User reviews

A much more interesting variation on the Münchhausen theme than Terry Gilliam would offer more than four decades later.

It is filmed in colour and - despite being produced during WWII - no expense had been spared on the lavish sets and costumes. But this is not what this film is all about. As in Gilliam's film, this Münchhausen is a magical character, but it is not the magic you find in a modern animated Walt Disney spectacle, it is a magic with a dark side, a magic that can threaten and seduce and corrupt. Münchhausen himself comes across as an ambiguous character, charismatic and heroic, but by no means cuddly and lovable.

As a result this is more a fairy tale for adults than one for children, and the full original version with nude harem girls, sexual innuendo, etc. wouldn't have passed the American censors of its day and probably still get an R rating today.

Someone should do a book on the making of this one. It might represent the best blindsiding of the Nazi regime by artists who had scores to settle. I'm always amazed and grateful it made it past the censor. First, the writer, Erich Kastner, was blacklisted, a Jew, and had his books burned by the Nazis. But they were SO desperate for a good writer they got him on board for this. You sense they wanted world distribution....even down to the product placement shot of a Munchausen children's book Albers is holding before the flashback. Hans Albers, the Brad Pitt of his day, was forced to give up his Jewish girlfriend, Hansi Berg, and work for the Nazis. He sent her money in London all through WWII. She made it out in '38 escaping with her Dad. Dad (Eugen Berg) was not as lucky. He got caught and sent to the camps. He died there in '44. Kastner's script pokes fun of ALL authority, and embraces life itself, and urges the viewer to wake up and take it all in before it's too late; the Baron turns down power to enjoy life, and always has time for a good meal or a hot date. The photography is excellent, the KINO restoration the one to get..Carnival in Venice is wonderful to see and you find bits of humor and wit and set decoration that survived to the 80's version..but there is a haunting, melancholy air to this version, even when everyone is enjoying themselves...the writer knows too quickly everything can just GO and you're best to enjoy what you can while you can. I sometimes see a sad, long look in Hans Albers eyes...is he wondering if he would ever see his gal again? Does he KNOW where her Dad is? What does he THINK of the Nazis?? As it was, Kastner lived to 1974, the richest of the lot, when Disney made his two most famous books (Parent Trap, Emil and the Detectives) into movies. He is the only cast member who's name is associated with a Lindsay Lohan movie. Hansi came back to Hans and they lived together until Albers' death in 1960. She died in 1975.

You've got to hand it to that Josef Goebbels. When the little club footed maniac wasn't busy trying to get into the pants of every starlet of the German cinema, his UFA Studios could turn out some good work. Such is the case of the lavish spectacle Munchhausen. The color cinematography and special effects definitely equal the quality of anything Hollywood could do.

The Munchhausen Stories in German culture are akin to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. The author Rudolf Erich Raspe was trying for Swift like satire of the political events of his time. In time though they became beloved for their face value alone. In fact the protagonist became a synonym, Munchhausen's syndrome is a diagnosis for one who tells exaggerated stories or outright lies the better to ingratiate themselves with another individual or a group.

In fact at the same time that German romantic cinema star Hans Albers was doing Munchhausen over in Germany, a different kind of Munchhausen was popular in America. Jack Pearl, a former vaudevillian, had a radio series based on the Munchhausen character and his famous line to those who questioned the authenticity of his stories was "Vas you dere Charlie". Quite popular back in the day.

The story of the fabled Munchhausen is told in flashback during a party in modern Germany by the current Baron Munchhausen . By the way, another reviewer said that it would be Germany in the Thirties before World War II started. Not necessarily because the Nazi regime was notorious for not asking the kind of sacrifices demanded of its civil population until late in the war. Such a lavish type party was definitely in keeping with the regime's culture of the time.

Though Goebbels kept it light as he did most of UFA's product except those that were outright propaganda, they did get their shots in. During the part of the film concerning Munchhausen's visit to Imperial Russia, the German background of Catherine the Great played by a fetching Brigitte Horney is emphasized. Catherine was a name she took when she married the Czar, she was in fact Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst. Also there is a scene when Pugachev, the peasant leader of a revolt in Siberia, is brought in caged like an animal and looking like something from Dr. Moreau's laboratory. Pugachev was later played by Van Heflin in the film Tempest in the next decade. The caricature was definitely in keeping with the Nazi ideas to depict Slavic people as some kind of subhumans, almost as bad as Jews.

