Brazil (1985)

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

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Terry Gilliam (screenplay), Tom Stoppard (screenplay)

Stars:

Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Pryce	...	Sam Lowry
Robert De Niro	...	Harry Tuttle
Katherine Helmond	...	Mrs. Ida Lowry
Ian Holm	...	Mr. 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

Storyline

Sam Lowry is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. He dreams of a life where he can fly away from technology and overpowering bureaucracy, and spend eternity with the woman of his dreams. While trying to rectify the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle, Lowry meets the woman he is always chasing in his dreams, Jill Layton. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy has fingered him responsible for a rash of terrorist bombings, and both Sam and Jill's lives are put in danger.

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Plot Keywords:

bureaucracy | wrongful arrest | dystopia | black comedy | terrorist | 

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Taglines:

Suspicion breeds confidence.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brazil

Filming Locations:

Debenham House, Addison Road, Holland Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,099, 22 December 1985, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$9,929,135

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 94 min (edited) 142 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Terry Gilliam tested more than half a dozen actresses to play the part of Jill, interviewing or testing Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Barkin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rebecca De Mornay, Rae Dawn Chong, Kelly McGillis, Joanna Pacula, Kathleen Turner, and he even considered Madonna. Gilliam's personal favorite was Barkin, because he thought she had a great combination of sex appeal and toughness that would work for the character. He stated later that while Kim Greist gave an excellent audition, and his close circle of friends and family advisors liked her, he mainly picked her for the role, because she had only one film credit to that date ( C.H.U.D. (1984)), and this would enable her to create a truly original character for audiences, without any prior expectations. He also said that working with Griest, who was difficult on-set, and whose material had to be severely reduced to help the film, drove home that "experience really does count for something."

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Goofs

When Kurtzman is trying to find information about Buttle/Tuttle on his computer, he removes his glasses and sets them on his desk. He then punches a key to spy on his workers. A shot of the employees shows they are watching movies rather than tending to their work. The next shot shows Kurtzman with his glasses back on his face as he angrily takes them off again.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

The closing shot of Lowry incarcerated humming to himself provides the backdrop for the end credits.

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Connections

References M (1931)

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Soundtracks

Brazil
Performed by Geoff Muldaur and Maria Muldaur
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records, Inc
by Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Intriguing mixture of comedy and dystopia

One of the truest statements about originality in art comes from T.S. Eliot: "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal." Terry Gilliam is one of cinema's mature poets. His "Brazil" features homages to numerous other films, ranging from "Modern Times" to "The Empire Strikes Back," and its plot is broadly similar to "Nineteen Eighty-Four." Yet the result is intriguingly fresh and creative.

The best adjective to describe the movie's tone is "whimsical." It's the type of sci-fi film with an almost childlike fascination with strange sights and happenings. Rarely has a film so pessimistic been this much fun. Many sci-fi films since "Brazil" have attempted a similar approach, usually with little success. The chief problem with most such films (e.g. "The Fifth Element") is that they get bogged down in plot at the expense of emotional resonance. "Brazil" avoids this fate: while the movie possesses psychological and thematic complexity, its plot is fairly simple, and the humor, quirky as it is, never relies on throwaway gags. Even the oddest moments have a certain poignance.

The story seems to take place in a fascist alternative world. It isn't "the future" exactly. The technology is weird-looking but hardly superior to anything in our world. Money transactions are sent through pipes in what looks sort of like a crude version of ATM. (One of the film's several nods to silent movies occurs after a character tries to stuff one of these pipes with wads of paper.) The pop culture references are positively retro, from the title song to scenes from the film "Casablanca."

The evil of the government in this film is driven not so much by cruelty as by bureaucratic incompetence, much of which is played for laughs. But some of the scenes look eerie today, in our post-9/11 world, and are good fodder for conspiracy theorists. Pay particular attention to the scene where the official boasts that the government is winning its war against "the terrorists." The movie is ambiguous as to whether there are any real terrorists, and we have a sneaking suspicion that the explosions are caused by the government itself. The plot is set in motion by a typographical error leading an innocent man to be arrested instead of a suspected terrorist. The movie is not about this man but about a meek government worker, Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), who's observing from the sidelines. Robert De Niro has a cameo as the wanted "terrorist" whose crime, from what we see, consists of doing home repairs without the proper paperwork.

I have noticed that most of the classic dystopian tales are fundamentally similar to one another. But "Brazil" approaches the genre in a uniquely psychological way. Sam Lowry is different from the standard protagonist who rebels against the government due to noble motives. He doesn't seem to have any larger goals than his own personal ones. He isn't trying to make the world a better place. He's only longing for a better life for himself, one more exciting and romantic than the humdrum existence he currently occupies, where he's beset by an overbearing mother, a pitiful boss, and a dull job. In the midst of this bureaucratic nightmare state, he cares only about such matters as getting his air conditioning fixed and stalking a female stranger who physically resembles his fantasy woman--or so he perceives. The woman, as played by Kim Greist, appears in his fantasies as a helpless damsel with long, flowing hair and a silky dress who sits in a cage while he battles a giant Samurai warrior. The real-life woman he pursues, also played by Greist, sports a butch haircut, drives a large truck, and has a cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth.

It's a testament to Pryce's performance that he commands our total sympathy the whole time. We feel for him and go along with the romantic adventure he attempts to create for himself. His nervous, stammering personality is one that would have been easy to overdo, yet Pryce strikes just the right note, especially as we begin questioning the character's sanity. At one point, another character tells him that "You're paranoid; you've got no sense of reality." But who wouldn't be paranoid in such a setting? The scene brings to mind the old joke that goes "You're not paranoid. Everyone really is out to get you." The movie inhabits such a whacky, surreal world full of strange people and sights that Sam Lowry almost seems sensible by comparison. Creating a character like this was a fresh, innovative twist on a genre that normally loses sight of human personalities.