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12 Monkeys

“Nobody is going to die. You’re not going to save the world, okay? You’re delusional. You’ve made this all up out of bits and pieces in your head.”

Terry Gilliam has said that ‘The Fisher King’ and ‘Twelve Monkeys’ were two of the easiest films for him to make. Perhaps that’s because he found the right way to work in the studio system, perhaps it’s because he found the right people to work with, perhaps it’s because he wasn’t working with his own scripts. It’s hard to say why that is, but they certainly proved successful at the box office, showing that Gilliam wasn’t box office poison and allowing him to continue his career. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we conclude our Terry Gilliam series with his 1995 film ‘Twelve Monkeys.’ We talk about what Gilliam did between ‘The Fisher King’ and this film and why he latched onto this film. We discuss the nature of the story and how it works for us now — is it a film we love or a film that ends up being forgotten not long after rewatching it. We chat about the three main actors — Bruce Willis, Madeline Stowe and Brad Pitt — and what they each bring to the table, as well as some of the fantastic supporting cast. We cover the nature of time travel and debate whether this film’s rules really work, or if that matters as long as the rules apply within the film itself. And we chat about Terry Gilliam and what we’ve learned about him over the course of this series. It’s a great way to finish up — tune in!

Film Sundries

A show about movies and how they connect.

When the movie ends, our conversation begins. We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
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