Throughout the film as Munchhausen travels from St. Petersburg, to Istanbul, to Venice and even the moon, Albers's faithful sidekick is Herman Speelmans who is like Sancho Panza or even Gabby Hayes if you will. Speelmans does a fine job and dies on the moon in a beautifully played scene.

As the propaganda is kept to a minimum, Munchhausen has survived to be appreciated on its own merits which are considerable.

I first watched this in the early 1990s on Italian TV; back then, I didn't even know it existed and, in all probability, the version I watched was trimmed - since the full-blown restoration wasn't carried out until 2004! Anyway, I remember the film with affection and I thoroughly enjoyed rewatching it on DVD (even if this version is still several minutes shy of its 134-minute original length!).

For being made right in the middle of WWII, this is an obscenely expensive - circa $35 million in today's currency - spectacle (given pretty much carte blanche, the producers went overschedule and overbudget) commissioned by the Nazis - but scripted, ironically, by a Jew - on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Germany's foremost film unit, UFA, it was also seen as a direct response to such foreign-made extravaganzas as Hollywood's THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) and Britain's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940)! The character of the tale-spinning Baron Munchausen originated in a book by 18th century author Gottfried August Burger which, along the years, has inspired 4 feature-film adaptations (as well as a Silent short by pioneering wizard Georges Melies and an animated short that was thankfully included on the Kino DVD and which will be discussed separately). Despite the stature accorded the 1988 Terry Gilliam version THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (which I watched only once several years ago and recall being a somewhat hit-or-miss affair), the 1943 film emerges as perhaps the most satisfying cinematic rendition overall.

The film is book-ended by scenes with a contemporary i.e. 1940s setting, in which the Baron (played as a dashing yet cunning womanizer rather than the Quixotic fool envisioned by Terry Gilliam) recounts some of his adventures - in the third person - to a naïve young couple (the female member of which had fallen under his spell at a fancy-dress ball). The rest is an episodic fantasia in which Munchausen - usually driven by the promise of a romance and accompanied by his faithful sidekick - journeys from one country to the other (meeting along the way historical historical figures like Czarina Catherine The Great, Giacomo Casanova and the magician Cagliostro, who endows him with both immortality and the power of invisibility, as well as purely invented characters such as the self-proclaimed "world's fastest runner") until he ends up on the moon itself. Quality varies but the end result, as a whole, is a delight and a veritable feast for the eyes (thanks, in no small measure to the highly pleasing Agfacolor, the splendid production design and the charmingly primitive special effects).

Still, one thing that bothered me about the DVD was the fact that the subtitles barely allowed one time to read them (in all fairness, this had a lot to do with the virtually uninterrupted flurry of the film's dialogue itself - hence, something other than a thin white font should have been adopted)! The extras were more extensive than I had anticipated and up to Kino's standards for a "Special Edition" release - the best, however, was the 17-minute interview with the head of the German archival company that handled the current restoration, which goes into some detail about this as well as the production of the film itself.

DIE ABENTEUER DES BARON MUNCHHAUSEN - EINE WINTERREISE (Hans Held, 1944) **1/2 {6/10}: A pleasant animated short from Germany about the popular title character, made in color but containing no dialogue; it came hot on the heels of the 1943 epic film version - though the latter, apparently, left no recognizable impression on it (as the Baron here looked and acted nothing like the part as played by Hans Albers, nor was the plot 'lifted' from some particular sketch in the episodic film). In fact, the short presents only a couple of incidents (presumably taken from the book which inspired the film version in the first place, and several others made before and after it): one in which the Baron's horse ends up dangling in the air from the façade of a building (seen in the front-cover illustration of the book from which Albers reads during the modern sequences in the film, though the episode itself is not re-enacted) and then when the two of them are chased by a hungry wolf in the snow, with the latter proceeding to swallow the horse in one gulp and replaces it in leading the Baron's sled!

