Stars: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare, Monica Bellucci, Jonathan Pryce, Lena Heady, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Mackenzie Crook, Richard Ridings, Julian Bleach, Bruce McEwan

Director: Terry Gilliam

Summary: 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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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on April 30, 2006 1:26 PM

Matt Damon and Heath Ledger team up for a fantastic adventure in this magical tale , based on the legendary storytellers , Brothers Grimm . Will and Jake Grimm travel from village to village , in the
Napoleonic countryside . The conmen pretend to protect folk by performing exorcisms on monsters and demons , in return for quick money . But the monsters come back to bite them when the French authorities figure out their scheme ! The brothers are forced to contend with a real magical curse when they enter an enchanted forest , where young maidens keep disappearing under mysterious circumstances . Here genuine courage is required .

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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 Ringand 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 Hollowand 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, Grimmsuffered 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

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Feature Commentary, Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary, Bringing The Fairy Tale To Life A Look Behind The Scenes Of The Brothers Grimm, The Visual Magic Of The Brothers Grimm A Look At The Special Effects Featured In The Brothers Grimm
Subtitles:	English, Italian
Year:	2005
Release Date:	March 13, 2006
Runtime:	114 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B U A 0010801
Keywords:	Action, Brothers, General, Fantasy, Grimm, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure