The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

I'm starting a crusade of my very own this week. Go out and rent (and then buy???) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus!

I'm doing this to spite the silly company (not gonna give them any hype here) who decided they'd release a Terry Gilliam movie but treat it as movie-non-grata. They gave it absolutely no advertising and a very limited release - and in a very akward way. [Explitive deleted] studio!

The movie studios should know by now that Gilliam has a devoted following and should have at least tried to market this film.

OK. So it's probably not his best film ever. But it is still very good. Any fan of Gilliam will appreciate and like this film - and in a new way.
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Gilliam has always displayed a vivid imagination in his movies - but has done so in a now outdated way with lavish, grandiose sets - and, to paraphrase my friend Bug, the technology finally caught up with him. This is, by a million miles, his finest looking film. He uses digital effects for the first time. And it is beautiful where it's supposed to be, bleak where it should be! (Bigger screen TVs will be more effective here.) I was very upset that it didn't win the Oscar for Art Direction.
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Imaginarium is about Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) who has a running bet with the Devil (Tom Waits). The entire cast is spectacular! The story and script are better than average.
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This is Heath Ledger's last movie. He died while filming. But he had completed all his "real life" scenes. So after much deliberation, Gilliam got Heath's acting buddies to fill in for the dream-like scenes. But this is not a distraction. On the contrary, I think it adds to it.
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As I eluded to, non-Gilliam fans might not dig this movie as much because of its subtle humor, pace, and a python-esque scene or two.
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But I'm still urging everyone: Please, at least rent this movie. Show the Big Corporate Studio that original directors like Gilliam still have an audience!