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Summary: 'You Have To Say The Number!'-A Bit About 'Brazil'
Review: 'Where hearts were entertaining June.We stood beneath an amber moon' opens what may be one of the best movies of all time(if you can understand it). One person on his 'Funniest Movies Ever' list said this movie was a comedy. He was wrong. It is part comedy(undertones, respectively) but meant to be a bit of a warning in context, yet is presented as a dream. Sam Lowery(Jonathon Pryce) finds himself in his ... job, with his obsessed mother and her friends('Salt?'), and with a rouge heating engineer('We're all in it together, kid')all while attempting to avoid the Ministry and find his dream girl(Kim Griest as Jill Layton). This film went through the mill on its way to being released. But you can buy 'The Battle of Brazil' for that. This is not an art house movie. This is not a 100 per cent comedy. This is a part satire, part surreal, part comedy(yes, somewhat see above), part dream of a man in depserate need of something new. The cast fits the characters. Katherine Helmond as the plastic sugery obsessed mother, Jim Broadbent as Dr Jaffe, Robert DeNiro as Archibald 'Harry' Tuttle, I could go on with the entire cast, but the other reviews can be referenced. A friend told me that if you understand this movie, you are exceptional. He was right not only because he understands the movie, but appreciates it for what it is. This movie was not appreciated by Ebert. He said it was too confusing due to multiple storylines. It does have many stories, but to me it was easy to follow and undertsand. I understood it fine the first time round(not the 27th like most people, who then have a vague idea)because it depends on the person and how well they can process and analyze. The adman5189 who wrote that atrocious list didn't understand it. He just said it was wild. This great movie is not 'wild.' It is not 'fun' or 'funny.' It's a dark, '1984'-esque film of great proportions. It must be bought to be watched and understood. Whence you find yourself reading this sadly short review(bloody limits) please don't say it was unhelpful. I was merely walking you through why it as not appreciated when it was out and why you should only get it if you can take what was just said. This is not meant to be a biting critique of others or the reader. Please take this to heart.
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Summary: Fine set for a great cult movie.
Review: I remember the movie when it hit the screen. I enjoyed every minute of the offbeat cult classic. I whilsted the tune for weeks. You can read synopis' of the movie and get any details you like. I will focus on this DVD pack. Criterion Collections are awesome. If you are not familiar with them, they are simply the best. The transfer to DVD is perfect. The movie plays flawlessly. The extras in the pack make this one of the best DVDs in my collection. You get the Full Version, as well as the shorter, so called "Happy Ending" version. Plus commentaries and bonus material. Including Documentaries and commenatry from Terry Gilliam. Super. I fear to mention Terry Gilliam as this awesome movie be compared to a full on Monty Python feature. No mistake, it has Monty Python similarities but is more depth and character. It is wonderful and I would recommend this as a blind buy to just about any type of movie viewer.
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Summary: Amazing!
Review: Get this and 1984 and you'll have a perfect double feature, it won't matter which you watch first- you'll love them!!!
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Summary: Gilliam's Magnum Opus
Review: If I had to own just one dvd, it would be the criterion edition of Brazil. I saw Brazil when it came out on the big screen. It was one of the few films I have ever seen which affected me viscerally and did so for days after. It is a movie with mythical overtones and, as such, speaks to the core of the human experience. Though often mislabled as futuristic, it speaks to our current state of affairs. We can see Nero fiddling. We can see the bureaucrats wading through paper. We can see ourselves. The commentary and the documentaries available with the criterion edition offer added insight into the production and the battle for artistic freedom so ironically fought by Gilliam as he sought to release his film. You may also, if you dare, dive into the "love conquers all" Hollywood ending version of the film. (I suggest keeping this in your fridge in case you need to induce regurgitation.) Gilliam's vision is not easy, but it is true and it is art and you should have it in your collection.
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Summary: Has not stood the test of time.
Review: I was somewhat blown away by this movie when it was first released. At the time I new nothing of the wrangling behind the scences by the director and the studio which wanted to edit the film against the strong protest by Mr. Gilliam. After a recent viewing I have to agree with the studio to cut this film down to something that resembles a story and not the "look how creative I am" film Gilliam wanted. Once I saw the flights of fancy, the endless symbolism and in your face "isn't this terrible" scenes for the second or third time I was not enlightened but just bored by the directors heavy hand. The Special edition box set has some embarrassingly pretentious scenes with the director defending his "artistic virtue" and wallowing in his artistic excesses. Mr. Gillian makes movies that only young art students can enjoy, at least until they graduate that is.
