The Hamster Factor And Other Tales Of The Twelve Monkeys Review

Documentary following The making of Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys.

by Caroline Westbrook |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jan 1996

Running Time:

88 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

Hamster Factor And Other Tales Of The Twelve Monkeys, The

Alongside Terry Gilliam's superb, nighmarish future vision is this fascinating offering from Philadelphian documentarians Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe.

Billed as "Gilliam's struggle to make a European art film in the Hollywood system" comes The Hamster Factor (The title refers to a production issue in Twelve Monkeys (1995), where a hamster in a hamster exercise wheel was used as part of the set decoration. When the hamster refused to perform at the appropriate time, production was halted, causing a relatively simple scene (less than 10 seconds of screen time) to take almost an entire day to film).

It follows the process of bringing the Willis/Pitt starrer to the screen, and includes footage of filming, keeping the stars sweet etc., right through to the oh-so-tricky process of marketing. The documentary is refreshingly honest about the process including the moments of doubt, the temporary loss of vision, the angst following test screenings and the eventual success of the movie.

A rare chance to catch a birds-eye glimpse of the less glamorous side of the film world, and one thoroughly deserving of attention.
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