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The Brothers Grimm [DVD] [2005]
 
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The Brothers Grimm [DVD] [2005]

DVD ~ Matt Damon
2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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The Brothers Grimm [DVD] [2005] + Casanova [DVD] [2005] + 10 Things I Hate About You [DVD] [1999]
Total RRP: £53.97
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The Brothers Grimm [DVD] [2005]
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The Brothers Grimm [DVD] [2005] 2.9 out of 5 stars (54)
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Product details

  • Actors: Matt Damon, Julian Bleach, Bruce McEwan, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare
  • Directors: Terry Gilliam
  • Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, Italian
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 13 Mar 2006
  • Run Time: 114 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000C6HVUO
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,266 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Fairy tales come vividly to life in The Brothers Grimm, a long-delayed fantasy/horror comedy that greatly benefits from the ingenuity of director Terry Gilliam. In lesser hands, the ambitious screenplay by prolific horror specialist Ehren Kruger (who wrote the American versions of The Ring and The Ring 2) might have turned into an erratic monster mash like Van Helsing. But Gilliam's maverick sensibility makes the film more closely comparable to Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, with the added benefit of impressive CGI effects and lavish (though cost-efficient) production design, making the most of a challenging $75 million budget.

Kruger's clever conceit is to turn "folklore collectors" Wilhem and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, respectively) into 19th-century con artists who perform bogus exorcisms of "evil enchantments" while travelling from village to village in French-occupied Germany. The two soon find themselves ensnared in a genuinely supernatural crisis involving the curse of the Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci) and such fantastical marvels as the Big Bad Wolf, the Gingerbread Man, and a host of other truly enchanted (and not altogether friendly) flora and fauna.

It's kind of a mess, switching from over-the-top humour (mostly from Peter Stormare as a manic villain) to serious fantasy involving the beautiful Angelika (Lena Headey), who proves to be the Grimm Brothers' most reliable ally. And like many of Gilliam's films, Grimm suffered from production delays (during which Gilliam filmed Tideland), distributor fallout, and several changes in its theatrical release date, but none of these issues prevent the film from being a welcomed addition to Gilliam's remarkable list of credits.--Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Director Terry Gilliam, who brought his magical storytelling talents to such films as TIME BANDITS and THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, sets his sights on the Brothers Grimm, turning their life into a playfully grim fairy tale all its own. Set in early 18th Century French-occupied Germany, THE BROTHERS GRIMM stars Matt Damon as Will Grimm and Heath Ledger as Jake Grimm, siblings who travel the countryside as snake-oil salesmen, convincing unsuspecting towns that they are haunted and agreeing to get rid of the demons for a price. In the meantime, they set their tales down in writing, creating a wealth of oddball, offbeat, and frightening characters. But after they are caught by General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce) and his sidekick, Cavaldi (Peter Stormare), they are sent to the tiny village of Marbaden to solve the mysterious disappearance of a number of young girls, placing them in the middle of a fantasy world unlike any they'd ever invented. They enlist the help of a peasant woman, Angelika (Lena Headey), and they set off for the evil forest to save the lives of the girls and themselves. Gilliam has once again built a unique, entertaining land where anything can happen, and he throws in references to such Grimm tales as Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and the Frog Prince for good measure. The movie also features Mackenzie Crook and Richard Ridings as the Grimms' cohorts, Monica Bellucci as the Mirror Queen, and Julian Bleach and Bruce McEwan as two of Cavaldi's henchmen.

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Customer Reviews

54 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (17)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.9 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Different Spin on Grimm..., 4 Oct 2006
By Anne-Marie Marquess (Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Enter into a Grim and Macabre Adventure that is truly a Tale of the Unexpected. Well, we all know about the brothers Grimm, tellers of fairytales. We will never forget "Little Red Riding Hood" or "Sleeping Beauty". This film, is set in a sinister, enchanted forest and is a dark tale, full of twists and turns, gnarled trees and strange occurrences.

It's different and I liked it and it was hard to predict where it was going! Which was good. It features the abduction of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood among others, a Woodsman turned Werewolf, a Sleeping Once was Beauty and a distracted, disturbed damsel with "issues". There is a gruesome take on the Gingerbread man that is completely unexpected and creepy!! The film has elements of the Princess Bride, Shrek, Snow White and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but is a modern film, set in mediaeval times with humour interjected throughout.

The forest, which is definitely alive, centres around a high tower where, what used to be, a beautiful raven haired princess is determined to regain her youth and life force through manipulative means. A mixture of Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, with the Mirror revealing both reality and illusion. It weaves elements of Grimm's fairytales into one and is a dark, enchanted tapestry.

