The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Trivia: Early in the film, as the Salt and Son theatrical troupe performs their stage version of Munchausen's adventures, the Baron is eaten by a giant fish; two mermaids immediately enter stage-left and sing a mournful ditty modestly accompanied by the pit orchestra: "What will become of the Baron? Surely this time there is no escape!" To those with sharp ears, this ditty is the same tune as the soaring, symphonic Baron Munchausen theme music featured throughout the movie.

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: Despite being nominated for 4 Academy Awards (and despite its decades-long cult following), this film was a box-office disaster upon its release, grossing only $8 million against a reported production cost of $46 million. Director Terry Gilliam denied the film cost anywhere near $40 million, and other reports place the total cost at around $35 million. But, even with this more conservative estimate, Gilliam went far beyond his initial budget of $25 million.

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: This film was actually the third installment in director Terry Gilliam's "Trilogy of Imagination," all dealing with fantasy escapism at different ages in life. The first film of the trilogy was 1981's "Time Bandits," a surreal fantasy seen through the eyes of a child; the second film was 1985's "Brazil," another surreal fantasy seen through the eyes of a middle-aged man; 1988's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" was yet another surreal fantasy seen through the eyes of an elderly gentleman.

Charles Austin Miller

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When they're building the petticoat balloon, the camera slowly goes back. Look at the lower-right corner of the screen: there is a man wearing a stadium jacket. He's a crew member.

More mistakes in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Baron Munchausen: Gentlemen! Don't you think it would be a good idea to silence those enemy cannons?
Gunner: No, sir.
Baron Munchausen: No?
Gunner: It's Wednesday.

More quotes from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Question: When Baron Munchausen and his cohorts clean out the Sultan's vault, the Sultan's horrified Treasurer crosses himself in the Catholic fashion. But, in this film, the Sultan is head of the Ottoman Empire (a Muslim empire), and the closest members of his court (such as his Treasurer) would surely be Muslim. So the treasurer's Christian gesture stands out as unlikely, at best. This seems to be a character error, but was it intended as a deliberate joke? If so, what was the joke?

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The Baron is a teller of tall tales and massively exaggerated stories, so it is all from his limited point of view. The Ottomans did have Christian members of staff, especially doctors and such but the treasurer would never be a non-Muslim.

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