7tavern: Brazil

Brazil

Sound (2)
3.1
Plot (2)
2.5
Cast (2)
2.6
Special Effects (2)
3
Length & Pace (2)
2.5
Cinematography (2)
2.9

Directors: Terry Gilliam,

Writers: Terry Gilliam (screenplay) &,  Tom Stoppard (screenplay) ...,

Release: 18 December 1985 (USA)

Tagline: It's only a state of mind.

Plot: A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state.

Cast:Jonathan Pryce - Sam Lowry,   Robert De Niro - Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle,   Katherine Helmond - Mrs. Ida Lowry,   Ian Holm - Mr. M. Kurtzmann,   Bob Hoskins - Spoor,   Michael Palin - Jack Lint,   Ian Richardson - Mr. Warrenn,   Peter Vaughan - Mr. Helpmann,   Kim Greist - Jill Layton,   Jim Broadbent - Dr. Jaffe,   Barbara Hicks - Mrs. Alma Terrain,   Charles McKeown - Harvey Lime,   Derrick O'Connor - Dowser,   Kathryn Pogson - Shirley,   Bryan Pringle - Spiro

Runtime: 132 min  | USA:94 min (edited version) | 142 min (director's cut)

Country: UK

Language: English

Company: Embassy International Pictures

Links: IMDb Profile

Categories: Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Main

Trailer

eternality_tan
Reviews: 159
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Sound:
Plot:
Cast:
Special Effects:
Length & Pace:
Cinematography:

3.6

2.5

2.7

3.4

2.4

3.3

Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

THE SCOOP
Director: Terry Gilliam
Plot: A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state.

Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Drama
Awards: Nom. for 2 Oscars - art direction, screenplay.
Runtime: 143min (director's cut)
Rating: PG for some violence, language, and brief nudity.

IN RETROSPECT
Terry Gilliam's most celebrated work, in my opinion, turns out to be a stinker. Brazil will not appeal to most viewers, and it's only accessible to die-hard Gilliam fanatics. Critics are divided over the film, some believe it's the best work of the 1980s, while others like Roger Ebert claims that "it's very hard to follow". For me, this is a film that looks as lost as Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) in the bureaucratic world he's living in. Acting is exaggerated on purpose, sometimes hilarious, but never takes itself seriously. Pryce is not a capable leading man, and Robert De Niro is wasted playing the role of Tuttle.

Brazil doesn't even remotely rely on acting talents to shoulder the film. It depends on its technical prowess instead. Admittedly, the set decoration is stunning, and the special effects used are mind-bending. Unfortunately, the whole film loses its compass midway through, heading nowhere, confusing (and irritating) viewers whom can never understand what Gilliam is trying to drive at. Sure, it paints a chaotic, ugly society, and satirizes the totalitarian bureaucratic world. But it's a headache watching all that unfold on screen; Gilliam never gives us time to absorb and appreciate what he's doing.

Brazil is the type of movie that doesn't know when to end, how to end, and can even possibly end at any time. It stretches and lags, struggling to make sense of itself even. The characters don't fit in well together, and are coldly developed. Moreover, Gilliam's attempt to fuse comedy with fantasy turns out to be abysmal, after a promising start. Brazil is a special motion picture that only caters to specific and weird tastes. It ignores the rest who don't quite see what's so fascinating about ducts and pipes.

SCORE: 5.5/10
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Last updated: 2010-07-04 21:46:20 by eternality_tan

2010-06-19 06:30:48

Squish
Reviews: 740
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

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Length & Pace:
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2.5

Brazil (1985)

Kersploosh!

Genre: Comedy Fantasy Drama (UK)

Starring: Jonathan Pryce (Something Wicked This Way Comes • Ronin), Kim Greist (C.H.U.D. • Manhunter)

Directed By: Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas • Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

Overview: A man attempts to rectify a bureaucratic error. Sadly, in such a dystopian future as this, rocking the boat can only
serve to make him a wanted man.

Correct me if I'm wrong but Brazil looks like the sort of movie Terry Gilliam would make if he had the proper amount of artistic license, no? With such a producer-stifled, reined-in title as The Brothers Grimm to sully his career, it's good to see what Terry could have done if he didn't have corporate whores hovering over his every move.

