Follow your nose.
Though played to mixed reviews at Cannes, Terry Gilliams’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has one thing going for it: Heath Ledger’s final performance. Sure…part of the film is faux-Ledger mixed with CGI, “movie magic” Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, but the late actor is there. Somewhere.
In the present day, immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) leads a traveling theatre troupe that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession. Members of the troupe include a sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield), and a dwarf, Percy (Verne Troyer ); Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), who now comes to collect on the arrangement, targeting the doctor’s daughter (Lily Cole). The troupe, which is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony (portrayed by Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell), embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl.
Parnassus, despite the Ledger hype, is still having trouble finding a distributor for its U.S. release. See three clips below at what American audiences may be missing:
L’Imaginarium du docteur Parnassus sur Comme Au Cinema
L’Imaginarium du docteur Parnassus sur Comme Au Cinema
L’Imaginarium du docteur Parnassus sur Comme Au Cinema
From what i know, there’s no “faux Ledger mixed with CGI” in this film… Just 3 different actors who take on the part when the character goes through a magical mirror, that’s all…
About the US distributor, the Hollywood Reporter said this : “A number of titles are expected to close deals in the coming weeks, including Heath Ledger’s last pic, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” so a deal will be made soon.
Ah, the ol’ “magical mirror” ploy.
Person who wrote the article doesn’t know what they are talking about. Gilliam himself he did not CGI-alter any of Heath’s performances.
Hi Max – I’m the “person” who wrote the article. Care to share a link about that? I based the CGI remark off of a quote from Christopher Plummer.
should be ‘Gilliam said’.
Thanks Max. You’re a peach.
The quote you heard from Christopher Plummer was before Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped in. There is NO CGI Heath in this. They filmed all of the real world stuff in London. They took a weekend break and were prepping to shoot the Imaginarium sequences in Toronto. Gilliam went to Toronto and Heath went to Manhattan for the weekend. During that weekend Heath died. He finished all of the real world stuff. This is all fact.
The quote you heard from Christopher Plummer was before Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped in. There is NO CGI Heath in this. They filmed all of the real world stuff in London. They took a weekend break and were prepping to shoot the Imaginarium sequences in Toronto. Gilliam went to Toronto and Heath went to Manhattan for the weekend. During that weekend Heath died. He finished all of the real world stuff. This is all fact.