- The FAQ File
Over a decade after the release of Brazil, Terry Gilliam's film remains one of
the movies most valued by individuals on the net. As the complex plot and
unique style of Brazil have endeared it to fans, the legendary battle about Brazil's
release between Gilliam and Sid Sheinberg (then president of Universal
pictures, the studio responsible for releasing Brazil in the US) has become
one of the essential lessons of modern film history. As is rarely the case, an
underdog director successfully battled a studio to get his film released as
he intended it... resulting in a great degree of confusion over the different
available versions of BRAZIL. This FAQ has
been created to answer frequently asked questions pertaining to all matters
regarding the film.
This list will be posted once a year to rec.arts.movies.misc, news.answers,
and rec.answers. This FAQ may be posted to alt.cult-movies and
alt.movies.terry-gilliam at my discretion.
The followup field is set to rec.arts.movies.misc.
This FAQ is available for anonymous FTP wherever news.answers is archived,
for example:
Trond Frittz's excellent HTML version of the FAQ is available at
http://home.sol.no/~frittz, complete with pictures and an early draft
of the BRAZIL script.
This single-page version will remain posted at http://members.aol.com/AmbushBug4/brazil/brzl-faq.html. Additional material in this edit was provided by Garrett Gilchrist [AmbushBug4@aol.com].
A Japanese version of the
FAQ is being developed! Please consult
http://www.hf.rim.or.jp/~morrow/kb/kb.cgi?b=brazil&c=v&num=40 for
developments on the translation.
Brazil is a film rich in depth -- the plot does not focus on
just one subject, but instead many different themes which weave
together. The film follows the character of Sam
Lowry, a clerk in the records department of a huge government
bureaucracy, the Ministry of Information. Sam's perception of the
world alternates between being trapped as a mere "cog in the machine"
in a grim world of paperwork and escaping from his grim existence by
becoming a hero in his own elaborate dreams. His life and these
dreams begin to merge together... his dreams become more realized as
his life tears apart. Eventually, the government imprisons him,
finding him guilty of none other than "wasting Ministry time and
paper" after
Sam embarks on a messy pursuit of the girl he sees in both his dreams
and in real life - who was unrightly wanted by the Ministry as a
suspected terrorist.
Still don't get it? You probably won't, not until you've seen
the film multiple times. The structure of Brazil often uses peripheral
devices: interviews heard in the background, lines of conversation
running over action and posters seen on walls, to give the viewer cues
as to what's going on in the film. It seems nearly impossible that
a single viewing of Brazil could possibly supply the viewer with all
of the information needed to fully digest what's happening in the film.
Brazil is a film which rolls up many of the problems of the
century into one big plot: industrialization, terrorism, government
control and bureaucracy (from both capitalist and socialized countries),
technology gone wrong, inept repair people, plastic surgery, love, and
even modern filmmaking. Especially love.
Gilliam has claimed that the film is about the fear of love: The
consequences of the Sam Lowry character pursuing his dream girl are
steep. However, if the film can be said to focus on a single topic,
it would have to be described as the dehumanizing effect of technology
and bureaucracy on today's society -- although the film is much more
than that. In the world of Brazil, set "8:49 p.m., somewhere in the 20th century",
fantasy is the only escape, and the happy ending is that
of a man going insane. The film certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea,
shifting abruptly from comedy to despair, something Gilliam has described
in interviews as "cinematic rape." Gilliam approaches the style of the
film with his trademark wit and stunning visuals, both honed during his
years as the animator for Monty Python's Flying Circus and during the
production of his film Time Bandits.
Words from Gilliam himself,
part of an interview for The South Bank Show, filmed 6/29/91:
"Brazil was a film that sat around for some years, I mean like
10 years I'd been sort of thinking about this thing. I mean on a very
simple level it's just its just very cathartic for me. It's all about
my own frustrations and my seeming inability to achieve what I wanted
to achieve and my inability to affect a system that is clearly
wrong. The fears of Brazil are not so much that the world is
spinning out of control because of the system, because the system is
us. What Brazil is really about is that the system isn't great
leaders, great machinating people controlling it all. It's each person
performing their job as one little cog in this thing and Sam chooses
to stay a little cog and ultimately he pays the price for that."
"Now on the other hand I also felt that there's the ideal that if we
all do our bit the world will become better. Then there's the
pessimistic side that says enough of this 'do our bit, ain't gonna
make a blind bit of difference as we're all gunna, lemming like, go
over the abyss'. And so then there was 'how do you escape from that
world?' and Sam escapes by going insane. I actually started this film
with that idea of 'can one make a film where the happy ending is a man
going insane?'"
Keep in mind, however, that Gilliam has been quoted as saying "Because
I dislike being quoted I lie almost constantly when talking about my work."
In January of 1985, Terry
Gilliam delivered his completed Brazil to
Universal studios, on time and on budget. Brazil's complex and
interweaving plot demands a lot of screen time in order to tie up all the
loose ends - and Gilliam was happy about the way the film worked in its
142 minute cut. Fox Pictures International had just signed the
international agreement to the film and had accepted the 142 minute length
without any sort of protest, so Gilliam expected Universal to accept it for
distribution in America.
Not so. Sidney Sheinberg, the president of Universal studios had
taken an interest in Brazil - Sheinberg "liked many parts of
Brazil, and thought there were many moments of bravura
filmmaking," but what Sheinberg saw lacking was commercial potential.
The cure for this in Sheinberg's eyes was a re-edit, one that took
the various parts of Brazil that were commercially viable,
(namely Sam's pursuit of his dream girl, the stunning set design and
Gilliam's off-beat style of humor), while removing those things that
were not (namely the film's dark ending, the overtones of the
dehumanizing effects of the government, and Michael Kamen's witty but
dark orchestral score).
This began a personal battle between Terry Gilliam and Sidney
Sheinberg for control of the film. Sheinberg had forced Gilliam to
sign a time provision which said that the running time of
Brazil would have to be 132 minutes for Universal to accept it,
and that even then Universal could follow up with any editing it
deemed necessary. A rough cut of Brazil which ran at 132
minutes was created by Gilliam's editor Julian Doyle in order to
fulfill the contractual obligation on time, and was sent to Universal
pictures. Gilliam worked on a 132 minute edit, while Sheinberg
himself began work on the studio's edit of the film.
Scheinberg's editors Bill Gordean and Steve Lovejoy created an edit
which cut out many of the dream sequences and essential threads in the
plot of Brazil, while splicing in all elements of humor and all
usable footage involving Sam Lowry and Jill Layton, the "dream girl".
If that wasn't bad enough, Gordean and Lovejoy also lopped off the
entire ending sequence which involved Sam Lowry's interrogation (and
eventual loss of sanity) by his coworker Jack Lint. Instead, they
chose to end the film where Sam finally consummates his relationship
with Jill, and escapes with her to the country. Also suggested was
the replacement of Kamen's symphonic score with one of rock music -
in order to "attract teens."
Ultimately, this edit subverted the entire point of Brazil,
making the movie a futuristic fairy tale about a man's quest for a
dream woman, with a lot of action and a sub-plot about terrorism
thrown in. Gilliam's original message of dehumanization and
technology gone wrong was subverted by Scheinberg's edit, which sent
the message that if you play the game and stay a good little cog in
the machine, then one day you'll end up with your dreams come true.
Scheinberg, upon seeing Gilliam's second 132 minute edit, decided
to test the studio's version instead. Gilliam would not stand for this.
Arnon Milchan, the producer of the film, began making public declarations
on how the studio had taken away Gilliam's film because it was only a few
minutes over contractual obligation, and began calling for critics to
see the film in England, where it was available from Fox Pictures.
Sid Sheinberg responded back by saying that no amount of critical praise
could reverse the studio's decision about Brazil. Gilliam told
Sheinberg that if he was going to release to studio's edit of Brazil
that he wanted his name off of the credits, and then started an out and
out publicity war. In Gilliam's own words:
"It became a stalemate situation and Arnon Milchen, the producer said,
'We've got to get lawyers in here and we've got to deal with this' and I
said 'Nah, can't get lawyers in. They've got all the lawyers in the world.
