The real lives of the famous fairy tale writers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Heath Ledger and Matt Damon) in early 19th century Germany gets the "free artistic license" treatment as they are revealed as frauds who create spooks with a couple of helpers then get towns to pay for banishing them. Their skills and brotherly relationship are tested when they are forced by the French occupiers of Germany to help a town menaced by what turns out to be a real witch.

CRITIQUE

Films set centuries in the past, especially those focusing on a fairy tale type of story, seem to be the most examples of anachronism in movies. Films like Ella Enchanted and Ledger's own A Knight's Tale come to mind. The tone of these films tend to be knowingly tongue-in-cheek, in a way implying that they know they're a film and will do whatever they want to create their world. Respected director Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm shares this feel. Too full of CGI and lacking in the direction Gilliam is capable of the movie still conjures some memorable visuals and good performances.

Work like the entire Monty Python oeuvre, most notably the comedy classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Brazil have formed Gilliam's reputation but he drops the ball here, at least in staging and editing. Look at the opening sequence where the brothers "defeat" the Mill Witch. It is choppy and therefore veers toward incoherence. One touch in the script here is nice, though, and that is the fact that one of the moments the brothers stage for effect in their fake battle actually shows up later in the climactic fight with the real Mirror Witch. It a funny moment when the way they did everything in their "fight" is revealed but there are flaws. Though Guy Dyas' production design is otherwise excellent, Gilliam also has a fondness for mud and gross bits in the action, like a skinning right on screen or an animal being cut up in a fan. Things don't get any better when the brothers are captured by the French occupiers, led by the General (Jonathan Pryce), with the help of an Italian torture artist named Cavaldi (Peter Stormare). The problem is that, though Pryce and Stormare give appropriately hammy performances, these two villains are cartoonishly theatrical. Plus, Stormare's accent is unintelligible a lot of the time, never a good thing.

In contrast to all the fantastical CGI going on, the performances should be more grounded than that, and this is where Damon and Ledger excel. They take quite different roles here than they usually do. Damon becomes a cocksure, cynical showman and Ledger has never been such a bundle of geeky energy. Their fighting has the feeling of real siblings, even if they don't quite look alike. The script is careful to show Jake's writing in a book, as the point of the fame of the Grimm brothers today is their legacy of fairy tales. All of the references to those tales are actually nice to see here and they come fast-Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, The Gingerbread Man, Sleeping Beauty, they're all here. I also like the interaction between the brothers and Angelika (Lena Headey), the trapper in Marbaden who helps them and who turns out to be more closely involved in the Mirror Witch's plot than she wants to be. Of course, Will is the more aggressive one but Jake is clearly drawn to her too and in the end she kisses them both. I like that she's a strong female character and Headey plays her well. These good actors and script touches exist in The Brothers Grimm alongside an overload of CGI and a story that could use a bit more coherence, though.

THE VIDEO

I remember the colors as slightly more vivid on the film screen but this anamorphic widescreen format is otherwise fine.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround that is on every disc makes the sound here as good as any other DVD. A French language track and Spanish subtitles are also offered.

THE EXTRAS

Deleted Scenes: Twelve scenes are included here, and though some of them are only seconds long, others are worth a viewing. Most include Cavaldi and were obviously (and mercifully) cut for that reason but some add to the fairy tale references or bits of Ledger's nice performance. The scenes are also usually included with bits before and after showing where it would have come in the final film, which I have always liked. Gilliam provides some good discussion on the scenes and why they were cut, mostly pacing issues.

Audio Commentary: Terry Gilliam provides a solo track and its mostly good, giving interesting information such as what shots are miniatures and where CGI takes over and about how Damon and Ledger were cast in their respective roles. Originally, Gilliam had convinced Damon to play Jake, though he wanted to play Will, until Ledger wanted the role of the younger brother. The most interesting fact may be that excellent director Steven Soderbergh suggested to Gilliam that the brothers as boys should be the very first scene and not the "Red Riding Hood" bit that happens later.

Bringing the Fairy Tale to Life: With the usual making-of doc format of interviews and on-set footage, the information here is fairly interesting and I like the behind-the-scenes clips. The best part, though, was the discussion of the real Grimm brothers, however it’s too brief and I wished for a separate documentary about them.

The Visual Magic of The Brothers Grimm: This doc is all about the special effects and its interesting to watch, and tech geeks will especially love it, as CG is pretty much the central topic. The clips that show how much green screen was really used are a nice addition and how they got the Mirror Queen to "break" is quite cool.

FINAL THOUGHTS