From The Archives: Terry Gilliam – The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus1

by Fred Topel

“I’m good at starting things.”
– Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam movies are hard to explain anyway. Try to encapsulate 12 Monkeys in a logline about time travel, or pose The Fisher King as as simple drama about grief. The lengths Gilliam had to go through to finish what tragically became Heath Ledger’s final film take things to the next level.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is about a traveling street show. Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) lets audiences inside his magic mirror into a weird fantasy world that keeps their souls. Dr. Parnassus’s theater troupe rescues Tony (Ledger) from a dire situation and he joins their show.

Here’s where things get complicated. Ledger only filmed scenes in London before his passing. To make the film work, Gilliam hired Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play Tony on the other side of the mirror. So when Tony steps into the Imaginarium for the first time, he looks like Johnny Depp. The next time, Jude Law, and so on.

You’d think he’s try something easier next but instead he’s making another attempt to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. If you want to see how badly that went last time, check out the documentary Lost in La Mancha. Gilliam’s spirit got Dr. Parnassus finished, and not just as the Heath Ledger memorial. Gilliam exuded a mellow vibe just lounging around talking about film and art, not about death or disaster. Everything just seems like pure potential with Terry Gilliam.

Read our exclusive interview with Terry Gilliam on SuicideGirls.com.