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The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus - Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Terry Gilliam
Threat advisory: Under evaluation
Movie propaganda
In the present day, immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) leads a travelling theatre troupe that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession. Members of the troupe include a sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield); and a dwarf, Percy (Verne Troyer). Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil, who now comes to collect on the arrangement, targeting the doctor's daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole). The troupe, who is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony (Heath Ledger), embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl.
Theatrical propaganda posters
Target demographic movie keyword propaganda
- Film fantasy supernatural deal Devil immortal magic mirror imagination Faust
Persons of interest
- Heath Ledger .... Tony
- Johnny Depp .... Tony (1st transformation)
- Colin Farrell .... Tony (3rd transformation)
- Jude Law .... Tony (2nd transformation)
- Christopher Plummer .... Dr Parnassus
- Tom Waits .... Mr Nick
- Verne Troyer .... Percy
- Lily Cole .... Valentina
- Cassandra Sawtell .... Olga
- Andrew Garfield .... Anton
- Paloma Faith .... Sally
- Ryan Grantham .... Little Anton
- Simon Day .... Inspector
- Richard Riddell .... Martin
- Fraser Aitcheson .... Dancing Policeman
- Vitaly Kravchenko .... Piotr
- John Snowden .... Chauffeur
- Igor Ingelsman .... Gregor
- Terry Gilliam .... Screenwriter
- Charles McKeown .... Screenwriter
- Terry Gilliam .... Director
Cinematic intelligence sources
- The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus official movie sites:
- The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus film production notes
- The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus QuickTime movie trailers
- Awards and film festivals:
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - Oscars) 2010: Nominated: Art direction, Costume design
- Studios and distributors:
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is another film from the fecund imagination of Terry Gilliam. It's not up to the heights of Brazil, but what is? It's also limited by the fact that one of the main actors managed to die half-way through filming (that's Heath Ledger for anyone who's been living in a cave). Fortunately for Terry, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell volunteered their services and finished the film. That's why God invented re-writes. (NB This is not the first film crisis for Terry Gilliam - see Lost in La Mancha.) There's a classic bit of Python when the all-singing, all-dancing, semi-transvestite policemen do a number, which is heart-warming for those of us who grew up with lumberjack fish-slapping from the ministry of Silly Walks. The production values are rich, the characters are surreal and the plot is bizarre but The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus never quite takes flight, and for a flight of fancy, that's a not-good thing. You might well watch this movie for the historic value (Heathcliff's last role) or the irony (his character keeps getting killed) but you won't put it on your list of top movies to watch before you die.
The fantasy, supernatural movie The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is directed by Terry Gilliam and stars Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole.
Government security censorship classification
PG (Menacing themes, violence and coarse language)
Surveillance time
122 minutes (2:02 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
Film: 29 October 2009
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