Brazil [1985] [DVD]

Terry Gilliam’s version of 1984 of sorts. Visually stunning & very funny. Arrived in good condition & fairly quick delivery. A film I can watch again & again.

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW! I'll be honest, before I watched this film I had high expectations. I decided to dive in without reading about the plot, completely blind. Were those expectations met?Well. long story short: Yes.Also before I give my brief points. A lot of reviewers have a common theme: saying it's drivel and has poor pacing of the plot. The film doesn't take itself seriously and is a form of satire of British culture and extreme-right wing capitalism. And the way the script is written is similar to THEATRE than to FILM.Set design, costumes and video direction are SUPERB: My god this film was released in 1986? The set and costume design is SURREAL, incredibly detailed, I PAUSED the film multiple times to observe the surroundings more carefully. It is the stuff of nightmares especially as the film continues on, I will not be sleeping well tonight and I am really disturbed. This film really puts recent hollywood releases to SHAME.Acting: My god every single actor was brilliant, it DIDN'T matter how small the role. No exaggeration yet enough subtle movements to make me question their thoughts and motives. Johnathan Pryce's character was IMMENSELY difficult to play and I applaud him for such a performance.Script and plot: The pacing is slow compared to 21st century hollywood films but not as slow as Blade Runner for example. There is a coherent plot riddled with symbolism, dark 'humour' on British mannerisms HOWEVER there are CRUCIAL plot points that NEVER get a conclusion. There are little nudges or hints but the script is written in such a way you ask yourself is this reality or a fantasy? Also while watching this film I never got confused, and felt my adrenaline rising as it went on.I loved the ending. Because it wasn't 21st century hollywood. That's all I can say.This film has so many influences tied together not just by 1984, but other films and books too. Anyway it's a great piece of cinema and is definitely worth your time. Also which billion dollar franchise did it spark exactly? ... The ever popular 'Fallout' games.

This is my favourite film of all time. Six stars!!

Fabulous

Brazil is a funny, scary and creative film which takes a whimsical look at the world of George Orwell's 1984. I don't think it's quite the groundbreaking masterpiece some people claim - its plot can be messy and characters unfocused - but as a dystopian satire Brazil works very well.Jonathan Pryce plays Sam Lowry, a Ministry of Information employee. His job is soul-crushing, and he relieves the tedium with daydreams about himslf as a winged hero who saves a beautiful woman from a masked monster. These fantasies are the film's most fascinating element; they incorporate details from Sam's everyday life and create wonderful images, like a brickwork creature with the face of Sam's boss. When he sees a rebel (Kim Griest) who's the spit of the woman from his dreams he's inspired to find her and take on their repressive government.Brazil is a satire of beauracracy. Everything in director Terry Gilliam's world, even human life, is controlled by machines and paperwork. Early on we see an innocent working-class family torn apart when their father is accused of terrorism. This turns out to be an error though it's not spotted soon enough to reverse the damage, and the government cares more about assigning blame anyway. Gilliam presents this dystopia beautifully. I loved all the weird machines which are meant to help but only hinder, like a breakfast maker that isn't as useful as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's.Brazil's major flaw is its scattershot narrative. The plot doesn't flow so much as lurch from one point to another, leaving behind characters who seem like they should be around more. Robert De Niro and Kim Griest, for instance, are underused. I'd have liked to know more about Griest's rebel, who has few lines which don't simply push the plot forward. That said, her counterpart in Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith's lover Julia, is presented much the same way.Ultimately, Brazil is a film of imagery and performance rather than plot. Gilliam evokes a world which is fun to explore and his satire's dead on. The ending is perfect; you'll rarely see a bleaker use of misdirection.

Brazil is one of those of those films that once you've watched it you never really forget it. Part of this is simply that it is so confusing and that the ending is so messy. At the end of the film you are not really sure what it is you have watched. However from a personal point of view I have enjoyed this film every time I've watched it.Basically it's a very black comedy losely based on the ideas set down in Orwell's 1984. As with all the things that Terry Gilliam does it is done with some style and the charaters are portrayed subtly.As to writing a simple review for this film it is hard to do - do I write about the main character or about the landscape that it is all set against? All I can really do is just ask you to think of the bleakness of 1984 but remember that the little people have their dreams - we are inhabiting those dreams (and nightmares) in this film. There are rogue heating engineers!!! Robert De Nero as a rogue heating engineer!!!!!! It works quite well actually. Jonathan Pryce as the lead delivers are powerful performance as the lead charater who dreams of leaving everything behind him and flying away to a better place.People always complain about the end of the film, and Gilliam was also unhappy about the original ending. Is this one any better, well it's rather debatable that it is. I actually quite liked the original one, very reminicent of Room 101 but with actual torture and I felt that it played the story to the logical conclusion. But hey what would I know - I'm just one of the great unwashed masses, a member of the prolotariat.This film is massively flawed BUT it does require you to watch it. I give it 9/10 and round that up to 5 stars.

Service rapide bien emballé conforme excellent rapport qualité prix je recommande vivement ce vendeur. Bravo!!

Een mengsel van Monty Python, Kafka en 1984, in zijn genre zeer geslaagd.

Descrive un futuro già vecchio in cui il sistema controlla i cittadini in modo totale. È un 1984 che però si applica piuttosto alla nostra società occidentale. I sogni non sono possibili e cercare di realizzarli porta ad essere imprigionati in un meccanismo disumano che porta alla morte, ma nelle ore d'ufficio. Si tratta di un film visionario in cui alcuni comportamenti purtropo ormai comuni della società di oggi vengono rappresentati in modo grottesco che mostra quanto la vita possa diventare disumana e vuota in un mondo in cui le persone non sono libere di avere sentimenti verso altri.

La conversión a bluray muy buena.

Je n'ajouterai rien sur cet étonnant film de Terry Gilliam qu'on aime ou qu'on déteste, mais qui ne laisse pas indifférent.Le Blu-Ray allemand (distribué par FOX) est tout à fait convenable, présentant la version vu au cinéma de plus de 140min. avec un choix de pistes audio 2.0 dont le français ainsi que le sous-titrage. Peu de bonus à part la bande-annonce et l'excellent making of de près de 30 minutes stf, en 4 chapitres. Mais c'est déjà mieux que le disque américain (Universal) qui n'offre aucun suppléments; il n'y a que le film sur 19 chapitres, alors que le blu-ray allemand propose le film sur 29 chapitres. C'est donc un bon achat en ce me concerne et j'en remercie le revendeur d'avoir bien voulu livrer au Canada.Blu-ray all zone testé sur lecteur Sony A.I won't add anything to this amazing Terry Gilliam film that we love or hate, but which leaves no one indifferent.The German Blu-Ray (distributed by FOX) is quite suitable, presenting the version seen in the cinema of more than 140min. with a choice of 2.0 audio tracks including English, Italian, French Deutch and Spanish as well as subtitling. Few extras apart from the trailer and the very good making of almost 30 minutes, in 4 chapters. But it's already better than the American edition (Universal) which offers no supplements; there is only the film on 19 chapters, while the German blu-ray proposes the film on 29 chapters. It is therefore a good purchase for me and I thank the dealer for agreeing to deliver to Canada.Blu-ray all zone tested on Sony A player.