They've got all the money. They don't have to release the film, it's not
going to kill them. They can sit on it'. and I said 'we'll just have to
approach it in a much more personalized way'. So the first thing I did was
to take a full page ad out in Variety which was this blank page except for
this black border and in the middle of it it said:
Eventually what happened was the LA critics became very interested
in the film and some had seen it and they set up a whole series of
clandestine screenings of this film around Hollywood in peoples homes.
It came time to vote at the end of the year for their films and they
realized in their bylaws it didn't say that a film had to be released
to be able to be voted upon and so they all voted upon whether
Brazil could be voted upon and they agreed it could be and then
it went out and it won Best Picture, Best Direction and Best
Screenplay. [The awards were] announced the very night of the
premiere of Out Of Africa in New York which was Universal's big film
that year. All the big brass were there in their ties & DJ's and they
were told that Out Of Africa had won nothing and Brazil, this
film that they won't release has won all these awards. They had to
release it and what was wonderful was I was getting all these phone
calls from people saying 'Oh well done, maybe now the flood gates will
open we'll get films out, blahblahblah'. Of course it didn't, just
like Brazil, the system doesn't change, you just escape in your
madness, that's all."
- Terry Gilliam, The South Bank Show, 6/29/91
Universal finally opened Gilliam's 132 minute cut of Brazil at
two theaters in Los Angeles on Christmas Day, 1985, later slowly
bringing it across the country in a limited number of theatres with
limited advertising.
Some would argue that too many have. At this point in time, four
different versions have been released on the laserdisc format alone (not
counting variations in language or letterboxing), and there have been minor
changes between the theatrical and video releases. They are as follows:
The following is a description of the differences between each version and the
other versions. Which is the "real" Brazil? You be the judge.
The European Theatrical Release (ET) contains many items not in the
American Theatrical and Video release (AT). These are:
The European/Japan Video release (EV) adds the following scene not
present in some theatrical prints of the European Theatrical
release (ET), and that were never present in the American AT release:
- A scene where Sam and Jill lie in bed after the implied
consummation of their relationship. Jill has taken off the
wig she was wearing in the scene before, and has a pink bow
tied around her naked body. She says to Sam: "Something
for an executive?" and he unties her.
The American Theatrical/Video Release (AT) adds a few things not found
in the European Releases (ET & EV):
The "Final director's cut" (FV) is the European/Japan Video release
(EV), with a few changes:
The Sheinberg Edit (the "Love Conquers All" version") makes a number of
very major changes to all of the above versions:
- Sam doesn't meet Shirley at the party, and it goes straight to the
"false ears" joke.
On Wednesday, October 3rd, 1996 the Voyager company proudly
released the Criterion Brazil to the laserdisc-viewing public. This
set is essential viewing for all Brazil fans. In addition to a new
digital transfer of the film, it contains the "Final director's cut"
(FV) of the film, as well as the Sheinberg "Love Conquers All" edit.
It also contains:
One of the interesting codas regarding Brazil is the fact that
Universal/MCA Home Video delayed the release of the Criterion
Brazil set for years. After Voyager (owner of the Criterion
Collection) had made preliminary arrangements to obtain the rights
to BRAZIL, they published an listing in their 1993 catalogue --
resulting in Universal/MCA pulling Voyager's rights. Only after
the theatrical success of Gilliam's 12 MONKEYS did Universal feel
comfortable selling the rights to BRAZIL to Voyager again. It
was worth the wait: originally slated to have 6 sides of information,
the Criterion BRAZIL set ballooned to its full 10-sided glory.
Brazil is available in its American Theatrical Release (AT)
format on laserdisc from MCA Home Video, #40171. This disc is no
longer out of print, and is common in stores.
A Japanese laserdisc pressing of Brazil contains a transfer
of the European cut of Brazil from the European
EV PAL masters on Warner Home Video Japan. This version was in Dolby
Surround (opposed to MCA's matrixed surround), and was available in both
letterbox and full-screen versions. This disc is currently out of print. Do not
ask the author of the FAQ where you can obtain a copy of this disc, as he does
not know any sources who can still obtain this disc. More recently, a Japanese
version of BRAZIL featuring Gilliam's "final cut" has appeared, but does
not feature the commentary or supplements found on the Criterion set.