When I look at how many people have rated this film, and I think of all the movie lovers out there who have never seen, or even heard of this delightful gem; It saddens me. I truly believe that it is among the greatest achievements in the history of film. The unique pastel colour is magnificent, and the film is filled with hilarious and daring moments. Especially when you consider that Münchhausen is a Nazi era 1943 German film; It really is hard to believe that this is true.

Acclaimed director Terry Gilliam of Monty Python and 12 Monkey's fame, obviously tried to draw more attention to this striking wonder when he made his own version of this tale 'The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen' in 1988. If it wasn't for Mr.Gilliam, I probably would have never bothered to even watch this film. So I owe him many thanks as Münchhausen has easily become one of my all time favorite films. The pace, humour, and sheer originality of this fantasy make it one of the easiest subtitled films to watch in existence, period. It ranks up there with the greatest pre-1950's films such as The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, and Chaplin's brilliant City Lights. If you love movies, if you love classic cinema, if you love original fantasy films, if you love humorous films; Seek out 1943's Münchhausen whatever you do. It will not disappoint. This film is certainly not for children. However, in terms of flat out fantasy entertainment, I would say that this nearly 70 year old antique blows away Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings films any day, and easily. Enough said.

9/10

I first saw "Münchhausen" in my native Romania as a child during the war (I mean WWII) and the scene of the baron's landing on the moon and having a conversation with the head, lying on the ground, of a woman who left the rest of her body in her lunar home, made such a powerful impression on me that to this day I remember it in all its funny details. It was also the first movie in color I had ever seen; yes, those were the days when movies, as a rule, were in black and white.

Revisiting the movie now, as a euphemistically labeled "senior citizen," I was surprised that it holds up quite well. It amuses, it surprises, it is well acted, the dialog is clever, written after all by the famous novelist Erich Kästner under a pseudonym to cover up the fact that the Nazis saw themselves forced to employ him after burning his books.

There is something quite disturbing in hindsight about this movie. Why was it made? It was released in the year between the Battle of Stalingrad and the Allied Normandy Invasion the two events that were to seal Germany's fate. Was it an attempt to sustain both at home and abroad the far-fetched illusion that the war was going so well that all the German people cared about was laughing at the Baron Münchhausen's lies? Or was it an attempt at showing that Babelsberg could produce a grand spectacle just as well as Hollywood? And if a spectacle was being offered, why, in a country in which mass murder and deception were the order of the day, was even the hero to be a liar?

I am asking these questions because much in this movie is disturbing for reasons related to them. Take the Baron himself, played in this movie by Hans Albers, the greatest star, the Clark Gable of German movies in those years, yet by the time of this movie a man in his fifties pretending to be irresistible to females. It is as if MGM had cast an aging Adolphe Menjou as Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind." Now Albers is a fine actor, but to enjoy the movie you definitely have to suspend disbelief and pretend that the aging actor riding the cannonball is not bothered by arthritic pain.

The sets look more like cheap nouveau-riche furnishings and the costumes are cut from wartime stock. Ilse Werner, as Princess Isabella d'Este, is as beautiful as ever, and as Count Cagliostro we get to see Ferdinand Marian, the actor who just a few years earlier had disgraced himself by playing the lead in "Jud Süss," the most disgusting anti-Semitic propaganda film ever made, a fact that ultimately led Marian to alcoholism and a DUI death at war's end, considered a suicide by many.

Now, one can say, let's just watch the film for what it is, and not in its historic context. But then, Marian's acting of Cagliostro, a swindler, is crafted with the same mannerisms he used in creating the Jew Süss. In short, the undeniable artistic qualities of this movie are infected with the severe moral deficiencies of its makers, and this surprisingly renders the movie more interesting than it has any right of being. This is what disturbs me.

The fabulous exploits of Baron MÜNCHHAUSEN include several wars, numerous plots and beautiful women without number.