The Wolf was very well done, suitably supernatural and not the type of creature you'd want to run into in a forest, but this film is definitely not on a league with A Company of Wolves. It was horror in a shrek rather than a hammer way! Definitely room for improvements, but enjoyable. If you like the myth and legend of fairy tales, the supernatural, horror, fantasy and comedy, you should enjoy this. Very different and Definitely entertaining.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Forget the nightmarish stories - it's an enjoyable fantasy romp , 1 Nov 2006
By Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
It's tempting to imagine that the overwhelmingly negative reaction to Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm was down to Harvey Scissorhands' reputation. After all, hadn't the film sat on the shelf for a year because Gilliam and the Weinsteins were arguing over the ending? Hadn't Harvey fired the cinematographer and (quite rightly in my opinion) insisted that Samantha Morton not be cast over Gilliam's wishes? And wasn't the film suddenly rushed out on the market as part of the mass dumping of other troubled Miramax/Dimension titles when the real-life Grim Brothers were making their lucrative slash-and-burn exit from Disney? How could it possibly be any good?

The big surprise is that it actually is. While the bad reviews all seemed to focus on how this almost certainly wasn't Gilliam's vision of the film because of all the problems (as if he's known for untroubled shoots) and went to town on it, I found it surprisingly entertaining and even more surprisingly well-constructed. The screenplay is often genuinely witty and imaginative, the much-derided look of the film and its special effects are both perfectly right for the film in their sense of studio/storybook reality, Dario Marianelli's score is beautifully effective and the film itself is a lot of fun despite Heath Ledger's typical mumbling losing some of the funnier lines. Pitched somewhere between George Pal and Time Bandits, it sees a well paired Matt Damon and Ledger (mumbling aside) scamming their way from village to village vanquishing theatrically faked demons and witches until they find themselves up against the real thing in the form of Monica Belluci's immortal child-snatching queen ("She's 500 years old and the years have not been kind, I'm telling you!"). There's never much doubt about the outcome, and Jonathan Pryce and Peter Stormare's comic relief in the Terry Thomas-Peter Sellers roles is clumsily overplayed, but if you're willing to go along with it and take it for what it is rather than what it should be, it's a lot of fun. All in all Gilliam's most satisfying film since 12 Monkeys. I loved it.

Gilliam's commentary avoids being too specific about the production problems while the two featurettes are typical promotional love-ins, but there's a good selection of deleted scenes, including an excellent battle with a living tree that's more exciting than anything in the picture proper.

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, 17 Mar 2006
By A Customer
Initially I'd put off watching this film because of the bad hype, but I wish I hadn't because it's enjoyable and often funny. The cast are excellent, especially Cavaldi the Italian torturer. The two leads form a good double act and were interesting to watch playing against type - Damon's English accent was especially good.

The film was mainly let down by the visual effects which were noticeable at times especially with the wolf. Also the story was a bit daft and predicable but the acting and script make up for this. At times the atmosphere of the film reminded me of Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it enjoyable and more interesting than your average Hollywood film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough spring in the boards
The Brothers Grimm struggles beneath the weight of a clumsy and leaden script peppered with self-conscious humour. Read more
Published 5 months ago by sft

3.0 out of 5 stars The dark side of fairytales, but lacking something
As a lover of fairytales and folklore, I watched this film for what it is; entertainment based upon the dark world of the Brothers Grimm, with a little bit of comedy thrown in for... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Brida

4.0 out of 5 stars I Don't Understand
I'm not one to create reviews that are a reply to other reviews, but I'm feeling sorry for the poor guy who hasn't seen this film and would like to know whether to bother. Read more
Published 6 months ago by PyroSikTh

1.0 out of 5 stars a mess
My heading is taken from the Amazon review - and it is, it was impossible for me to engage with this film. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Chris

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious, Rollicking, Intelligent, Madcap Mayhem...
This is a full blooded Terry Gilliam film. It defies easy categorisation as all his films do. It's a morality tale, a swashbuckling adventure, a wicked comedy, a fantasy romp... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. M. Poole

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful fairytale and fun too!!!
I really enjoyed this wonderful telling of the Brothers Grimm, as they inform you in a behind the scenes peak on the extras this is not attempting to tell the tale of the Brothers... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Dazman

4.0 out of 5 stars And they all lived happily ever after
Many of you grew up in the sugar coated version of their tails. Some have read the real ones and recoiled. Read more
Published 13 months ago by bernie

4.0 out of 5 stars Not rocket science, people!
I suppose I can say that I enjoyed this film because I took it for what I expected it to be: entertainment pure and simple. Read more
Published 15 months ago by MayGoodComeToUs

3.0 out of 5 stars Digestive Problems Prove A Little Grim
Take straight and slap-stick comedy, a touch of thriller, a dollop of horror, a sprinkling of suspense and mystery, and season well with special effects, hammy acting, traces of... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Doctor Goa -

4.0 out of 5 stars LOADS OF FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Some reviewers think that it is a true story, so they were disappointed. Everyone else in the world knows that it is a fairy story. Read more
Published 23 months ago by L. Wilson

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