12 Monkeys

Summary

“It looks empty. I assure you… it’s not.”

There are few things that stick as vividly in my memories from growing up in the Nineties as staying up late watching the SyFy Channel. I remember that there was some sort of a entertainment news program at the time that focused on upcoming entertainment with science fiction elements. I was spellbound by the show as it went behind the scenes of Johnny Mnemonic and eventually focused on Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys. The imagery on display captivated my imagination even though it would be years before I actually saw the film. It has remained one of my favorite science fiction films since I saw it over twenty years ago. Terry Gilliam’s vision of the future remains completely unique from the dystopian films that came before and after it. It’s an artistic triumph from the visionary director that still holds mainstream appeal for audiences. It also has not been diminished by time in terms of the ideas that it explores, including that in the film a virus has wiped out much of civilization and has changed the world as we know it. As I write this review, the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has just made headlines. Even after living through a pandemic, 12 Monkeys feels fresh and not totally off-base. When I saw that Arrow Video was releasing the film with a new transfer from a 4K scan and a slew of special features, I was beyond excited. As expected, the release delivered what I hoped. I have had that release for the last couple years and decided to revisit it. Arrow has also recently released a very attractive steelbook edition of the film that is worth purchasing if you missed the original release.

The film begins with a quote:

“5 billion people will die from a deadly virus in 1997… /… The survivors will abandon the surface of he planet… /… Once again the animals will rule the world… / – Excerpts from interview with clinically diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, April 12, 1990 – Baltimore County Hospital.”

In a flashback, a young blonde haired boy sees a man with a moustache and long hair wearing a Hawaiian shirt and glasses gunned down while a blonde woman follows closely behind him. In the future, Cole (Bruce Willis) wakes from his dream. He lives underground alongside other survivors. His living space is a tiny cramped area he shares with other prisoners. He has antisocial and violent behaviors taken into account from his past. He is “volunteered” to go above ground and collect samples for a group of scientists working to unravel what happened to cause the extinction level event. Cole must put on several layers of protection before exiting the underground compound. Above ground, in the city covered in snow, the animals and plants have started to reclaim what was once civilized. While collecting samples Cole stumbles upon an old newspaper with spraypainting across it that says “The 12 Monkeys Did It.” Appearing before his superiors, they offer to let him volunteer to go back into the  past. 

Baltimore – 1990 – Psychiatrist Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) is called away from an art auction to meet with a disoriented patient who claims he has come from the future. His name is James Cole. He tells her that he was sent to gather information. He believes the year is 1996 – which he explains is the past. She explains that it is 1990 and that 1996 is the future. Cole is institutionalized and meets Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt,) an eccentric, paranoid, and anti authoritarian lunatic. Cole begins to talk with the doctors at the center about the army of the 12 Monkeys and the death of 99% of the populous. Cole asks to use the phone so that he might leave a message to the scientists. Jeffrey takes an interest in Cole, who wants to escape the asylum. Kathryn also begins to take interest in Cole’s delusions. 

12 Monkeys is as good a science fiction picture as one can ask for. I would rank it in the highest ranks of the best science fiction pictures ever made, and it is also my favorite Terry Gilliam film. Based on some of the ideas explored in the short film La Jetee by director Chris Marker, screenwriters David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples crafted an excellent screenplay that feels fresh twenty six years later. The world building within 12 Monkeys explores time travel and psychiatric paranoia in ways that reminded me of my favorite ideas from writers like Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five) and Philip K. Dick. The direction of the film by Terry Gilliam is never less than spellbinding. He draws fantastic performances from his actors, and also worked with cinematographer Roger Pratt and production designer Jeffrey Beecroft to create some dazzling imagery. Every sequence displays creative vision at its best, and the compositions by Paul Buckmaster aid the anarchic and carnivalesque qualities of the picture. 

Bruce Willis doesn’t get enough credit for how good of an actor he can be. In his more recent roles, it has been obvious that Willis is acting more for the paycheck than for the quality of the work. It’s a shame, because in the Nineties Willis was starring in some fantastic roles. Willis plays the role of the paranoid time displaced James Cole with the perfect amount of gravity, intensity, and doubt. It is definitely some of his best work. Likewise, Brad Pitt gives one of his all-time best performances as the excitable madman Jeffrey Goines. Pitt somehow manages to twist his facial expressions into such cartoonish looks that he manages to make himself look less than handsome. That is how damn good of an actor he is. Madeleine Stowe is well cast in the role of Kathryn. Her lower octave voice helps sell the strong academic aspects of the character and she is a good leading woman. Christopher Plummer and David Morse are both welcome additions to the cast in their small but very important roles.

12 Monkeys has always been that rarest of things – a brilliantly conceived piece of art that manages to appeal to mainstream audiences. The script is exciting and has enough action to please Bruce Willis’s main cadre of fans while being mentally as stimulating as the best of Gilliam’s work. If you have not seen the film, I can not recommend it highly enough.

Video

When approaching the video for this release, it is important to note that 12 Monkeys has a unique visual approach that at times will lead people to believe that the picture is soft. This is actually caused by a mixture of diffused lighting and certain portions where the director intentionally played with the contrast. The facts as presented by Arrow Video are:

“Twelve Monkeys was exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with stereo and 5.1 sound. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director at EFilm, Burbank. The film was graded and restored at Silver Salt Restoration, London. Grading was supervised and approved by Terry Gilliam. The stereo and 5.1 mixes were remastered by NBC Universal.”

The 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer by Arrow is the best that this film will look unless we eventually get a 4K UHD release (which I would once again purchase.) Terry Gilliam oversaw this transfer so it feels like the director’s intended vision is on display. As I mentioned above, the film may appear soft at times, but that is no fault of the transfer itself. The film has definitely never looked better.

Audio

Arrow have provided a new LPCM 2.0 stereo track and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track from the prior Universal Blu-ray. The tracks sound very good overall and depending on the audio preference should please fans of the picture. Surrounds are active at times and the score by Paul Buckmaster sounds wonderful.

Supplements:

• Commentary by Terry Gilliam and Charles Roven
• The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys – this feature length documentary by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe follows the production of the film from behind-the-scenes.
• The Film Exchange with Terry Gilliam – Gilliam is interviewed by Jonathan Romney at the 1996 London Film Festival in this piece.
• Appreciation by Ian Christie – the author of Gilliam on Gilliam discusses the film.
• Twelve Monkeys Archive
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4/5

Overall – 5/5

12 Monkeys is one of the greatest science fiction films of the Nineties, and one of my favorite examples of the genre. Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt play against type in some of their best roles, and Terry Gilliam directs the film with his artistic and entertainment values fully aligned. The film works off of a wonderful script and is perfectly paced. I have watched this film many times over the years, but it always surprises me with how well choreographed it is. The Arrow Video release of the film deserves to be in any fan’s library. The technical merits of the film are very good and Arrow has provided some solid new supplements to round out the excellent supplements from the prior Universal release. If you don’t already own 12 Monkeys, this is the version to seek out. Until we get a UHD release, this earns my highest recommendation.