At the height of World War Two, as the tide was beginning to turn against the Third Reich, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels commissioned this lavish motion picture as a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Ufa, the government-run German film association. More importantly, it was also to be a rival of the great fantasy films which had come from the Allied nations, such as THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940). In that it succeeds brilliantly and needs no comparison to any other film.

The film is a great, lighthearted romp as it follows the adventures of the Baron from Prussia to St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Venice and even the Moon. It is fascinating to see the high quality which the Germans were still able to lavish on the picture, even as their Empire was beginning to crumble around them. The production values are of a very high order and the Technicolor photography is sumptuous to the eye. Remarkably, there is no National Socialist propaganda in the film and the War is never mentioned.

In the title role, Hans Albers gives a surprisingly sensitive performance for such a robust production. He takes the legendary character and gives the viewer a portrait of a dashing, reflective, amorous, compassionate, resourceful man. Whether riding on a cannonball, ingratiating himself with the Ottoman Sultan, or examining the fantastic flora of the lunar planet, Albers always makes Münchhausen totally believable.

All the acting is of a high order, but especially worthy of mention are Ferdinand Marian as the mysterious Count Cagliostro, Brigitte Horney as a flirtatious Catherine the Great, and Gustav Waldau as an aging Casanova.

It should be mentioned that this is not a movie for children. Given its European origins it should come as no surprise that MÜNCHHAUSEN is a good deal more libidinous than the standard Hollywood fare of the time.

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There was a real Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen (1720-1797), a German adventurer and teller of tall tales, but he had nothing to do with the book of fictional exploits which borrowed his name, written by Rudolf Erich Raspe (1737-1794), upon which this film was based.

Some claim that this film was made to boost sagging Nazi morale as their world conquest began to falter in early 1943. Please, people, think a moment. This film took two years to make, so if it was released in spring 1943, it would have gone into production in early '41, when the Nazis were still on the rise toward their late 1942 peak of conquest. Plus, the pre-production must have taken a while also, so this film probably started in the conceptual stage as far back as 1939 or 1940! Munchhausen has a swashbuckling feel - with cavalier characters performing outrageous stunts with seeming effortlessness. The funniest is the runner who zips through the countryside like a rocket and isn't even out of breath when he stops. Hans Albers is both good and bad as the lead. He is clearly too old to fit the description of an eternally young man (the jowls alone are a dead giveaway), but his coolly aristocratic and macho bearing seem to suit the type he is playing, so you are able to go along with it. The casual female nudity in the harem scene is another reminder of how advanced over Hollywood the European cinema was in its attitude toward the body. The film's depiction of blacks is no more or less racist than Hollywood's at the time.

Although scene flows quickly into scene - there is nevertheless a tedium about the whole business, perhaps because the emotional tone within the scenes is so cool and so talky. No one seems to feel anything very deeply, so it's hard for the audience to feel anything much either. All we can do is applaud the sumptuous set pieces, the endless stunts and cleverness, and chuckle at the silly "magic tricks" like the clothing that dances or the ointment that makes mustaches spring from clean-shaven faces or the gun whose sight can see a target many miles away.

Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Munchhausen was a historic German nobleman, who became famous for throwing lavish parties at his home in Bodenwerder, where he told the most fantastic tall tales about his adventures. Now a well-known literary figure, Munchhausen has become a synonym for unbelievable and exciting adventures, that often involve tremendous exaggerations and even lies. It's not surprising that the wonderful stories of this man were eventually made into a movie, and interestingly enough it was the one that celebrated the 25 year anniversary of the German UFA film studios. Even more interesting though, is the fact that it was made in Nazi Germany during World War II, and yet doesn't contain one single anti-Semitic reference or propaganda for the cause of the National Socialist Party.