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Summary: For those who like intellegent movies
Review: This is one of the greatest films of all time. Being a huge Monty Python fan, after seeing all their work, I decided to look at their solo work. Who else to start with but Terry Gilliam? I saw "Time Bandits" and loved it. Then I saw this and loved it even more. The sheer horror of what the future may possibly be like... scary. Also, this is a very confusing film. Those of you who gave it one star probably did not understand it (no offense), and those who can not understand films should not watch this one. Only for movie-goers. I've seen it four times and still don't understand it all. Above all: 9/10 stars (1 off for it's confusing-ness) NOTE: This is in my: Funniest films of all time list. It's not that funny. Very dark humor. It's mostly a dark drama-sci-fi movie. I find it funny, though.
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Summary: An exercise in patience
Review: Brazil is ultimately a failure on all counts. The plot, such as it exists, centers on a mid-level worker eventually confronting a society crushed underneath a byzantine system of rules, regulations and paperwork. The world depicted evokes images of such uniquely 20th century works as 1984 and THX-1138; the human soul repressed and minimalized by totalitarianism and the machine of the state. The particular target of this satire, however, is bureaucracy. Unfortunately, while some of the visual design and over the top imagery is intriguing, the movie brings very little new or insightful beyond the premise of bureacracy run amok. Indeed after the first few minutes, the message is clear: rules shouldn't obscure humanity. But rather than present any kind of plot to interest the viewer, we're treated to variations of this theme interspersed with sheer boredom. A love story is included as well, complete with dream sequences. These sequences, regrettably, are poorly handled. In a movie with such a surrealistic texture to it's visuals, one would hope for some depth to a dream sequence; messages and themes should be filled with depth and revealed in layers. Instead, here they unfold with all the subtlety of an adolescent dungeons and dragons fantasy. None of this is helped by the fact that the story follows the classic arc of character revelation and disillusionment in laborious starts and (mainly) stops - nothing interesting ever seems to happen. Finally, the movie just isn't funny. And a satire without laughs is one of the most painful of viewing experiences.
Taking this together with it's lack of insight and slow narrative, Brazil is a remarkably bland experience. Seldom have I watched a bad movie so bereft of any redemptive factors. By the final few minutes one is left not caring at all how the movie ends; just hoping that it will and as soon as possible.
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Summary: Criterion Collection only way to watch this classic
Review: This 3-set dvd is well worth the [price]. The commentary along with the movie is simply priceless. The first time I watch Brazil and it ended, I sat and stared at the TV screen for an hour and question everything my life was about. That is the type of movie Brazil is. Sure, everyone will not understand the movie, some will resent it, some will reject it, and it will change some people hearts and minds. Brazil is the type of movie that you have to watch several times. But I guarantee you one thing;If you have an open mind and open heart, when you truly understand the movie and the messages in the movie, it will change your life in ways you can't imagine. Brazil is a true American classic.
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Summary: The future (and present) according to Terry Gilliam
Review: Brazil. Not the country, but one of the most evocative movies ever made. if you can have an emotion, this film can probably provoke it. Brazil is not for everyone. Some people I know who have watched this film have said it is terrible. they can have their opinion. But they are wrong. How can you go wrong with a movie which has (in no particular order) : Surrealism
Social commentary
Satire
Terrorists
Subversives
Explosions
Lust
Intrigue
Violence
Architectural perversions
De Niro
and much more...something for everyone! As someone who works for a government body, I believe Brazil should be required viewing for public servants. They need to know that the feelings of pointlessness they get from their job are real. Sam Lowry is us....all of us. Thank you, Terry Gilliam
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Summary: A pleasantly dizzying film
Review: You don't see too many movies like "Brazil", a zany yet compelling sci-fi comedy about a man who tries to actualize a romance between himself and his dream woman, whom he's never even met, by working for (or rather through) an oppressive futuristic government. Pryce's character exhibits a wonderful quixotism, living with the desperate hope that things aren't as absurdly bleak and awful as they appear; his shaky, optimistic sanity is enough to keep you grinning even as the events that unfold on the screen fill you with claustrophobic uneasiness. At once entertaining and satirical, Gilliam's "Brazil" is a unique and noteworthy motion picture.
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