Product Description

Matt Damon (THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, OCEAN'S TWELVE) and Heath Ledger (THE PATRIOT, A KNIGHT'S TALE) team up to bring you one of the year's most fantastic adventures in this magical tale based on the lives of the legendary storytellers. Will and Jake Grimm (Damon and Ledger) dazzle small towns with their imaginative folklore and elaborate illusions, but when the brothers journey into a real enchanted forest they encounter many of the fantastic characters and thrilling situations found in their beloved fairy tales! From the award-winning director of 12 MONKEYS, BRAZIL and MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, this fabulous motion picture is sure to leave you living happily ever after!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6837 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2005-12-20
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German, Italian
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com
Fairy tales come vividly to life in The Brothers Grimm, a long-delayed fantasy/horror comedy that greatly benefits from the ingenuity of director Terry Gilliam. In lesser hands, the ambitious screenplay by prolific horror specialist Ehren Kruger (who wrote the American versions of The Ring and The Ring 2) might have turned into an erratic monster mash like Van Helsing. But Gilliam's maverick sensibility makes the film more closely comparable to Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow and Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, with the added benefit of impressive CGI effects and lavish (though cost-efficient) production design, making the most of a challenging $75 million budget. Kruger's clever conceit is to turn "folklore collectors" Wilhem and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, respectively) into 19th-century con artists who perform bogus exorcisms of "evil enchantments" while traveling from village to village in French-occupied Germany. The two soon find themselves ensnared in a genuinely supernatural crisis involving the curse of the Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci) and such fantastical marvels as the Big Bad Wolf, the Gingerbread Man, and a host of other truly enchanted (and not altogether friendly) flora and fauna. It's kind of a mess, switching from over-the-top humor (mostly from Peter Stormare as a manic villain) to serious fantasy involving the beautiful Angelika (Lena Headey), who proves to be the Grimm Brothers' most reliable ally. And like many of Gilliam's films, Grimm suffered from production delays (during which Gilliam filmed Tideland), distributor fallout, and several changes in its theatrical release date, but none of these issues prevent the film from being a welcomed addition to Gilliam's remarkable list of credits. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Gilliam in top form
I recently heard someone say they were disappointed with Gilliam's "update" of the Famous Brothers and their Fables. Whoever said that doesn't understand Gilliam's modus operandi. He is a genius at creating brand new worlds(Time Bandits and Brazil) and Bringing old Folktales and fantasy stories back to their roots while still making them entertaining(Baron Munchausen).

The same is true of the Brothers Grimm. He offers a unique spin on Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and quite distinctly the Gingerbead Man, but at the same time retains the essence of the original stories. Fariy Tales are DARK! They were meant to frighten Children into BEHAVING!

I also appreciated the emphasis on Character. With the Exception of Peter Stormare's hammy torturer, the Cast is Excellent. Matt Damon is always good, but Heath Ledger Steals the film with his portrayal of Jacob Grimm. And of course Jonathan Pryce is always enjoyable.

My biggest complaint though is a rather nasty scene involving a kitten. Gilliam can at times have an extremely nasty sense of humor and this was particularly unpleasant.

Gilliam's films are not for all tastes I confess. But I thouroughly enjoyed this film. I'll never look at the gingerbread man the same way again.

Brothers Grimm is a light-hearted ghost story
The Brothers Grimm is a suspenseful light-hearted ghost story in the cinematic tradition of such movies as Pirates of the Caribbean, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Sleepy Hollow. The brothers, played by Heath Ledger and Matt Damon, couldn't be more enchanting in their roles in this fairy tale movie. Jacob, played by spectacle toting Heath Ledger, is the lovable underdog, an impractical poet who wears his gold heart on his sleeve. Wilhelm of course, couldn't be more different as the devilishly dashing woman-chasing lead and older brother.

The film is set in French occupied Germany and is quite amusing for history buffs. There, Jacob and Wilhelm have a run in with the French army. They've roamed from town to town making up fairy tales, but not only in the story sense! Jacob largely follows Wilhelm around documenting the folk tales of the various villages they weave their `magic' around. When they are captured, the scenes involving the French general (Jonathan Pryce) are classically macabre in every sense- I don't want to spoil any surprises so you'll have to see the movie to find out why. Caravaldi, a captain in that army, played by Peter Stormare, becomes a permanant pest and an unexpected side-kick. The character is completely absurd with an Italian accent, hilarious yet creepy.

With Caravaldi, the brothers find themselves embroiled in a real mystery when all the girls in the village disappear. The townsfolk are strange but the boys eventually warm up to the female lead, Angelika (Lena Headey) who leads them through the forest and tells them of the folk tales of her youth. There's a little bit of that fairy tale magic mixed in with some European folklore which makes the movie interesting from an anthropological perspective... it makes you wonder what our folktales say of our history. The movie makes us imagine that these fairy or folk tales were real events, documented faithfully by the trusting Jacob. And there in the forest the brothers discover the truth behind the girls' disappearance, the connection with Angelika's missing father, and a wolf that has terrorized the forest.

The Brothers Grimm is spooky and maybe a little scary/disturbing for young children but don't see the movie expecting a thriller- after all the movie is based on Grimm's fairytales. It's a lot of fun trying to guess which fairy tale is being alluded to in the various scenes as the Brothers seek to rid village of their haunting. And it is interesting how the movie weaves each story into another. There are great questions as to what is real and what is not... is it supernatural, a trick, magic?

Magic there is, and chemistry too for sure in this entertaining movie. Lovers of fairy tales and ghost stories alike will find themselves falling in love with The Brothers Grimm! Hopefully, the DVD or movie will be out for Halloween.

Have the right expectations and you'll see it for the masterpiece it is!
I've heard a few people say they were disappointed after seing this film; they had expected better. I think a lot of people have the wrong expectations when it comes to The Brothers Grimm: in the theatre I see lots of people of whom I can tell from moment one they will be disappointed.

Mothers with young children who actually think this movie has anything to do with the traditional fairy tales; this movie is NOT for children! If I were 7 I'd wet my bed for days after seing The Brothers Grimm. Young boys and girls on dates, all expecting an easy digestive romcom with an obvious storyline and no depth (I don't know how they got there but they did). That is NOT the case. If you want Finding Nemo, go see Finding Nemo. If you want American Pie, go see American Pie. But don't complain about The Brothers Grimm, because it is an absolute masterpiece!

The storyline is entertaining (one of the few movies that doesn't make you go "when's the intermission already? I need to pee!"), the director paints an amazing picture with his brilliant set, the characters are adorable and the actors do an amazing job. There wasn't a moment I saw them acting instead of being. One thing that really caught my attention was the role of Angelika (by Lena Heady) which reminded me in every single way of Keira Knightley's version of Guinevere in King Arthur - in a good way though.

Overall, I think this movie is a serious tribute to the fantasy genre, and I think that people who can appreciate that will love this. Don't look for logic, don't look for unexpected plots like in The Village and The Others, don't expect American Pie jokes and FOR GOD'S SAKE don't take your little children with you to this movie.

This is a brilliant movie that can hold it's own and if you ask me it deserves lots and lots of attention and awards.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS MOVIE IF YOU LIKE... Sleepy Hollow (with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci), King Arthur (with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley), Pirates of the Caribbean (with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom).