Jabberwocky

"Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it"

1977 1h 45m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 337

FantasyComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the death of his father, young Dennis Cooper goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened by a terrible monster called 'Jabberwocky'. Will Dennis make his fortune? Is anyone brave enough to defeat the monster?

“Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it”

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Cast

Michael Palin
Dennis Cooper
Harry H. Corbett
Squire
John Le Mesurier
Passelewe
Warren Mitchell
Mr. Fishfinger
Max Wall
King Bruno the Questionable
Rodney Bewes
The Other Squire
John Bird
1st Herald
Bernard Bresslaw
The Landlord

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Terry Gilliam
Writers: Terry Gilliam, Charles Alverson
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 98% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Terry Gilliam, shot by Terry Bedford. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Modeste Moussorgsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Bradsell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Palin and Harry H. Corbett and John Le Mesurier carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Terry Gilliam directs. Terry Bedford behind the camera. Modeste Moussorgsky scores. Michael Bradsell cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 98% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
349 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Terry Gilliam, shot by Terry Bedford. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Modeste Moussorgsky. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Michael Bradsell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Michael Palin and Harry H. Corbett and John Le Mesurier carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Jabberwocky: the monster so horrible that people caught the plague to avoid it".
9IMDB entry: tt0076221 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Terry Bedford
Original score: Modeste Moussorgsky
Editing: Michael Bradsell
Production design: Roy Forge Smith
Costume design: Hazel Pethig
Makeup / hair: Scota Rakison
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $500,000
Box office: $490,000
Return: 98% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Jabberwocky (1977)

Also by

Terry Gilliam

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-06-04
★ 5/10
The biggest problem I have with this is that, well, it just isn't very funny! It centres on Michael Palin's "Dennis Cooper" - a man who determines that to win the hand of his true love "Griselda" (Annette Badland) he must enter the vile and filthy city of King "Bruno the Questionable" (Max Wall) and prove his worth with some magnificent deed of derring-do. The deed, well that is to rid the kingdom of a pesky dragon - "the Jabberwocky". Right from the get-go, the would be fairy tale romance is so implausible as to go from mildly amusing at first to downright irritating after about ten minutes. Thereafter, a cast of British theatrical stalwarts and comedians do try to keep this film vaguely entertaining, but the humour is just far too contrived and piecemeal. Palin works hard, but the exhaustion in having to stretch this thinnest of stories out for 1¾ hours is writ large on his face until, by the end, even he looks like he is thinking - "Please, let's just get this over with". "Star Wars" fans might spot "Darth Vader" himself and from a star-spotting perspective, there is some value in the film but otherwise it is a poorly conceived and executed attempt at a fantasy adventure and my money was always on the dragon!

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