Plot
An intense film about time travel, this sci-fi entry was directed by Terry Gilliam, a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python. The film stars Bruce Willis as James Cole, a prisoner of the state in the year 2035 who can earn parole if he agrees to travel back in time and thwart a devastating plague. The virus has wiped out most of the Earth's population and the remainder live underground because the air is poisonous. Returning to the year 1990, six years before the start of the plague, Cole is soon imprisoned in a psychiatric facility because his warnings sound like mad ravings. There he meets a scientist named Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the mad son of an eminent virologist (Christopher Plummer). Cole is returned by the authorities to the year 2035, and finally ends up at his intended destination in 1996. He kidnaps Dr. Railly in order to enlist her help in his quest. Cole discovers graffiti by an apparent animal rights group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, but as he delves into the mystery, he hears voices, loses his bearings, and doubts his own sanity. He must figure out if Goines, who seems to be a raving lunatic, holds the key to the puzzle. ~ Michael Betzold, RoviReview
Inspired by Chris Marker's benchmark 1962 short film La Jetee, director Terry Gilliam continues his examination of the real versus the surreal in this mind-bending piece of science fiction. In a vein typical of Gilliam's oeuvre, the film leaps through time almost at will, which produces uneven results. Obviously a play on genre conventions, 12 Monkeys succeeds at creating its various worlds (all with various degrees of grunge and gloom). However, the film spirals off in so many directions it's sometimes a trial to keep track -- but it's also this very quality that keeps it interesting and engaging. Very much a visceral film above all else, Gilliam extracts solid turns from his actors, including a nicely understated Bruce Willis and a cheerfully (and entertainingly) manic Brad Pitt, a surprise Oscar nominee for his supporting role. Almost ten years after the highly publicized director vs. studio debacle with the director's acclaimed 1985 film Brazil, Gilliam and Universal had obviously patched things up, as they distributed this film to great financial success and a place as one of the leading cult favorites of the 1990s. ~ Jason Clark, RoviCast
- Bruce Willis - James Cole
- Madeleine Stowe - Dr. Kathryn Railly
- Brad Pitt - Jeffrey Goines
- Christopher Plummer - Dr. Goines
- David Morse - Dr. Peters
Credit
William Ladd Skinner - Art Director, Mark Egerton - Associate Producer, Kelley Smith-Wait - Associate Producer, Margery Simkin - Casting, Paul Buckmaster - Conductor, Lloyd Phillips - Co-producer, Julie Weiss - Costume Designer, Mark Egerton - First Assistant Director, Philip A. Patterson - First Assistant Director, Terry Gilliam - Director, Mick Audsley - Editor, Robert Kosberg - Executive Producer, Robert Cavallo - Executive Producer, Gary Levinsohn - Executive Producer, Paul Buckmaster - Composer (Music Score), Tom Waits - Songwriter, Christine Beveridge - Makeup, Craig Haagensen - Camera Operator, Jeffrey Beecroft - Production Designer, Roger Pratt - Cinematographer, Charles Roven - Producer, Crispian Sallis - Set Designer, Shirley Montefusco - Special Effects, Vincent Montefusco - Special Effects, Jay Meagher - Sound/Sound Designer, Robin Clarke - Sound Editor, Chuck Jeffreys - Stunts, David Peoples - Screenwriter, Janet Peoples - Screenwriter| 12 Mile Road (2003 Film), 12 Men of Christmas (2009 Film) | |
| 12 Mädchen und 1 Mann (1959 Film), 12 Plus 1 (1970 Film) |
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