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From Amazon.co.uk
If Franz Kafka had been an animator and film director--oh, and a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus--Brazil is the sort of outrageously dystopian satire one could easily imagine him making. In fact it was made by Terry Gilliam, who is all of the above except, of course, Franz Kafka. Be that as it may, Gilliam captures the paranoid-subversive spirit of Kafka's The Trial (along with his own Python animation) in this bureaucratic nightmare-comedy about a meek government clerk named Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) whose life is destroyed by a simple bug. It's not a software bug but a real bug (no doubt related to Kafka's famous Metamorphosis insect) that gets squashed in a printer and causes a typographical error unjustly identifying an innocent citizen, one Mr Buttle, as suspected terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro). When Sam becomes enmeshed in unravelling this bureaucratic tangle, he himself winds up labelled as a miscreant. The movie presents such an unrelentingly imaginative and savage vision of 20th-century bureaucracy that it almost became a victim of small-minded studio management itself--until Gilliam surreptitiously screened his cut for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, who named it the best movie of 1985 and virtually embarrassed Universal into releasing it. --Jim Emerson
On the DVD: Brazil comes to DVD in a welcome anamorphic print of the full director's cut--here running some 136 minutes. Disappointingly the only extra feature is the 30-minute making-of documentary "What Is Brazil?", which consists of on-set and behind-the-scenes interviews. There's nothing about the film's controversial release history (covered so comprehensively on the North American Criterion Collection release), nor is Gilliam's illuminating, irreverent directorial commentary anywhere to be found. The only other extra here is the ubiquitous theatrical trailer. A welcome release of a real classic, then, but something of a missed opportunity. --Mark Walker
Product Description
In the future, a clerk at the all-powerful Ministry of Information sticks to his ideals and ends up crushed by the system in this half comedy, half horror story from former 'Monty Python' animator Terry Gilliam. Like Orwell's novel '1984', which it echoes, the future is seen from a 1940's perspective. Jonathan Pryce stars, with Robert De Niro making a cameo appearance as an excessively diligent sewage inspector.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Weird but excellent film, been one of my favourites for years and was looking forward to the blu-ray release.
However, what is the point of blu-rays when compared to DVDs? Ah, yes, superior visuals and sound quality, or at least supposedly.
Visually, the transfer is pretty good for a 25+ year old film (though no great improvement over an upscaled DVD).
Audio is another matter. This is standard 2.0 Dolby Digital and compares to the USA multi-region release that is DTS-HD Master and which sounds much better than the UK version (yes, I know it's sad, but I did buy the US version after my disappointment with the UK version).
So, Fox, why is it that you think the UK should put up with inferior sound quality compared to the US edition? Was it really impossible to use the same master? And again, what is the point in blu-ray if the production companies bundle the disc with a sound format that is no better than DVD (actually, worse, my old Criterion edition at least has 2.1 Dolby Digital - well, I did say it was one of my favourite films...).
However, what is the point of blu-rays when compared to DVDs? Ah, yes, superior visuals and sound quality, or at least supposedly.
Visually, the transfer is pretty good for a 25+ year old film (though no great improvement over an upscaled DVD).
Audio is another matter. This is standard 2.0 Dolby Digital and compares to the USA multi-region release that is DTS-HD Master and which sounds much better than the UK version (yes, I know it's sad, but I did buy the US version after my disappointment with the UK version).
So, Fox, why is it that you think the UK should put up with inferior sound quality compared to the US edition? Was it really impossible to use the same master? And again, what is the point in blu-ray if the production companies bundle the disc with a sound format that is no better than DVD (actually, worse, my old Criterion edition at least has 2.1 Dolby Digital - well, I did say it was one of my favourite films...).
