Like most writers, I have a lot of influences. If someone put a gun to my head and said, “TOP FIVE INFLUENCES OR I PULL THE TRIGGER!” I’d probably list the following:
- Ray Bradbury’s, Dandelion Wine
- Time Bandits (The Movie — and point of this entry)
- John Cheever’s Short Stories
- “The Body” from Different Seasons, by Stephen King
- John Irving’s, The World According to Garp
I’ve read better books (and maybe seen better movies). I want to throw my fave book, Robert Olmstead’s A Trail of Heart’s Blood Wherever We Go and The Hobbit on the list, but those five things above are what I’d list if a gun were put to my head.
Time Bandits
I saw Time Bandits with a friend when I was twelve. We took the bus one town over to see it (back when parents let their kids do things, like ride the bus all over northern Illinois). My friend liked it.
I loved it.
Something clicked…it was the first time I thought, “Someone figured out a way to dump their mind onto pages and then get what was on those pages on to a movie screen.” My friend left, and I watched the next showing, trying to figure out how it was all done.
I went back the next day to try figuring it out some more…
The Map
I’ve wanted a replica map from Time Bandits for years.
I wanted it to hang above my writing desk as a reminder of the way I looked at the creative world when I was twelve.
In episode two of Men in Gorilla Suits, we talked about creating a space of your own. I’ve moved beyond decorating my office with action figures and other colorful clutter. My walls are lined with photos of relatives and old papers those relatives used to come to America in the late 1800s.
I want a traditional looking office, but…I want to still be surrounded by the geeky things I love. So it only makes sense that I finally got the map from Time Bandits.
Once this thing is framed and above my desk, it will be a constant reminder that even my aspirations toward things more literary must always be grounded in something fantastic.
Hey, I’m putting up framed Akira artwork in my home office. I agree — representing some of the things that inspire you to do what you do is important. If it wasn’t, that terrible Successories store wouldn’t have been a thing in the 90s (don’t have an inspiration? Let us sell you a generic one!)
The Time Bandits map is unassailably cool, by the way.
I’m glad you got your map. Now to make up for all of that lost time.
I loved Dandelion Wine, though I came to it much later in life than you. I practically cut my teeth on the Cheever stories (and novels). And I began seriously thinking about writing at the time of Garp.
I saw Time Bandits, and I liked it, but it didn’t get me on the same level as it did you.
I have some Don Quixote posters in my writing space and some paintings by my daughter. It’s a cozy place.
Any chance you could tell me where you bought this version of THE MAP? Boing boing was selling the map for a while but it looks like it’s gone 404. We just bought a house and I want to hang it up!
Shane,
I bought it from Etsy — a seller named Metropolis Grafix: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MetropolisGrafix
Right now, it looks like they don’t have THE MAP offered. I’d contact them to see when they plan another run. It was right around $100, but it’s good quality and rather wonderful. I still want to buy another and weather it.
Good luck!
I was the seller on the BoingBoing Bazaar and that’s also my etsy store. Same map, same quality. Here’s a history of the prop replica. http://metropolisgrafix.com/wp/?p=29
Thanks for the mention Christopher.
You’re welcome. I plan to eventually buy another and weather it, so I have a pristine version in a frame, and one folded and a bit more beat up, like in the movie. It’s a wonderful thing, and the quality is stellar!
Of course, I just noticed you’re now selling a weathered version as well 🙂
I produce very few weathered maps. Most are by request. Takes me a while to produce and I have limited free time with two teenagers involved in a lot of activities. Always running somewhere. If you’d like a weathered version, best bet is to message me through etsy. And everyone avoid those horrible rip-offs on cafepress. They took a screen shot off my website and are printing them as posters, t-shirts, etc. The print quality must be terrible. 🙂
Yes, some of the cheaper versions I’ve seen are terrible. All my research pointed to what you’re doing, and I’m still floored by the quality of the piece. (And the weathered versions look great as well.)
I designed the original map for Terry Gilliam in 1984/5 working with Norman Garwood the Art Director. I am pleased you site the film as a land mark . . . I would be interested where you got this replica. It took me a week to draw and airbrush and then it was silkscreened onto canvas. There were only 3 produced, 1 to reherse with, 1 to shoot on film and the last was framed between two large sheets of glass and hung in George Harrisons office at Hand Made Films. I then went on to work for Terry on Brazil, shot at Wembley Studios.
Mr. Allum,
I got the map here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MetropolisGrafix
Yes, the film had a huge affect on me as a kid — and much of what affected me was the look. The map was a thing of magic, especially in a time when you could only see it on a movie screen (or later cable) without the benefit of pausing and looking at it. I’ll go as far as saying the map you designed fueled my imagination.
As a teenager, the look of Brazil further fueled my imagination. I was born in 1969; perhaps it was the perfect timing to see the magic of Time Bandits and the stark look of Brazil as I came to realize much more about the world around me.
Today, as an adult working a corporate job, Brazil often comes to mind. But outside of work, I try to keep the magic I felt when younger in my life. I know it’s a little thing, but the Supreme Being’s time map will always be a reminder to me that imagination and striving to make the best things one can are worthy things.
Thank you for the reply.