Rating: 
Summary: We're all in it together, kid...
Review: "Brazil" is a masterpiece, and more relevant today than it was in 1985. Terry Gilliam has an inclination to indulge the perverse and carnivalesque in his films, but here it works brilliantly as a counterpoint to an excellent script which does not spell out every detail about the strange, out-of-time society we're witnessing; its tone fluctuates wildly, from slapstick to ominous to and back, but that's really just a mildly diverting side-effect of the multidimensional work of art that it is, one of the films for our troubled times.An enormous bureaucratic government has so become enmeshed with private corporations as to be one. The government's war on terror and surveillance of its citizens sucks in seven percent of the gross national product. Every day seems to be Christmas Day (to keep the economy going?). Plastic surgery and age-reduction techniques are rampant (for the elite). Every interior space is marred by ugly heating/air conditioning ducts, every exterior straight out of Albert Speer's sketchbook. The Ministry of Information routinely kidnaps people, interrogates them, then charges their bank accounts for helping assist the government in their war on terror. Stuck in here as a contented cog in the machine is Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a clerk whose high-society mother pushes him towards a career he'd rather not take on, preferring his world of boredom and fantasizing about his dream woman. Central Services, which maintains the infrastructure of everything, is inept and understaffed and "don't take kindly to sabotage" when a do-good heating repairman named Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro) works alone at night intercepting people's calls for help. When Sam's heating breaks, Tuttle enters his apartment and convinces Sam to let him fix it. Several days earlier, a dead insect fell into a Ministry of Information computer and caused a typographical error which resulted in the imprisonment and death of an innocent man, Archibald Buttle, instead of the Archibald Tuttle they were seeking, who is a terrorist charged with "freelance subversion." Sam asks him, are you...? Tuttle says, "My good friends call me Harry." He explains why he roams the night: He can't stand the paperwork.
The next day, Sam takes initiative over his meek boss and gives Mrs. Buttle her refund check for her husband's interrogation/torture/murder and there, sees the woman he has been fantasizing about. And there is his move towards redemption, and his downfall. Brazil has a brilliant, mind-bending conclusion which throws everything before it as ambiguous and which is a clear parallel to Orwell's "1984" which it has been claimed it is very loosely based upon.
Rating:
Summary: One for the vaults!
Review: Brazil truly is a masterpiece - a jewel in the well-worn crown of stories examining the dehumanising effect of the modern world. Gilliam paints a picture of love, dreams, hope, and common sense, crushed by the indifference of bureaucracy. Orwell and Huxley have been here before. Philip K. Dick has trodden this ground more than anyone. Pink Floyd's Roger Waters got well and truly lost in the subject in 'The Wall'. But what Brazil lacks in originality it more than makes up for in style, interpretation, and the visuals of the metaphor. Where others make allusions, Gilliam has a way of pulling you head-first into an idea. The film has a very raw feel to it - you can really tell that the artist has had full control (and as you watch the 'Love Conquers All' version, you thank the heavens that Gillam had his way in the end!). As usual, an artists' freedom to indulge is a two edged sword for the viewer - one only has to watch Kubrick, Lynch, or some of the better efforts by Tarrentino, to appreciate the fine line between original and bizarre (or genius and madness?). So too in Brazil there were one or two moments when I felt somebody else should have steered Gilliam back on track. However, the 5 or 10 minutes of the film where Gilliam confuses, irritates, or even embarrasses you, is easily forgiven, as the rest of the time he simply blows you away. (mainstreem cinema tastes like spam after this flick!) Overall, Brazil is for me the definitive piece of fiction offering a cynical window to the modern world. If you have ever felt like the world is crazy, that common sense has gone awry, this film will share your concerns. But what this film does like none other in it's linage is present you with an image of despair and frustration...and then make you laugh. I have never seen anything before (Dr Strangelove comes close) that was so bleak and dark and desperate and HILARIOUS at the same time. Only one of the Python boys could achieve this, or so one is tempted to conclude... I have made no comments regarding the technical specifications of this DVD release - (...)this edition has everything you *will* wish was on your DVD if you buy the Universal version.