34 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Where on earth do you start when you try describing Brazil? Terry Gilliam does a spectacular job portraying a dark fantasy world where society is taken over by a sinister bureaucracy which creates the nightmare scenario where individuals don't know who to trust or where to turn for help. What makes Brazil particularly uncomfortable and even prophetic, is that we can identify with the leading character (played by Johnathon Price) and his lonely plight into a dystopian hell. For anyone who has been enraged by being fobbed off by something like an electronic answering service in a bank, multiply Price's anguish by ten. He lives in an inhuman world which has nothing left other than red tape and faceless autocrats. Gilliam proves that you don't need any of the tactics employed by the horror genre to a create a terrifying and riveting scenario.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A. Stimpson
Format:Blu-ray
The good news is that the UK blu-ray release of Brazil is the 143 minute Terry Gilliam Director's Cut previously available as a Criterion release in the US (despite the listed running time of 136 minutes here on Amazon and on the case itself). The transfer is not perfect but is a massive upgrade from the DVD edition. Despite what some reviewers on here have claimed it is head and shoulders above an upscaled DVD with fine detail like skin pores and fibres on woollen suits showing up clearly. A full restoration would have been nice but you can't have everything.
What I would have expected on a blu-ray released in 2011 is a decent soundtrack but all we get here is 2.0 Dolby stereo. The American release has a DTS Master lossless soundtrack but is the shortest cut of the film so it isn't really a decent alternative. It would appear that the best release is the French digibook which not only has nice packaging but boasts the longer 142 minute cut AND a DTS MA soundtrack. That said this UK release will set you back less than half of the sheckles required to import the french disc so if you're on a budget it is still worth the splurge, warts and all. Perfectionists however should head to Amazon Fr and pick up the digibook.
What I would have expected on a blu-ray released in 2011 is a decent soundtrack but all we get here is 2.0 Dolby stereo. The American release has a DTS Master lossless soundtrack but is the shortest cut of the film so it isn't really a decent alternative. It would appear that the best release is the French digibook which not only has nice packaging but boasts the longer 142 minute cut AND a DTS MA soundtrack. That said this UK release will set you back less than half of the sheckles required to import the french disc so if you're on a budget it is still worth the splurge, warts and all. Perfectionists however should head to Amazon Fr and pick up the digibook.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
suitably odd
This is ideal for my purposes, many thanks for this item, much appreciated indeed, its exactly as described and very handy.
Published 6 days ago by another consumer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply prophetic
A well thought out film even if it is a bit complicated to piece together. The dark humour has undertones which are deeply prophetic in todays modern age.
Published 8 days ago by robert gregson
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Terry Gilliam's best films
This is a very good transfer to Bluray. A darkly comical version of " 1984 " with very good performances from Jonathan Pryce and Michael Palin and the usual bizarre humour... Read more
Published 1 month ago by MaxBit Rate
3.0 out of 5 stars
Present
This was a present so have no opinion on it, though my son is a Terry Gilliam fan and loved it.
Published 2 months ago by S Bateman
5.0 out of 5 stars
good quality
brilliant film, good quality, better in blue ray than on a normal DVD, sound and picture quality was amazing. this film is strange.
Published 3 months ago by Miss M E Parnell
2.0 out of 5 stars
a messy day at the office and too pleased with itself
Problem is I don't find American humour funny. There is much of this type in Brazil. To me humour must have satirical or ironic undertones to be amusing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by .fgd
1.0 out of 5 stars
caution
Had this disk bought as a christmas present, Brazil is one my fav films and i always wanted to see a criterion disk as i had heard so many good thing about them. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ian
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compulsively hilarious, bureaucracy taken to the limit.
Dysfunctional. Best features of Brian Rix's Whitehall farces and Iron Sky.
I have been waiting for years to get a copy.
Definitely buy.
I have been waiting for years to get a copy.
Definitely buy.
Published 5 months ago by Mr. John A. Oxenford
5.0 out of 5 stars
Monty Orwell
Brazil is a funny, scary and creative film which takes a whimsical look at the world of George Orwell's 1984. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jack Heslop
5.0 out of 5 stars
The world can suck, but in your mind you rule
In 1985, by the hands and minds of some of Monty Python's crew (and others, of course) "Brazil" was born. Read more
Published 10 months ago by ManInsideTheHelm
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