Extremely funny and hilariously entertaining, Josef von Baky created an unusual and highly original odyssey through Europe, of a man pursuing the exciting and adventurous. Those who have read the stories, know that some of Munchhausen's more famous deeds include his ride on the cannonball, tying his horse to the tip of a church tower and breaking into the ice, out of which he pulls himself by his own hairs. The first one mentioned can be found in the movie, as well as other humorous scenes, that perfectly fit into the Munchausen concept. Munchhausen lived at the end of the 18th century in Brunswick, but he always traveled around Europe with his loyal servant Christian Kuchenreuter. The story starts out with Munchhausen returning from one of his several trips to his residence in Bodenwerder, where all the jackets in his cabinet get rabies and Christian introduces a fascinating substance, that makes a man's beard grow in a matter of seconds. Hours later, Munchausen leaves for the court of Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, who is commanded to leave for St. Petersburg, and would like Munchhausen to accompany him. On their way to Russia, Munchhausen and Christian encounter the dark Count Cagliostro, who is wanted all over Europe for performing notorious witchcraft. He plainly tells Munchhausen of his intentions to become count of the Courland, and asks Munchhausen to assist him, which he denies, by telling him that he has absolutely no intention of reigning. In St. Petersburg, he meets Katharina the Great and the two become lovers, and he also meets Cagliostro again, and warns him that Katharina intends to arrest him. Out of gratitude, Cagliostro gives Munchausen a ring that makes him invisible and the ultimate gift of eternal youth, as long as Munchhausen wants it.

Baron Munchhausen was never very complex in the original stories, as they mostly focused on his fairy tales, rather than the vast and interesting personality. But here, the man is a very deep and powerful character, who sees people die around him, while he possesses the gift of eternal life, and becomes more and more torn between his desire for adventure and that to share a mortal life with his friends and loved ones. For this movie the basic concept of the Munchhausen stories was changed a bit, with the film being somewhat of a life story, even though there is no real linear plot, with the narrative reminding more of episodes. While a lot of the film is actually more of a historical drama than fantasy, many scenes will bring you into the wonderful world of Baron Munchhausen, including the cream that makes your hair grow in a matter of seconds, the rifle that can shoot accurately for hundreds of miles and the ride to the moon in an air balloon. An exemplary tale of imagination and creative adventures, Munchhausen's visual effects can't measure up the ones of today, of course, but in perspective to the times, they are absolutely stunning.

Some of the acting in this movie really stands out, even though it mostly centers around the colorful sets. Hans Albers makes the perfect Baron Munchhausen, a witty, intelligent, charismatic and very deep character, who is not the perfect hero, but a man who goes through life trying to have it as exciting as possible. Whether he's deeply philosophical, in the middle of one of his fun adventures, or once again seducing a beautiful woman, Albers is extremely convincing as the flawed, but good-hearted Munchhausen, who learns a lot during his life, enough to choose mortality over eternal life at the end. The film features a huge ensemble of characters, and many of them are just part of one episodes in Munchhausen's life. Hermann Speelmans, who plays Munchhausen's loyal servant and friend Christian Kuchenreuter, was also an exemplary casting choice, and manages to be funny (growing his beard in a matter of seconds) and very emotional (rapid aging on the moon) in a number of scenes. Another performer who really stands out is Ferdinand Marian, as the mysterious Count Cagliostro, who is very power-hungry, self-serving, but in the end a thankful and appreciative man, who rewards Munchhausen for warning him by giving him the eternal youth. Brigitte Horney as Katharina the Great is also great in her role, as the proud monarch, who is completely charmed by Munchhausen.

Another thing that might shock you is the nudity in this movie, that wouldn't get past any US-censor these days, as well as some pretty explicit sexual jokes. Therefore, "Munchhausen" really is a fairy tale for adults and not necessarily for children.

What's left to say, is that "Munchhausen" is a beautiful tale of adventures and imagination, that is an impressive document of what Germany's film industry was able to conjure in the 1940s already. And when Hans Albers rides on the cannon ball, turns his head to the audience, and takes off his hat in greeting, you will completely be captured by his charismatic and smart personality that brings the magic to this outstanding movie.

Just that I'm a fan of the sword era kinda for fantasy. That aside this is technically advanced, and some sequences even predate the same types utilized for the movie Superman. If I like this stockings subject it would be a 7 rate.

