Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

tvsweeney-39052 I had never heard of this film until I saw it as a "Coming Attractions" tacked onto another DVD I rented.This fantasy definitely shows the directorial hand of Terry Gwilliam in the acting as well as the sets. That makes it difficult to summarize, so I'm thankful so many others already have...and in detail, too. There's a bit of Faust...and a whole lotta Monty Python in the mix.The entire cast is a good one, doing justice to their roles, and the acting frenetic and fast-paced. It's good to see Verne Troyer in something besides his Mini-Me role. The sets are pure Monty Pythonesque...indeed the entire story is like a dream—not necessarily a bad one, though occasionally clutching at the borders of the nightmarish—definitely one which seems to make sense at the time but upon wakening, can't be described with any coherency. Since Heath Ledger died during filming and was replaced by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, that line of demarcation is sadly easy to note…about a third into the film. The way the replacement is done is clever and the audience will accept it easily, however.All in all, an entertaining film, clever, frenetic, whimsical, though bordering on indescribable in the graphics of its plot. It's a pity it didn't get more publicity and exposure.Be warned...this is a film which needs to be seen several times to thoroughly understand and enjoy it all. The costumes, the subplots, the dialogue...there's simply too much to savor for one viewing.This DVD was viewed as a rental and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.

krimmer-46575 I read reviews on here all the time and this is my first review,I watched Zero theorem last night and then heard about this one...I can't say I follow Gilliam but it's all just my sort of fantastical chaos....I just wanted to say however I don't get all the hype about Heath ledger, his performance in the dark knight wasn't anywhere near as good as jack Nicholson and in this movie I've read people querying his performance saying its a bit lifeless but he was ramped up on drugs at this point and in severe meltdown..what's with the accent...one minute he is Aussie next it's London...no....I don't get him. I do get the film it's quirky and great rest of the cast are too...

Antonia Tejeda Barros The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the opus magnum of Terry Gilliam and, tragically, the last performance of Heath. It started filming on December 8, 2007. On January 23, 2008, one day after Heath's death, the production stopped until February 17. Everybody wanted to finish the movie, to show Heath's last creation, so on February 18 filming begun again, and Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law came along and finish Heath's performance (later they donated all their salary –$ 20 million– to Heath's daughter Matilda). In the movie there are 2 worlds: the real world and the imaginary world. Fortunately, all the scenes of the real world (which were shot in London) were already finished when Heath died. The scenes in the imaginary world were going to be shot in Vancouver. Tony, Heath's character, appears different every time he enters in the Imaginarium. Depp, Law and Farrell, apart of having some physical resemblance in the movie with Heath (same hair, same moustache, same goat beard, same make-up), copied Heath's mimics in the movie, and the film does not get affected by the fact that there are "4 Tonys". The sadness is that Heath does not appear much. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a magical, poetic and beautiful movie, with an incredible art direction (Caroline Smith), beautiful cinematography (Nicola Pecorini), brilliant costumes (Monique Prudhomme), theatrical & melancholic music (Jeff & Mychael Danna) and an amazing cast (Heath –who improvised half of his dialog–, a superb Christopher Plummer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Verne Troyer, Depp, Law and Farrell, and Tom Waits shining in his amazing & funny portrayal of the Devil). Although the movie is beautiful, to watch The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is painful, because I feel it to be the real and artistic prove of Heath's death. When Johnny Depp appears instead of Heath we really feel Heath's loss. At the end of the movie, instead of writing "A film by Terry Gilliam", Gilliam wrote in the credits: "A movie from Heath & friends". According to Gilliam, that was what the movie was. The film is in memory of Heath and of producer William Vince (who died 5 months after Heath). / Antonia Tejeda Barros (Madrid, Spain).

KINGJO4606-1 Imaginarium is a film by Terry Gilliam for the contemporary age. Admittedly, the first half of the movie is boring. It gets more interesting as the story continues. The film, with its special effects, reminds me of Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. However, this is a better movie. It also stars famous actors such as Andrew Garfield and Verne Troyer.The message of the movie is also memorable. It teaches the viewer to judge people for who they are rather than who you want them to be. Choice is also a pretty big theme in the movie.The film is strangely fantastical for one that picks up on Judeo-Christian story elements. Perhaps that is not a bad thing. It might get more people interested in religion in an age that values science and pure reason.In terms of humor, I would not expect that much. There is one scene that I found amusing. For spoiler reasons, I am not going to divulge it; it does involve policemen and violence, though. Since the film is one by Terry Gilliam, it is of course going to simultaneously have understated and outlandish humor at the same time. Again, the film relies on having an over-the-top presentation. In that vein, the film, out of all Terry's films, reminds me the most of his 'the Adventures of Baron Munchausen.' Both movies, if I am not mistaken, seem to tout Counter-Enlightenment values.Mild thumbs up. 6/10