group of filmmakers let ego, greed, and jealousy turn this production into a cash-devouring quagmire. The central characters are Gilliam and the fast-talking producer Thomas Schuhly. While these two bickered, the production became immersed in a morass of logistical problems, infighting, and costly scams. Amazingly enough, the finished product received excellent notices and four Academy Award nominations. Blame for the film's failure, according to Yule, lies with shoddy distribution and lack of publicity by Columbia Pictures. This nuts-and-bolts look at movie making is recommended for most film libraries.
- Dan Bo gey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Mix one American director with a German producer on a period extravaganza, set the locations in Italy and Spain and start the cameras rolling without enough money to do the job. Then sit back and watch disaster strike. That is the scenario Andrew Yule has painstakiingly reconstructed. The more problems and reverses, the greater our interest: costly postponements, overwhelming language difficulties, elephants and tigers turning on their trainers, illnesses, sets not being ready, special effects breaking down and cameo stars (from Marlon Brando to Sean Connery) backing out of the project. You name it, Andrew Yule reports it!

Product Details

• Paperback: 564 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155783346X
• ISBN-13: 978-1557833464
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #633,575 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A darn good book about the troubles with Munchausen, July 8, 1998

By A Customer

If you happen to like this movie or just Gilliam in general then I would suggest finding this book. The author, Andrew Yule, takes around thirty interviews from people related to the movie and encompasses all of the delays and pitfalls associated with it. From trying to cast Marlon Brando as the King of the Moon to the self centered producers (Thomas Schuly) total lack of concern for the crew or anyone in general this book shows how one of the most over-budgeted films of its time($20 million over) became a flop.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Surely this time there is no escape...." for Terry Gilliam, December 29, 2002

By	Rae Schwarz "post-modern Renaissance woman" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Terry Gilliam is the first to acknowledge that for each of his movies, he becomes the main character and their struggle in the story becomes part of his struggle to make the film. This overlap set an ominous tone that then went from bad to worse, from the frying pan to the fire and somehow a film came out the other side.

The making of the movie "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" is told via Andrew Yule's interviews and research, almost a post-mortem after the near-death experience of the filmmaking process. Director and producer fought, crews walked or were fired, accountants and accusations flew, and tigers and elephants literally got out of control. Compared to "The Battle of Brazil" that was a skirmish and this was a world war.

For Gilliam fans, join the director in all his pain as he attempts to surmount and juggle language barriers, lethargic crews, bad weather, financial disputes, mysterious accidents, casts of characters fictional and real, and his own visions.

2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly Poor Waste of Your Time, February 5, 2006

By	Store Hadji - See all my reviews

This review is from: Losing the Light : Terry Gilliam and the Munchausen Saga (Hardcover)

This is the most insultingly poorly written book about the making of a film I have ever read.

However, it is the only book available about the making of Gilliam's film Munchausen.

If you need such a topic for your library, I guess you'll obtain it...though you have been warned.