Rating:
Summary: great
Review: I'm a proffesionl film watcher.I love movies and I live with them. I should like to thank the director and actors / actresses of this movie and every one in the producing this film foe us. thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie
Review: I haven't seen the goodies on the Criterion DVD, all I saw was a VHS copy, so this is just a review of the movie. It's a shame I searched all over the city where I live and looked in every rental store to find a copy to rent, and all I found was a lowsy vhs copy of the 2hr 11 min cut. Despite the "formatted to fit your screen" cropping and drab colors that usually come with old VHS tapes, I could understand why so many appreciate this film. In my opinion, Brazil is 1984 with a sense of humor. When we see a prisoner (That has a large cloak over his body securely fastened so he can't move his hands or see) stuck between two walls and keeps on running forward only to hit the first wall and fall back and hit the second repeatedly, we find it more humorous than horrifying. That is Gilliam's gift. In another scene, Sam, the main character, is given a new suit to wear by his friend Jack. When Jack leaves, his daughter says to Sam: "Put it on, big boy. I won't look at your willy." The sheer delivery of the line had me on the floor laughing. Gilliam walks a fine line between humor and gloom, and finally, at the end, turns the jets to full gloom. It reminds me of 12 monkeys, which he made a good decade later, which was also funny and entertaining, but rather dark ending. It's a shame De Niro's character Tuttle wasn't in this movie more. With the few scene's he's in (the line "I can't fix it. But I can bypass it" shows just how stupid and useless some of the government's contraptions are that you don't even need them. When the government repairmen show up, they make Sam's apartment worse than before, and refuse to admit the plain fact that Tuttle's methods are much better than theirs.) you wish he was in more of the film. We don't get to know enough about him or how the government BS's people about "terrorists" and how Sam gets the wrong impression of the girl he's with. This film would have been a solid 5 stars if these themes were more elaborated on. I can't wait to get the Criterion DVD with all the goodies and crisper picture. You shouldn't either.
Rating: 
Summary: Uhhh... what the hell did i just watch
Review: This film could become noteworthy as being a surreal paragon but beyond that it is just confusing and time consuming. I thought 12 monkeys was good but what the crap was this. The environment was pretty cool but jeez. Watch this film when your high and it might be interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, but not in anamorphic.
Review: Dune, Brazil, 2010, Bound, and Office Space. These are five DVD's I would buy if they were in anamorphic (a.k.a. enhanced for widescreen).
Rating: 
Summary: The film version of Orwell's 1984
Review: An interesting view of our potential future society. The world of George Orwell translated to the big screen. Weird but interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Like Film School in a Box
Review: The Criterion edition of Terry Gilliam's controversial Brazil is like attending film school in a box. The three disc edition contains all the information one could want on the making of a film. The first disc contains the final cut of the film as approved by Gilliam. A commentary by Gilliam is included and is worth the price of admission. In this commentary Gilliam sticks to the film and does not go into the public battle fought with Universal to get the film released in the US. The film quality is good but not up to par with most Criterion releases. This transfer was taken from the 1996 laser disc and was not remastered for this edition. The sound is uniformly good for the time period. Disc two is the heart of this edition. Criterion gathered basically all the players who were involvd in the film's creation. There are segments on script, storyboards, costumes, special effects, score, locations. A bit of a letdown is that this is all text material and while interesting this viewer got a little tired of pressing the right arrow key to get to the next screen. Two featurettes are included: A publicity piece called "What is Brazil" and the more interesting "Battle for Brazil" which outlines Universal's effort to recut the film to make it more viewer friendly. Disc Three is the Universal "Love Conquers All" television cut. This is the film that was recut without Gilliam to make the dark film lighter and more viewer friendly. This cut is an example of how editing can be used to make or break a film. While it is not bad it certainly is not the film that Gilliam intended to make and stands in stark contrast to the final cut on Disc One. This is a great set but be warned there may be more here than the casual viewer needs to enjoy the film. The cheaper 142 minute Univeral disc may be what most viewer's are looking for to just get acquainted with this important film.
Rating:
Summary: Ummm...not that great
Review: I figured out the whole movie after the first 15 minutes. It was rather easy if you ask me. It's not really that good of a film, or even really that funny, but for the average person this movie is a mindblower. Now if you are strange like me you'll be able to figure this out. Not that I'm bragging or anything cuz out of 5 people I was the only one to predict and understand this movie. So I say see it, it may boggle your mind. Oh and if you like this try a REALLY confusing film called Eraserhead.
Rating: 
Summary: I thought it was really weird.
Review: I thought 'Brazil' was a really weird film. It was weird just for the sake of being weird and not actually making much sense. Some of it was funny, but in the end, I felt like I wasted my time.
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