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Recently released onto DVD April 27th, Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is unlike most movies you’ve seen before, that is unless you are particularly keen on funhouse mirrors that open onto your imagination…or age-old competitions with the devil...or traveling theater companies featuring Mini-Me.

Imaginarium has all these fun and exciting aspects, and more--including Heath Ledger in the last performance of his career. In fact, Ledger was unable to finish filming the movie so his role was completed by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell.

Oscar-nominated actor Christopher Plummer also offers a convincing and humorous performance as the drunken wiseman, Dr. Parnassus, into whose imagination patrons are invited to wander.

Finally, supermodel Lily Cole rounds off the star-studded cast as the gypsy daughter of Parnassus, the center of the film’s love interest.

In terms of plot, this film is a classic "Who Will Win the Bet?" adventure, as the Doctor races to beat the Devil in a competition before his daughter’s 16th birthday, after which she could become property of the devil himself.

Another plot twist occurs when the audience sees Ledger’s character hanging by his neck under a bridge. This forces the secondary plot to become one of discovering identity- who is he and why did someone try to kill him?

However, the truly riveting feature of Gilliam’s off-beat picture is the Oscar-nominated art direction and costume design; Imaginarium is just as visually zany as its title would suggest. Aesthetically this film is like the traveling gypsy theater troupe version of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette - the visuals are candy to the eyes. If aesthetic appreciation is not your thing, you will certainly be hooked by the differing interpretation of one character by four talented actors is just as exciting to see. However, even if this does not appeal to you, you are not fond of Verne Troyer, and you resent Heath Ledger for having been cooler and better looking than you, Lily Cole’s performance as the coming-of-age Valentina is charming and well worth the watch.

By the end of this movie, you will feel fun, light-hearted, and whimsical. It is certainly a great DVD to pick up!