Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989): Terry Gilliam’s Rambling Tale Starring Robin Williams

Terry Gilliam’s rambling extravagant fantasy, starring Robin Williams, Oliver Reed, Valentina Cortese, Uma Thurman, and Sting (among others) frustrated both critics and audiences.

Dramatically flawed, this plotless movie is nonetheless watchable due to some magical moments and wizardry in the technical departments, acknowledged by the Academy voters (see below).

The movie, more than other Gilliam efforts, tried–but failed–to break the rule of narrative logic, scale, and tone.

Episodic, like most of Gilliam’s pictures, this adventure fantasy tale concerns the travels of the Baron (John Neville) and young girl (Sarah Polley) and their colorful encounters with eccentric characters, like a man in the moon (Robin Williams).

Art Direction-Set Decoration: Dante Ferretti; Francesca Lo Schiavo

Costume Design: Gabriella Pescucci

Makeup: Maggie Weston, Fabrizio Sforza

Visual Effects: Richard Conway, Ken Houston

Oscar Awards: None

The Art Direction Oscar went to “Batman,” the Costume Design to Phyllis Dalton for “Henry V,” the Make-Up to “Driving Miss Daisy,” which also won Best Picture, and the Visual Effects to “The Abyss.”