i think i’ll transfer you to the undergrowth department, brackens, small shrubs, that sort of thing…(12. 857)

Via our faithful chronicler, we are reminded that on this day in 1981 after a successful midsummer debut in the UK, Terry Gilliam’s critically acclaimed feature had its North American premiere. The project was born out of frustration in 1979 when the filmmaker could not find backing for his ambitious dystopian black comedy Brazil—that temporarily shelved idea eventually realised as the second instalment of his “Trilogy of Imagination” that began with Time Bandits and ended with The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen. Though violent and bleak at times, Gilliam sought to produce a family movie from the perspective of a child, with the camera angled accordingly for a kid’s point of view, but fearing a young boy wouldn’t be able to sustain the narrative alone, he cast the bandits who pilfered the map of holes in spacetime for looting with actors of a similar height. Produced by George Harrison’s HandMade Films studio, the elevator-pitch whilst playing a round of golf to the esteemed performer who would play Achilles, picture it: “Removing his helmet reveals himself to be none other than Sean Connery or an actor of equal but cheaper stature,” and as a Monty Python fan agreed to do the role. The picture also stars Shelley Duvall, Ian Holm, David Rappaport, Kenny Baker (R2D2), Jack Purvis and troupe alumni John Cleese and Michael Palin.