The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is now in full flow and, over the course of the next two weeks, film fanatics will descend on Dublin to sample the best that filmmakers from Ireland and the wider world have to offer.
You can check out the festival’s entire lineup by clicking here but it’s safe to say that one of the most exciting events that everyone here at JOE HQ is looking forward to is the visit of none other than directing genius and Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam, in town for a screening of his brand new film, The Zero Theorem.
You can also be in with a chance to win a Season Pass to this year’s festival or a pair of tickets to a festival highlight simply by clicking here to enter the JDIFF Facebook competition.
To get everyone in the movie mood and to help you all swot up on Gilliam’s great repertoire before his visit, JOE has prepared this very handy list of five fantastic films directed by the great man himself.
So what are you waiting for? Get swotting…
Brazil (1985)
Brazil – it’s only a state of mind… and a brilliantly bonkers, buffoonish film.
Now, JOE’s never actually visited Brazil, but we’d like to think that the land of sun, sand and samba is exactly like Gilliam’s Orwellian vision of a dystopian future. Probably not though.
Jonathan Pryce stars in a career-defining role as Sam Lowry, a man on the hunt for the woman of his dreams as he spends all of his mind-numbingly boring work shifts daydreaming about rescuing his damsel in distress. Co-starring Robert DeNiro and Monty Python pal Michael Palin, Brazil is a completely original and outlandish piece of work so go visit it. Now.
Needs more carnivals is all…
Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)
Genius. Pure genius.
The Pythons’ terrific take on the legend of King Arthur resulted in a film that “changed the whole history of motion pictures, so stunning in its effect, so vast in its impact, that it profoundly affected the lives of all who saw it.”
Well, that’s what the fancy voice-over guy told us anyway.
Co-directed by Gilliam and his fellow Python Terry Jones, Monty Python And The Holy Grail is a must-see for any fans of fantastically funny films so, in the wise words of the Knights Of The Round Table, “run away! Run away!” Run away and don’t come back until you’ve watched this film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FhL2-KatRE
12 Monkeys (1995)
For his second film of the 1990s, Terry Gilliam turned his unique vision to sci-fi after being inspired by the short French film, La Jetée. The result was the twisting, time-travel tale Twelve Monkeys where, in a futuristic world devastated by disease, a convict (Bruce Willis) is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
Willis is joined by a (MONKEY PUN) bananas Brad Pitt who was subsequently deservedly nominated for his turn as the mysterious Jeffrey Goines…
Fear An Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
Twelve Monkeys was followed up by Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas in 1998, an adaptation of Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s book of the same name that, in true Gilliam screwball style, is all about two men, Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro), and their descent into a drug-induced haze pursuit of the American Dream.
The extreme, vulgar film completely divided critics upon release but Gilliam wasn’t bothered in any way claiming that he wanted the film to “be seen as one of the great movies of all time, and one of the most hated movies of all time.”
That’s one way to cover all of your bases anyway…
Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979)
Okay, okay, you caught us, JOE’s a very a naughty boy. So, Gilliam didn’t actually direct Monty Python’s Life Of Brian, but he did co-write the film and so there was no way JOE was going to compile a definitive list of must-see movies associated with Terry Gilliam and NOT include this perfect Python product.
Never mind this being one of the greatest comedies of all time, this film about Brian – the wrong guy born in the wrong place at the wrong time – is simply one of the greatest films of all time…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVHhg67RVd4
And finally, here’s the great man himself in acting action as one of the crazed crucifixion jailers…
For more information on this year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival just click here.
And don’t forget folks, you can also be in with a chance to win a Season Pass to this year’s festival or a pair of tickets to a festival highlight simply by clicking here to enter the JDIFF Facebook competition.
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