The Brothers Grimm
December 16, 2005
- Dan Ramer,
DVDFile.com
Director Terry Gilliam's penchant for fantasy would seem a
perfect match for a reimagining of the Grimm Brothers, the famous
writing duo that immortalized Germanic folklore as sometimes-grim
fairytales. But although I found Gilliam’s storyline to be
expectantly imaginative, I felt the visuals had been given a higher
priority than the plot.
We’re thrust back into the
Napoleon age. The French Emperor’s thirst for European
conquest has driven his forces into Germany, where the vanquished find
themselves under the harsh rule of their occupiers. The
film’s basic premise is that Wilhelm (Matt Damon) and Jacob
Grimm (Heath Ledger) haven’t yet become notable authors; they
scratch out a living as roving conmen. Like The
Frighteners and Dragonheart, the protagonists victimize
the innocent; however, in this film the coconspirators are less than
supernatural. Will is the older of the two and the consummate
con artist, quick of tongue and foot. He charms his victims,
typically panicked villagers, and after a predictably successful
confrontation with some seemingly metaphysical threat, turns his
charms to the local women.
Jake is the more
scholarly of the two. He may be a reluctant partner, but the
travel and the exposure to local folklore are ripe sources of notes
for his journal. It becomes clear that this record will become
the source of the Grimm Fairytales as he and we see the origins of
several familiar stories. In fact, Gilliam has peppered the film
with cameos by quite a few characters that figure prominently in the
Grimm tales. One might wonder why Jake participates; it seems so
out of character for him. Perhaps he craves his brother’s
approval. Will has never let Jake forget that as a child he sold
the family cow for a handful of magic beans, with tragic
consequences.
With each success, the Brothers’
reputation grows. But the local commanding officer of the
occupying French, General Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce), is apparently a
little more sophisticated than your typical superstitious
villager. The Grimm Bothers and their accomplices are arrested
and brought to a formidable torture chamber run by the odious Cavaldi
(Peter Stormare). They are made an offer that they can’t
refuse. Enjoy the hospitality of the torture chamber or travel
under Cavaldi’s watchful eye to Marbaden where children have
disappeared into a seemingly evil forest. Delatombe is fully
convinced that the Grimms are frauds and he believes another gang of
tricksters is upsetting the villagers. He wishes to send a thief
to catch a thief. One thing is assured; failure will seal their
fates.
The village proves to be more than anyone
expected. The good news comes in the form of the attractive
daughter of the local woodsman. Angelika (Lena Headey) had been
sent off for an education, and she’s now shunned by the ignorant
villagers. Her father and her two young sisters have fallen
victim to the forest and she’s anxious to deploy her formidable
skills as a huntress to find them.
The bad news comes in
the form of a powerful witch, the Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci),
locked away in a tall tower, sealed with the exception of the open
windows at the highest level and located deep within the evil
forest. That forest is indeed enchanted. It has succumbed
to the Mirror Queen’s powers as she desperately strives to
regain her youth and beauty. It seems that she’s
cursed. She has been granted immortality but not eternal
youth. Decay is a terrible fate for the vain.
Will
Angelika lead the Grimms to the tower? Will they become
reluctant heroes, leveraging their con artist skills for a real
supernatural battle? Gilliam must have delighted in the moral
ambiguities. I enjoyed the performances by the principal cast
members. I found Lena Headey to be particularly natural
onscreen. The director has always had a wonderful visual style,
and in that regard, he did not disappoint. His origins as the
quirky animator for Monty Python evolved to create the unique visions
of Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and
12 Monkeys. He’s just as inspired visually in
The Brothers Grimm. But without the edginess found in
his previous work, without any real sense of danger, the artistry
alone could not fully engage my interest.
The
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film’s
theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic
video. The transfer is slightly soft and marred by modest edge
halos. Small object detail and fine textures are somewhat
suppressed. The color palette is manipulated quite a bit;
Gilliam mentions that intent in his commentary. Consequently,
one must be patient to find a scene in which to judge natural skin
tones. When found, the color accuracy is quite good.
Shadow detail is reasonable, a plus within the dark forest scenes and
the extended nighttime sequences. I didn’t notice any
macroblocking or mosquito noise. I simply found myself wishing
for fewer halos and more detail. Here we are, very nearly nine
years since the introduction of the format. Superb transfers are
readily available from all the major studios. And yet, we still
have to suffer through the mediocrity of transfers such as this
one.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is quite nice. The
surrounds are more active in this Gilliam film than I can remember in
any other. I felt pleasantly immersed. The surround
effects definitely provoked a layer of emotional response that would
have been lacking without them. Do enable EX decoding for a
richer audio experience. Deep bass is a missed
opportunity. Even during the artillery barrage in the third act,
I felt that the bottom end was a tad wimpy. Sound effects nicely
serve the onscreen images, but they hovered on the threshold of
visceral. The orchestral score by Dario Marianelli is pleasantly
conveyed across a broad soundstage without impressing. The
dialog is distortion-free throughout.
The alternate
language is in French. Optional subtitles are in Spanish and
English, for which Closed Captions are also included.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
The
disc opens with trailers (6:36) for Flightplan,
Underclassman, and Dark Water. They may be
skipped.
Director Terry Gilliam may be heard in a
feature-length commentary. Gilliam is
delightful. He offers anecdotes from the shoot, explains
artistic intent, and provides much welcome detail about how the film
was shot. We learn about casting, the challenges of location
shooting, the connection between the Grimm fairytales and the
film’s plot, and how the special effects were created.
Gilliam loves his craft and his enthusiasm shines through.
He’s witty and chatty and thoroughly enjoyable.
There
is a generous group of twelve deleted scenes that may
be played individually or sequentially with the “Play All”
option; when you do, the aggregate running time is 15:05. A
Gilliam commentary is optional. I found some of these sequences
to be very helpful in filling out the characters and smoothing the
storyline. But most deserve their fate, relegated to the
supplement menu. They are presented in non-anamorphic video with
predictable softness.
Bringing the Fairytale to
Life (16:30) is the first of two
featurettes. It is a blend of EPK material and
truly interesting behind the scenes insights. The best parts
reveal Gilliam at work with his cast, a very happy group.
The Visual Magic of the Brothers Grimm (8:41) is the second
featurette and this one is more consistently
informative. You’ve seen such extras before; as
enthusiasts you pour over such featurettes craving the answer to the
question, “How did they do that?” Here we learn that
Gilliam favors the physical over the trickery of the digital domain,
but he had to concede the freedom and capabilities of CGI. We
see both physical and virtual effects.
The 118-
minute film is organized into twenty-two chapters.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the
disc into your PC?
There are no DVD-ROM features
on this DVD.
Final Thoughts
As
a Gilliam fan, I was pleased to watch The Brother Grimm and
to enjoy that filmmaker’s unique approach to his art. As a
Gilliam fan, I was somewhat disappointed with the film and felt it did
not live up to my expectations from that gifted director. To say
that I’m conflicted would be an understatement. We have
fine performances by a great cast, wonderful production values, and a
worthy director at the helm. The DVD has a respectable, but not
spectacular, transfer and audio track, and the supplements are pretty
good. I just wish that Ehren Kruger’s screenplay was a bit
more gripping.
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