Brazil (1985)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Terry Gilliam (screenplay) &
Tom Stoppard (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Bureaucracy | Dream | Arrest | Bureaucrat

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 1 nomination

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

Also Known As:

1984 and 1/2 (UK) (working title)
1984½ (UK) (working title)
Brasil (Spain) [es]
Brazil (Serbia) [sr]
Brazil (Poland) [pl]
Brazil (Croatia) [hr]
Brazil (Greece) [el]
Brazil (France) [fr]
Brazil - O Filme (Brazil) [pt]
Brazil - bortom nuet (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Brazil - tämän hetken tuolla puolen (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for some strong violence. (edited version)

Runtime:

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

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (uncut) | Germany:18 (original rating) (cut) | Germany:12 (re-rating) (2003) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:16 (1985) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (1985-2003)

Filming Locations:

Croydon, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Embassy International Pictures

Trivia:

The very first sound in the film is the Telecaster of famous guitarist Amos Garrett.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Just after Sam Lowry has 'hijacked' Jill's truck and is trying to make his escape, Jill has to drive through a couple of barriers. However, the barriers explode and break before the truck has actually reached them. One must also question why wooden barriers are exploding upon impact, in the first place.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Singers: [TV commercial jingle] Central Services: We do the work, you do the pleasure.
TV commercial pitchman: Hi, there. I want to talk to you about ducts.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Getting Gilliam (2005)

Soundtrack:

Brazil

Terry Gilliam's best.

Brazil is a mad, paperwork obsessed, duct filled, shopping crazy world. In fact, Brazil is today, minus the ducts. Everyone is obsessed with shopping and in order to get anything done within the world of government, there is paperwork to be filled out, and filled out and on and on. Terry Gilliam's Orwellian nightmare is like a merging of Metropolis and his own mad drawings and cut outs the linked the sketches in Monty Python's Flying Circus. Bureaucrats abound in Gilliam's vision, and they run the place. Anyone with free will and imagination is thought to be dangerous. Visually, the film is a marvel of art direction and miniatures flawlessly edited together. So, be like Harry Tuttle. Go out, become a freelance guerilla plumber and try not to get consumed by paperwork. One last item. If you can, get the Criterion version of Brazil. It's the film that Terry Gilliam intended you to see.