12 Monkeys - Blu-ray Review

So where were the other eleven monkeys? Insert rimshot or exasperated sigh here. Terry Gilliam’s time traveling masterpiece makes its Blu-ray debut and includes one of the best supplements ever.

James Cole (Bruce Willis) is in a dystopian future where mankind has been forced underground by a virus that was unleashed in 1996. Cole is chosen by a group of scientists to travel back in time to 1996 and discover who unleashed the virus. All signs point to a radical group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys. Time travel is not an exact science and Cole ends up in 1990 and in an insane asylum under the care of Dr. Railly (Madeline Stowe). He’s also locked up with Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the mentally unstable son of a prominent scientist (Christopher Plummer). The scientists retrieve Cole from the wrong time and transport him to the proper period where he meets up with Railly by kidnapping her to take him to Goines who is involved with the 12 Monkeys. “All I see is dead people.” That line, spoken by Bruce Willis in the film, made me cock my eyebrow. The ramifications are obvious, Terry Gilliam is a sage or time traveler. He obviously popped ahead in time to know that Willis would be in a movie that revolved around dead people and the seeing of them. But seriously, Gilliam has created a sister film to his masterpiece Brazil in the form of 12 Monkeys. He based the film on the French short La Jetee and creates a dark, time traveling epic starring some of Hollywood’s hottest stars of the time. Bruce Willis is as reliable as ever, but in an against-type role as he was more known for Die Hard at the time. Brad Pitt is uglied up and given a lazy eye and wild look, but is memorable as the mad Goines. Stowe is also great as the at-first skeptical shrink who comes to believe her patient and that the end of the world is nigh. Add memorable turns by impressionist/Riddler Frank Gorshin (Gilliam even comments how ironic it is to have the Riddler being the head doc at the madhouse) and Christopher Plummer and you’ve got a consummation devoutly to be wished. The plot does travel around and some might be confused by the time bending antics, but I think it is aces. 12 Monkeys is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1). The transfer looks grainy and drab, but the film is supposed to look that way so be forewarned. Special features include an excellent commentary by director Terry Gilliam and producer Charles Roven. The even-more-excellent 87 minute “The Hamster Factor and other tales of the 12 Monkeys” is a comprehensive documentary about the making of the film. It’s one of the best film documentaries out there and I remember it as a highlight from my laserdisc days. There’s also a 4 minute “Archive” of production photos (that reminded me even more of my laserdisc days since the presentation seems very old school) and the disc is BD-Live enhanced. 12 Monkeys is one of Terry Gilliam’s masterpieces of oddity. It still holds up after all these years. The production documentary also holds as well. A fine, epic Blu-ray that should be in your collection. 12 Monkeys [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon. Visit the DVD database for more information.