Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky (1977)

Timing: 1:45 (105 min)

6.005/10
307

All about film

Video 3

Photo 21

Actors and characters

Release date

1977-03-28

Country

United Kingdom

Production

Python Films, Umbrella Films

Genre

Fantasy, Comedy

Budget

$500 000

Revenue

$490 000

Website

Director

Terry Gilliam

Actors

Michael Palin, Harry H. Corbett, John Le Mesurier, Warren Mitchell, Max Wall, Rodney Bewes, John Bird, Bernard Bresslaw, Deborah Fallender, Derek Francis
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Julian Doyle, Sanford Lieberson, John Goldstone

Operator

Terry Bedford

Composer

Modeste Moussorgsky

Artist

Roger Cain

Audition

Irene Lamb

Editing

Michael Bradsell, Joyce Herlihy
All team (24)

• The film's title is taken from the poem of the same name by Lewis Carroll.
• The film was shot in Wales, with Pembroke and Chepstow castles used as locations.
• For release in North America, the film was even renamed "Monty Python's Barmaglot," despite Gilliam's protests.
• Many members of the "Jabberwocky" crew simultaneously worked on the set of George Lucas's "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope." English bodybuilder and weightlifter David Prowse, best known for his role as Darth Vader in "Star Wars," also appeared in "Jabberwocky." In Gilliam's film, Prowse played two opposing knights—the main villain, the Black Knight, and his adversary, the Red Herring.
• The Barmaglot monster costume was made using the same principle as the Godzilla costumes, with one significant difference—the actor inside moved backwards. This was done so that the monster's legs would bend in the opposite direction, in a bird-like fashion. Accordingly, the actor's hands controlled Barmaglot's wings, while the head on the long neck was controlled by puppeteers using ropes (which are clearly visible in the film).
• The throne room of King Bruno the Doubtful actually consisted of a single fake wall with a door. The remaining walls of the room were depicted with dark fabric draperies.
• During the battle scene with the Black Knight, when he falls from his horse, a trailer from the film crew appears in the frame. Gilliam claims that in the flawed shot, the actor fell to the ground more expressively than in the successful takes. Also, during one of the scenes with a walk through the city, a pile of boxes covered with tarpaulin can be seen on the street. These are boxes for filming equipment, and they accidentally ended up in the shot.