Universal/MCA Home Video has released the "final cut" of Gilliam's
film on DVD, #20168. The packaging of the Brazil DVD indicates that the
running time is 132 minutes, which is incorrect; it is the full-length (FV)
version. Regrettably, the Universal DVD does not feature any of the
supplements of the Criterion set, replacing them with a revisionist
"Production Notes" section which doesn't so much as mention Gilliam's
fight with Universal (the Criterion set, on the other hand, devotes over
two hours to this important background information).
The version of Brazil currently available for purchase in the UK is now
Gilliam's "final cut" (FV), and is presented in the widescreen format.
Previously, the version available in the UK was the EV version.
Certainly, Brazil is an enigmatic title for a movie that seems
to have nothing to do with the country of Brazil ("Brasil" in the native tongue). The
first-draft screenplay was entitled The Ministry of Torture, or
Brazil, or How I Learned to Live with the System - So
Far, and Gilliam also considered calling his screenplay 1984 1/2.
Many of the drafts appear to have simply been titled "The Ministry."
In the book The Battle of Brazil, Gilliam explains where the
inspiration stemmed from, while he was in Port Talbot, Wales:
"Port Talbot is a steel town, where everything is covered with gray
iron ore dust. Even the beach is completely littered with dust, its just
black. The sun was setting, and it was quite beautiful. The contrast was
extraordinary, I had this image of a guy sitting there on this dingy beach
with a portable radio, tuning in these strange Latin escapist songs like
'Brazil.' The music transported him somehow and made his world less gray."
Sid Sheinberg didn't like the title, and had the Universal staff
submit suggestions for a new one. These suggestions included the titles:
In the promotion of the film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,
Terry Gilliam openly referred to that film as the third in a
trilogy of films, which began with Time Bandits and continued with
Brazil. Later, Gilliam has been quoted in saying that calling
the three a trilogy was just him being "pretentious".
Do the three form a trilogy? They certainly seem to: The Battle
of Brazil explains that Gilliam's trilogy is about the ages of man, and
the subordination of magic to realism. TIME BANDITS was part one, about
the fantasist as a child. BRAZIL was part two, the fantasist as a
young man, and BARON MUNCHAUSEN closes the series with its story about
an old man who, through the innocence and open mindedness of a small girl,
regains his belief in magic. Both TIME BANDITS and BRAZIL have bleak
endings, but BARON MUNCHAUSEN shows the final triumph of this sort of
magic through fantasy, as Munchausen circumvents the reality of his death
in his own tall tales, achieving immortality through his storytelling.
Considering that Gilliam was on record calling Baron Munchausen
the third in the trilogy before production on Munchausen began, it is definite that
even if Gilliam was not thinking of making a trilogy as
he wrote and filmed Time Bandits and Brazil, he certainly considered them
that at the end, and made Baron Munchausen with that in mind.
Gilliam often compares himself with the protagonists in his films, and the main characters in Time Bandits, Brazil and Munchausen
can all be considered representations of Gilliam himself during various stages of his life.
Both Brazil and Munchausen's plots and themes echo the events
surrounding the making of those films, so at the very least the films can be viewed
as a loose cinematic interpretation of however Terry Gilliam was feeling at the stage
in his life when he wrote those films.
Neither of the later films, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas were originally written by Terry Gilliam, and while they continue with his
common theme of merging fantasy with reality (and the difficulty in determining which
of the two is more truthful), they cannot be considered the autobiographical statements
that his previous three films appear to be. Gilliam did do much of the adaptation for Fear and Loathing (based on Hunter S. Thompson's classic book), however, and has for a while now been planning on expanding the trilogy, so to speak, with a film concept known as The Defective Detective ...
|
Brazil... Where hearts were entertaining June We stood beneath an amber moon And softly murmured someday soon*... We kissed... And clung together Then... Tomorrow was another day The morning found me miles away** With still a million things to say Now... When twilight dims the skies above*** Recalling thrills of our love There's one thing I'm certain of Return... I will... to old... BRAZIL. (NOTES: * In some versions, this line is "And softly murmured someWHERE soon" ** In some versions, this line is "The morning found US miles away" *** In some versions, this line is "When twilight dims the STARS above")  |
The soundtrack by Michael Kamen is available on compact disc, Milan 35636-2.
