Time Bandits was a classic film from the 80s and from the twisted and wonderful imagination of Terry Gilliam. The film followed the fortunes of a young boy who is coerced in to following a group of time travelers on an adventure through time.

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The film is great fun and has some very funny moments, followed by some with very dark imagery that is surprising to see in what is effectively a kids’ film, but one that can be enjoyed by all ages. Let’s take a look back at the film with some facts about Time Bandits that you probably didn’t know…

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1. King Agamemnon was not originally going to go to a big name star

In the original script, King Agamemnon was introduced to the film as “The warrior took off his helmet, revealing someone that looks exactly like Sean Connery, or an actor of equal but cheaper stature”!

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2. Connery loved it

Sean Connery ended up with the script and loved it, expressing an interest in the part and so his agent made it happen!

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3. The camera angles are deliberate

Many of the camera angles in Time Bandits are shot from a low angle. This was to give the audience the impression that the film was seen from the eyes of a child or a dwarf.

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4. There was almost a sequel to Time Bandits

In 1996, Time Bandits 2 was proposed and a script was worked on with Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown, and was set to bring back all of the cast with the exception of David Rappaport and Tiny Ross who had sadly passed away.

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5. Another loss shelved the idea

The sequel to Time Bandits would have seen Jack Purvis’ character paralysed, as the actor had been seriously injured in a car accident. When Purvis sadly passed away, the project was put in to production hell indefinitely.

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6. Evil had an issue with heights!

In the film, Evil is played by David Warner, but when he’s captured the Time Bandits in a cage and walks up the stairs this is a stunt double, as David Warner suffers from vertigo and so struggled to film the scene!

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7. Gilliam had to leave set at one point to prevent ruining a shoot

In the scene at the table with Ian Holm Napolean, Terry Gilliam was laughing so hard at the scene that he had to leave the set so as not to ruin the shoot.

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8. Jonathan Pryce almost starred

Jonathan Pryce was offered the role of Evil but was unable to accept as he had prior acting commitments. He went on to star in Gilliam’s next film, Brazil, instead!

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9. The idea for the film was conceived long before

It was as a young boy that Gilliam took the inspiration for casting dwarf actors as he had memories of when the Circus used to come to town and young people used to find work helping them out.

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10. One producer found Gilliam frustrating!

The film was produced partly by George Harrison, and he found working with Terry Gilliam frustrating, with some of his lyrics in “Dream Away” even suggesting this was the case.

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11. Gilliam was proud of the achievement

George Harrison went on to say that Gilliam was difficult and “Bolshie” and that as such Gilliam reminded him of of John Lennon – Gilliam said this was the thing he was most proud of that Harrison said to him!

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12. Harrison played a big part in the film being made

No studio wanted to take on the film as they couldn’t see it working, and so George Harrison and Denis O’Brien mortgaged their Cadogan Square office building to raise $5 million to finance the project!

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Is Time Bandits a film that you’re a fan of, or one of those you only barely remember and haven’t seen since you were young? Are you going to go back and re-watch the film? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments as always!