This ecapist piece of crypto-propaganda - it came out when Nazi-Germany had just lost Stalingrad - does have its good sides, but there are aspects I definitely did not like. Let me first get the negatives out of the way. I don't mind so much that the film was produced on Göbbels's orders and that it offered audiences a respite from the mounting bad news from the front. What is worse is that the plot is episodic, with the episodes following each other in a way that feels clunky. In other words, there is no proper narrative arc where suspense builds up and problems sketched at the outset are being solved toward the end of the film. The framing story set in the present is probably intended to provide something of this kind but largely fails to do so: To make it succeed, it would have been necessary to flesh out its characters far more. The one redeeming thing about the plot is its ending: I won't tell, but it lends the film some gravitas. All other aspects are fine. The acting is good (Hans Albers is in top form), photography is excellent, and the production values are impressive (the Nazis were, after all, trying to outdo 'The Thief of Baghdad'). Moreover, the lack of prudishness feels refreshing if you are used to films produced under the Hays code. All in all, my impressions of 'Münchhausen' are somewhat mixed, but the positives outweigh the downsides by quite a bit. Hence 7 stars.

I'm surprised by the number of positive reviews of this film. I think we tend to give old films benefit of the doubt since we can never see them in the same context as they were meant to be seen, i.e. as some one in 1943. I found this film to be weak in plot and rambling. I'm sure the special effects were revolutionary for the day, and the film had an extravagant budget. Unfortunately for many films with those characteristics the plot was completely overlooked and butchered in the attempt to patch all of the effects together in a cohesive story (sound familiar, Lucas?). The acting, in contrast to the extravagant costume and effects, seemed unprofessional and frivolous.

If you think I'm being too harsh, take a look at its contemporary, "The Wizard of Oz." It had similar scope in terms of effects, commentary on society, yet far more expertly executed and coherent in its acting and plot. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maaaaybe. But this film was created after "Wizard," and I think the producers could have endeavored a bit more to match its standards of quality.

I'm curious to know if this film has survived the test of time in Germany as "Wizard" has in the USA.

I saw this movie on late night TV and thought it was a real "hoot". I loved it. Beautiful color and production. I am normally a lazy movie patron but was motivated to struggle through the English sub-titles of the original German since I found it so enjoyable. It would be enjoyable for any who value classic movies and look for unusual movie experiences. The nudity (which was, of course, surprising for the era) was mild and provided additional insight into the mores, as well as aesthetic tastes in beauty, of the place and time.

With the frivolity of this fantasy farce as the backdrop for a real educational opportunity, I would highly recommend it. I plan to purchase a copy so this unique film will be available for friends and family to enjoy in the future.

It is a novelty, for sure, but well worth the time.

This is indeed a wonder of a film and next to something of a cinematic ideal, giving associations directly to George Méliès and his pioneering cinematic idealism, committing himself to any experiment just to fulfil his ideals. But this is not only next to an ideal film but also a literary masterpiece with an impressingly brilliant and ingenious dialogue all through, written by Erich Kästner. To this comes most appropriate music gilding all the best scenes, adding also oral beauty to the visionally perfect dreamworld, enhancing highlights like the ride on the cannon ball, on which the Baron in a typically delightful whim raises his hat to salute the audience, just one of innumerable instances of glorious genius. It's even hilariously funny, the cuckoo duel taking the prize for unforgettability. This is definitely a lasting and outstanding example of cinema at its best, satisfying all criteria for timelessness in beauty, story, imagery, humanity, humour, imagination and inspiration. This is one of those films you can always return to for watching again with new eyes discovering new gems and details of wonder, grace and cinematic glory.

Just the opening scene is a marvel, showing a sumptuous 18th century ball gradually being infected by anachronisms, turning the whole thing over into lasting timelessness...

A friend of mine made an important comment: "It has to be mentioned that Erich Kästner couldn't use hos own name, but had to use the name Berthold Bürger. Kästner was one of the authors whose books were burned by the Nazis in 1933. He became pacifist during the first world war and wrote the famous "Kennst du das Land wo die Kanonen blühn?"

Well, I'm sorry but no matter how much I expected myself to like this movie, I just didn't. No it's of course not like this is the worst movie I have ever seen but I was shocked at how poorly this movie actually was constructed.