The disc features music from the film as well as snippets of dialogue and
the title track sung by Kate Bush. The recording is excellent, and the
disc offers insightful liner notes written by Steven Smith, Terry Gilliam and Michael Kamen. More information can be found at http://www.milanrecords.com/soundtracks/Brazil.html.| 1:41 | Central Services / The Office |
| 2:10 | Sam Lowry's 1st Dream / "Brazil" (vocal by Kate Bush) |
| 0:42 | Ducts |
| 3:00 | Waiting for Daddy / Sam Lowry's Wetter Dream "The Monoliths Erupt" |
| 1:15 | Truck Drive |
| 1:34 | The Restaurant (You've Got To Say the Number) |
| 1:14 | Mr. Helpmann |
| 0:45 | The Elevator |
| 2:07 | Jill Brazil / Power Station |
| 1:03 | The Party (Part 1) / Plastic Surgery |
| 1:53 | Ducting Dream |
| 3:26 | Brazil (Performed by Geoff Muldaur, from the Geoff and Maria Muldaur album Pottery Pie) |
| 1:18 | Days and Nights in Kyoto - The Party (Part 2) |
| 1:46 | The Morning After |
| 1:03 | Escape? |
| 4:30 | The Battle |
| 1:50 | Harry Tuttle - "A Man Consumed By Paperwork" |
| 1:44 | Mother's Funeral / Forces of Darkness |
| 2:26 | Escape ! No Escape ! |
| 2:51 | Bachianos Brazil Samba |
The sets in Brazil were designed to look like "the century was
compacted into a single moment," the style being eclectic. In order
to create this sort of mood, Gilliam's film was shot on-location at
many locations in Europe.
Sam's apartment building actually existed in France, at the Marne la
Vallee, a huge apartment complex designed by Ricardo Bofil. The truck
chase, with Sam and Jill outrunning the security pursuit vans as well as
shots of Sam walking home from the transporter station were filmed there.
The site of Marne la Vallee is now the site of EuroDisney.
Dr. Jaffe's surgery room, where Ida Lowry receives her cosmetic
treatment early in the film, was shot in Leighton's House, the home of Lord
Leighton. Leighton was a Victorian artist and collector of moorish tiles.
The clerk's pool where Sam works in the Records Department was shot
in an abandoned grain mill in London's Dockland. The mill was sprayed
with gray paint, and flour sifters were turned into benches. This same
location was used for the corridors of the Information Retrieval
department where Sam goes after being promoted. The giant holes in the
ceiling are the bottoms of twelve-story-high grain silos. This is now said to be the site of an IKEA furniture store.
The restaurant where Sam, Ida, Mrs. Terrain and Shirley have lunch
was shot in Mentmore Towers, part of the former Rothschild mansion in
Buckinghamshire. It was the center for Transcendental Meditation at the
time Gilliam was filming Brazil.
Sam's mother's apartment was filmed in the Liberal Club in London,
located next to old Scotland Yard.
The Information Retrieval torture chamber where Sam is interrogated
was shot in a cooling tower at a power station in South London. The stunt
men who rescue Sam during his interrogation had to descend a distance of
170 feet to 9-inch wide metal spines 40 feet above the ground for Sam's
escape scene.
The Croydon power station was used for the setting of the basement
of the Ministry of Information, as well as an exterior scene where Sam
"arrests" Jill in her truck.
Few of the propaganda signs were in the original script of
Brazil. They can be credited to co-scriptwriter Charles
McKeown, who played Sam's smarmy co-worker at Information Retrieval.
Also, most every object in the film has a stencilled part number or
Ministry of Information logo on it.
