After clashing with Harvey Weinstein over big-budget adventure The Brothers Grimm, director Terry Gilliam went small-scale for Tideland. It's a "shocking, funny, and haunting" story of a young girl (Jodelle Ferland) coping with parental neglect through vivid fantasy. It didn't set the box office light and US critics frowned on it, but Gilliam fans on this side of the pond were not disappointed.

Mind Games

Followers of the ex-Python will also be delighted to find plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and candid interviews on this two-disc DVD. Up-and-coming filmmaker Vincenzo Natali directs a substantial 'Making Of' documentary. He calls it "an intimate portrait of one of the most important and respected filmmakers of our time," before cutting to Gilliam peeing into a lake... That about sets the tone for this jaunt through the Saskatchewan countryside (TG wearing a dead squirrel on his head at one production meeting), but it's also very insightful about the ways in which he has evolved as a filmmaker. We see him handling young newcomer Jodelle Ferland with kid gloves and at the same time racing to meet a very tight schedule - in the worst case shooting five shots in 15 minutes.

Gilliam goes on to say that eye-catching production design has become less important to him over the years, as he'd rather let the actors shine. Of course the cast tell their side of the story as well. In a shorter behind-the-scenes featurette, Jeff Bridges (who plays Noah) reflects on the 'madness' of Gilliam and his ability to create "wonderful tension between fantasy and reality." A retrospective interview with the director reveals the common threads running through his work, hears his argument on the need to scare children witless and a confession to "megalomania".

Definitely Not Disney...

Mitch Cullin, who wrote the book on which the film is based, joins Gilliam for a Q&A session at the Guardian Hay Festival. Naturally, they have a similar philosophy on children's fiction, talking about wanting to tell a story that is "unsentimental and unromanticised". They also recall the difficulty of finding the right young actress for the lead - a problem that nearly sunk the project altogether.

Challenges in adapting the novel are only briefly touched upon in the Q&A, but are discussed in more detail in a film commentary that includes screenwriter Tony Grisoni. A reel of deleted scenes rounds off the bonus disc, showcasing more of the little girl's imaginary world where 'fireflies have names and squirrels talk...' Those who aren't afraid of having their preconceptions challenged should be cheerfully swept away by this bumper edition of Tideland.

EXTRA FEATURES

Tideland DVD is released on Monday 29th January 2007.