Problem is that the movie feels way too messy, especially with its fantasy elements thrown into the story. Quite frankly the movie simply featured some poor storytelling and this movie is simply not how a fantasy movie should be like. The movie tries hard to create a magical kind of atmosphere but instead the fantasy elements often feel awkward and way too sudden. Sometimes it doesn't even serve a purpose for the movie it's story. It's just not a movie that could grab me. The storytelling is too messy and certain story elements seem very random and don't really blend in with the rest of the movie. The characters are confusing as well. Perhaps it would had helped if the movie was closer to 3 hours long, rather than it's now almost 2 hours of running time.

From a movie with a fantasy story such as this, also some more entertainment was to be expected. The movie only mildly entertains throughout but the movie just never becomes an awful lot of fun to watch, due to its story or fantasy elements.

But it needs to be said that for a 1943 movie this is simply a great looking one. It used some unique coloring techniques, Agfacolor, which German film-makers used between 1939 and 1945. It gives the movie an unique, very bright looking style. But also the sets and costumes are fine looking, though obviously deliberately fake looking as well at times.

A movie that tries really very hard but in the end just isn't good and entertaining enough.

5/10

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I found the film to be very enjoyable. I was impressed with the use of color. The film used Agfacolor film, which if memory serves me correctly was based on pastels, not at all like Technicolor.

The film is very rich and vibrant in its cinematography and color, this is very much appreciated when one sees the work that went into the Moon set.

Hans Albers plays an arrogant but lovable rogue who takes many, many years to learn the lesson of what is truly important in a mans life.

I am in agreement with one reviewer in that this film is not at all for children and should be screened carefully, this is a European film and the Hayes Act didn't exist in Germany.

This first release of Munchausen is by far the best. It is not only a comedy but a real action movie. The story is one of the most poetic ever filmed. Hardly recommended for family audience, a tale which can be compared to the contemporary "Wizard of Oz".

The Nazis took film making very seriously. It was one of the many areas covered by the Ministry of Propaganda led by Joseph Goebels. In 1943, Germany was beginning to face defeat and Goebels decided to make a comedy, drama like the Americans were able to accomplish, like, "Wizard of Oz" and many other films. I decided to view this film and find out just who Baron Munchhausen was and why they picked this person to make a film about. It seems Munchhausen pretends to be 200 years old, narrates his supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits. He had hunting adventures, his experiences in the Turkinsh wars and an account of his incredible travels--be it on the Ocean, the Moon or in a Volcano and in Venice. I was surprised in one adventure that they even showed women bouncing around near a pool Topless, hardly a Walt Disney film or American entertainment in the 1940's. Hans Albers, (Baron Munchhausen),"Carl Peters",'41 played an outstanding role and was a good actor. However, just knowing that Joseph Goebels, who was the promoter of this film, gives me the creeps. Goebels hated everyone in the world except Germans and the Jewish people who were his main target. This sure is a Nazi circus of a film which is the complete distortion of what that country stood for during those war years. Thank God America WON !

In film history class we were usually shown a silent era German movie followed by Triumph of the Will. This film ought to be included. It is surprising on a few fronts. One is the high production values. Not a cheap movie at all. Even when compared to a US technicolor film of the period, this had a few advantages like real European locations, access to the Venice canals (a movie in colour first?). It could also be the first colour film to show a space-science fiction sequence. The effects were impressive for the time and its clear that the Gilliam version borrowed some fx ideas from this. The often heard assumption that Germany's best film technicians all fled or were killed simply isn't true judging by this. Very colourful film. The language barrier prevented me from judging the comic timing very well but looked as though the performances were on target. As others have pointed out the nudity and sexual talk is rather jarring to see when you think of the US censorship board of the period. Probably the two biggest surprises were the black people(!) and the not so unsubtle digs at the regime. The villain with the moustache talking about invading Poland really came as a surprise. This flies in the face of what I often heard-that Germans were brainwashed by Hitler-clearly there was some dissent judging from this. And it also counters the idea that was put froward in the last 10 years that in war time one doesn't criticize the sitting president. They did in Nazi Germany!