Director adroitly applies his sensibilities upon the "career" of famed German prevaricator Baron von Munchausen. Played herein by , the baron is seen quelling a war that he himself started, flying into the stratosphere on the back of a cannonball, ballooning to the moon, exploring the innards of a volcano, being swallowed by a whale....In short, all of Munchausen's fabulous lies are here presented as "truth," played out in full view of nonplussed witnesses , , and . Fringe benefits include several loving medium shots of jaybird-naked as Boticelli's Venus and an extended unbilled cameo by -- that is, by the head of Robin Williams -- as the King of the Moon. Filmed under considerable duress on a budget eventually exceeding 45 million dollars, never quite caught on with moviegoers, though it has enjoyed a lucrative afterlife on videocassette.