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 by), Tom Stoppard (screenplay by)

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. Terrain
Charles McKeown	...	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 Tuttle, 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

bureaucracy | wrongful arrest | dystopia | dream | clerical error | 

---

Taglines:

Suspicion breeds confidence.

---

Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

---

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 Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Holly Gilliam: Jack's daughter Holly was played by Terry Gilliam's daughter.

---

Goofs

When Tuttle is at Sam's apartment for the first time to fix the heating, he removes the wall-panel and hands it over to Sam twice.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

Sidney Sheinberg's name is listed in the credits next to Worst Boy. Terry Gilliam and Sheinberg fought notoriously over the content and release of the film.

---

Alternate Versions

The Criterion LaserDisc and DVD version contains both the Sheinberg/TV/"love conquers all" version and what Terry Gilliam believes to be the "final director's cut" (142 minutes). The Universal "bare-bones" DVD contains only the longer version (though it is misidentified on the DVD cover as the American cut)."

---

Connections

Features The Cocoanuts (1929)

---

Soundtracks

Brazil
Music by Ary Barroso
English lyrics by Bob Russell (as S.K. Russell)
© Copyright 1939 by Irmaos Visale, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
© Copyright 1939 by Southern Music Publishing Company Inc., New York, N.Y., U.S.A.
© Copyright assigned 1942 to Peer International Corporation, New York, N.Y., U.S.A.

User Reviews

Absurd in the best way.

One of my favorite novels of all time is George Orwell's 1984, and Brazil is very much a comedic interpretation of that. Brazil shows us a hilarious exaggeration of the monotony of machine like run bureaucracy, and man's constant voyage to avoid responsibility. "That's not my department." Everyone seems to say. Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a low ranking government employee. When an error leads to the execution of engineer Archibald Buttle (Brian Miller) instead of terrorist Archibald Tuttle (Robert De Niro), Sam attempts to fix this, and inadvertently becomes an enemy of the state. Read that scenario again. This is a funny movie. It's a dark comedy/political satire, and almost every joke works. The nonchalant attitude of the government depicted in the film is where a big chunk of the humor comes from. It's a very smart comedy. Honestly if you like political satire, then Brazil is one we can all enjoy together.