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Baron Munchausen
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Baron Munchausen /ˈmʌn.tʃaʊ.zən/ is a fictional German nobleman in literature and film, loosely based on a real baron, Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen ([ˈmʏnç(h)aʊzən]; 11 May 1720 – 22 February 1797).The real-life Münchhausen became a minor celebrity for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military service in the Russo-Turkish War. After hearing some of Münchhausen's stories, the writer Rudolf Erich Raspe adapted them anonymously into literary form, first as German magazine pieces and later in an English-language volume about a fictional "Baron Munchausen". The book was soon translated into German and expanded by the poet Gottfried August Bürger. The real-life Münchhausen was deeply upset at the development of a fictional character bearing his name.
The fictional Baron's exploits, narrated by himself, focus on his impossible achievements as a sportsman, soldier, and traveler, such as riding on a cannonball and traveling to the Moon. Raspe's book was a major international success, and versions of the fictional Baron have appeared on stage, screen, radio, and television; though the Baron Munchausen stories are no longer well-known in English-speaking countries, they are still popular in continental Europe. The character has inspired numerous memorials, and several medical conditions and other concepts are named after him, including Munchausen syndrome, the Münchhausen trilemma, and Munchausen numbers.
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Filmography of Baron Munchausen (3 films)
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, 2h5Directed by Terry Gilliam, Michele Soavi
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Sur la Lune, Space opera, Sur la Lune, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman
Rating70%
The film begins in an unnamed war-torn European city in the late 18th century (dubbed "The Age of Reason" in an opening caption), where, amid explosions and gunfire from a large Turkish army outside the city gates, a fanciful touring stage production of Baron Munchausen's life and adventures is taking place. Backstage, city official "The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson" reinforces the city's commitment to reason (here meaning uniformity) by ordering the execution of a soldier (Sting in a cameo) who had just accomplished a near-superhuman feat of bravery, claiming that his bravery is demoralizing to other soldiers.
The Very Same Munchhausen (1979)
, 2h22Directed by Mark Zakharov
Genres Drama, Fantastic, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Fantasy
Actors Oleg Yankovsky, Inna Tchourikova, Igor Kvacha, Aleksandr Abdulov, Leonid Yarmolnik, Vsevolod Larionov
Rating82%
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Münchhausen (1943)
, 1h59Directed by Josef von Báky
Origin German
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
Themes Space adventure films, Sur la Lune, Space opera
Actors Hans Albers, Wilhelm Bendow, Ilse Werner, Ferdinand Marian, Hans Brausewetter, Brigitte Horney
Rating69%
The film opens at an 18th-century ball, where Baron Hieronymus von Münchhausen is propositioned by a young woman who is engaged to another man. He graciously rejects her advance, and as she leaves, she asks him to turn on the light. The camera follows his hand to a modern light switch, and the young woman drives off in an automobile. The next day, the Baron, out of his costume and in modern dress, regales two of his guests with stories of the famous Baron Münchhausen, to whom his guests think he is distantly related.