Alright, alright, enough hate on the producing business. Without them we wouldn't have such awesome films as Swimming With Sharks or The Player, right? Who am I kidding, all those dead lawyer jokes would work just as well with a producer.

But I digress - Brazil is in a rather epic film. From battles between angels and demonic samurai to a set design that is vast and larger than life, the visual spectacle is something that needs to be seen to be believed. Thematically, the influences of director Michael Radford's visual interpretation of 1984 is more than just a little tributary - did I mention the original working title was 1984 and 1/2? Yes, Terry Gilliam's dystopian future of crushing bureaucracy and massive duct work is lighter than the über-bleak George Orwell novel, but while a comedy, it does have some roots in drama, namely the main plot, convoluted as it may often seem.

Simply put, Brazil is the tale of a records expert who notices a bureaucratic error has been made and does a few simple things to remedy the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle. When the wronged party in question ends up dead from interrogation techniques, a love interest springs up and leads our hero down a fever dream of hilarious action, complete with red-tape terrorist Harry Tuttle, a man who fixes heating units without paperwork, which is of course a crime as worthy of death as any kind of treason.

While being mostly insane, Brazil does contain an occasionally poignant scene, mostly brought on by the widow of poor deceased Harry Buttle, which reminds us of the justice that must come to pass. Whether that comes to full realization or not, well, that's for you to find out while strapped to your own inquisitive chair.

You know, like this guy

Performance: 8 Cinematography: 10 Script: 7 Plot: 8 Mood: 8

Overall Rating: 82% (Copa Your Cabana!)

Aftertaste:

I will add however that for as much as the film is full of action and quirky comic situations, there was something fundamentally forgettable about Brazil. I know this mainly because I saw this about 20 years ago and had only vague memories of two scenes from the film. While Brazil may be one of those films that restores nostalgia for some, for others, it may be forgotten with some double-think and just a tad of reprogramming in Room 101.

Oh, and that song will get stuck in your head for days.

(Read Less...)

Recommendations: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009), Requiem for a Dream, Dawn of the Dead

2010-05-17 06:03:42

eternality_tan
Reviews: 159
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

THE SCOOP Director: Terry Gilliam Plot: A bureaucrat in a retro-future world tries to correct an administrative error and himself becomes an enemy of the state. Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Drama Awards: Nom. for 2 Oscars - art direction, screenplay. Runtime: 143min (director's cut) Rating: PG for some violence, language, and brief nudity. IN RETROSPECT Terry Gilliam's most celebrated work, in my opinion, turns out to be a stinker. Brazil will not appeal to most viewers, and it's only accessible to die-hard Gilliam fanatics. Critics are divided over the film, some believe it's the best work of the 1980s, while others like Roger Ebert claims that "it's very hard to follow". For me, this is a film that looks as lost as Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) in the bureaucratic world he's living in. Acting is exaggerated on purpose, sometimes hilarious, but never takes itself seriously. Pryce is not a capable leading man, and Robert De Niro is wasted playing the role of...

(Read More...)

2010-06-19 06:30:48

Squish
Reviews: 740
Points: 0 (Level 1)
Reviewer

Brazil (1985)

Kersploosh! Genre: Comedy Fantasy Drama (UK) Starring: Jonathan Pryce (Something Wicked This Way Comes • Ronin), Kim Greist (C.H.U.D. • Manhunter) Directed By: Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas • Monty Python and the Holy Grail) Overview: A man attempts to rectify a bureaucratic error. Sadly, in such a dystopian future as this, rocking the boat can only serve to make him a wanted man. Correct me if I'm wrong but Brazil looks like the sort of movie Terry Gilliam would make if he had the proper amount of artistic license, no? With such a producer-stifled, reined-in title as The Brothers Grimm to sully his career, it's good to see what Terry could have done if he didn't have corporate whores hovering over his every move. Alright, alright, enough hate on the producing business. Without them we wouldn't have such awesome films as Swimming With Sharks or The Player, right? Who am I kidding, all those dead lawyer jokes would work just...

(Read More...)

2010-05-17 06:03:42

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