A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- Awards
- 1 win & 8 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Terry Gilliam, David Rappaport believed he got his part for his acting ability alone, without size being a contributing factor. As a result, he didn't socialize with his co-stars. During the Invisible Barrier scene, when the other bandits retaliate against Randall, the actors were expressing their frustrations with Rappaport.
- GoofsNumerous inaccuracies in the "historical" scenes. The film means to depict history as visualized by a well-read 11-year-old, not a formally trained historian. This is consistent with the theme of whimsical, casual time travel wherein history is deliberately contaminated.
- Quotes
Evil: God isn't interested in technology. He cares nothing for the microchip or the silicon revolution. Look how he spends his time, forty-three species of parrots! Nipples for men!
Robert: Slugs.
Evil: Slugs! HE created slugs! They can't hear. They can't speak. They can't operate machinery. Are we not in the hands of a lunatic?
- Crazy creditsAt the end of the credits, the scene where the Bandits have their photo taken is replayed.
- Alternate versionsAt least one version shown on US television cut the sequence of the knight bursting out of Kevin's closet and much of what came after that (Kevin's Dad telling him to keep the noise down, breakfast the following morning, etc.) This truncated version goes right from Kevin getting into bed to the Time Bandits emerging from the closet, but retains the rattling closet doors that announced the knight's arrival.
- ConnectionsEdited from A Night to Remember (1958)
- SoundtracksMe And My Shadow
Arranged by Trevor Jones
Composed by Billy Rose (as Rose), Al Jolson (as Jolson), and Dave Dreyer (as Dreyer)
Published by Francis Day & Hunter
Performed by David Rappaport, Kenny Baker, Malcolm Dixon, Mike Edmonds, Jack Purvis, and Tiny Ross
Featured review
An odd little trip, fueled by wit and imagination
Even though the movie is bookended by chaos, and fueled by a sort of demented Terry Gilliam charm (not to mention the dark-but-funny violence) "Time Bandits" is really a kid's movie. And that's what I love about it: it's just a young boy stealing away on an adventure from his mundane existence. Add to that the trappings of a magical cosmic map, the gallop through the Napoleonic Wars, Ancient Greece and Medieval England, and a cadre of greedy dwarfs and it's a lot of fun. Even with that cast of familiar faces, David Warner handily steals the movie as Evil (like Sark from "TRON", only having more fun with it). And I love that the Supreme Being turns out to be a cheeky old British guy.
It also ends with some sort of statement about modern technology, but that's just a last-minute zinger. What this really proves is that there's fun to be had in cult movies, and Sean Connery is awesome.
7/10
It also ends with some sort of statement about modern technology, but that's just a last-minute zinger. What this really proves is that there's fun to be had in cult movies, and Sean Connery is awesome.
7/10
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Bandidos del tiempo
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $42,365,581
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,507,356
- Nov 8, 1981
- Gross worldwide
- $42,368,025
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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