An Englishman returns after nine years abroad and tells strange stories of the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnag, the flying island Laputa and the Houyhnhnms, a race of inte... Read allAn Englishman returns after nine years abroad and tells strange stories of the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnag, the flying island Laputa and the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses.An Englishman returns after nine years abroad and tells strange stories of the tiny people of Lilliput, the giants of Brobdingnag, the flying island Laputa and the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses.
- Won 5 Primetime Emmys
- 11 wins & 15 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the only screen version of Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel "Gulliver's Travels" to adapt all four of its parts.
- GoofsWhen Dr. Bates is tearing pages from Gulliver's journal and throwing them on the fire the pages change position between shots.
- Quotes
Emperor of Lilliput: Good plans, boys, but I don't think we should actually murder him. You were so keen on killing Mother last year and now I miss her dreadfully. You're both too impulsive!
- ConnectionsFeatured in That's Showbusiness: Episode #8.11 (1996)
The same applies to this movie. There have been some really awful versions of this story, which must be why people are reluctant to look at this version. I mean, it's a TV-movie and it comes from muppetteer Jim Henson, so how should we expect anything but cuteness?
Look again - beauty turns up in the oddest places. Children love this movie enough to sit through all three hours of it, but it also takes the time to get Swift's dark vision right. I hate special effects, but here they are used to carry the story forward instead of just dazzling us. Please note that the producers took the trouble to recruit classical actors like John Gielgud and Peter O'Toole who perform their eccentric roles with perfection.
Dramatically, the romance between Gulliver and Glumdalclitch is rendered touching and poignant, as well as funny (she's a little girl, but twenty times his size). The frame-story has a theme about absent fathers that many children will relate to. And the part about Gulliver in the asylum introduces an element of horror dealing with the abuse of authority (apparently deriving from Val Lewton's "Bedlam" [1946], another forgotten masterpiece).
The VHS is always turning up in the bargain-bin for a few cents, which is an insult to the many great artists who put this thing together. I encourage audiences to recognize a good thing by getting this movie and inspiring others to watch it. Although it has a lot to offer children, grown-ups will find that it stands up nicely to such classics as Aguirre, Brazil, 1984 and other serious fantastic works.
Much of it was filmed in Portugal, I was looking up the various palaces involved-
Sintra-
-Monserrate(Laputa) -Queluz(Brobdingnag) -Ribafria Palace (Sorcerer's Palace, I think) -Castle of the Moors(Struldbrugs)
Lisbon-
-Ajuda(Burning Palace, Lilliput)
Mafra-
-Royal Palace and streetscapes (Lilliput) -Sea Cliffs (Brobdingnag and Lilliput)
The Doctor's Mansion is obviously in the Cotswold limestone district... anyone recognize it?
The final shot is modelled after the Paul Nash painting "Landscape from a Dream", surrealism seems right for a movie like this.
www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/nash-landscape-from- a-dream-n05667
- Prof_Lostiswitz
- Dec 27, 2003
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- The English Programme - Unit 56: Gulliver's Travels
- Filming locations
- Monserrate Palace, Sintra, Portugal(Balnibarbi palace)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1