A subplot that many viewers of Brazil seem to miss entirely is
that of Information Retrieval charging. "Information Retrieval" is a
euphemism for "interrogation." The extent of Information Retrieval
Charging is revealed in Deputy Minister Conrad Helpmann's interview,
which is shown on the telescreen while a technician swipes at the
beetle which determines the fate of the movie. The interviewer asks
the Deputy Prime Minister about the economics of the terrorist
situation, and the Deputy Prime Minister replies:
"I understand this concern on behalf of the taxpayers.
People want value for money. That's why we always
insist on the principal of Information Retrieval
charges. It's absolutely right and fair that those
found guilty should pay for their periods of detention
and the Information Retrieval procedures used in their
interrogations."
The check Lowry delivers to Mrs. Buttle is a check for the amount
debited from the Buttle's charge account when Mr. Buttle was interrogated
and killed (because of Information Retrieval's torturous methods) early in
the film. The police officer says to Sam after he is strapped into the
chair at the torture chamber "Don't fight it son, confess quickly. If you
hold out too long, you could jeopardize your credit rating." Note that
this is not merely a funny line; a scene present only in the ER (and
presumably in the laserdisc) has a MOI official arranging a way
for Sam to pay his charges via installments.
Inspiration for this subplot may have possibly stemmed from actual history -- the Nazis were known to charge Jews for their forced
passage to the concentration camps, and Gilliam has mentioned that he discovered that
South American countries were also charging for interrogation and torture. In addition the practice was used during the Salem witch trials.
|
Mrs. Ida Lowry requests the pleasure of your companyyyy at her apartment tonight, from eight thirtyyyyy to midnight to celebrate the completion of her recent cosmetic surgeryyyy The guest of honor will be Mr. Conrad Helpmann, Dep. Under Minister of State for Public Informationnnn, R.S.V.P. by singing telegram 
|
There's a reason for the singing telegram girl's rather odd dance
during the last bit of the recital - in the original script, she
later asked if she could use Sam's bathroom.
Gilliam considered "subtitling" the scene with this text in "telegram"
style letters. Gilliam has said that he wishes he had actually done
that.
| Q: | What kind of car did Sam drive to deliver the refund check? |
| A: | It's a Messerschmidt. Gilliam obtained two from a collector's club in order to shoot the film, one of which was destroyed for the scene at Shangri-La Towers. |
| Q: | What does Jack Lint's little girl say to Sam after Jack leaves? |
| A: | "Put it on, big boy. I won't look at your willy." Holly, the little girl, is Gilliam's daughter Holly Gilliam. |
| Q: | Who is Sam's mother played by in the scene at Mrs. Terrain's funeral? |
| A: | It's Kim Greist, who plays Jill Layton. Gilliam shot footage with both Greist and Katherine Helmond playing the part, and decided to use the footage of Greist with Helmond's voice dubbed in. This creates an effect alluded to in the original screenplay, in which Gilliam called Sam's mother's transformation "a parody of Sam's dream girl." However, if you're paying attention, the last shot of Sam's mother is Katherine Helmond. |
| Q: | Who is the rock man supposed to represent? |
| A: | Sam's boss at the Department of Records, Kurtzmann. In the dream as in real life he can't do his work by himself and doesn't want Sam to leave him. Call it guilt. |
| Q: | Who does Sam find when he lifts the faceplate of the Samurai? |
| A: | 
Himself, which lends itself to the Quixotic nature of Sam's quest.
The samurai is a huge, monolithic, powerful machine, and is assumed
to represent technology -- and Sam finds his own participation
in the machinations of this technologically based society to be a
hindrance to his own self.Gilliam hinted, during a recent Q & A session on America Online, that the Samurai may simply be a bad pun. The word samurai, divided into syllables, sounds like the phrase "Sam or I"... and later, Gilliam mentioned that it could mean, "Sam, you are I". |
| Q: | Why the hideous masks, like the one Jack Lint wears for the interrogation? |
| A: | Gilliam's mother once sent him a mask like that, and it haunted him ever since. Gilliam intended the effect of combining the masks and the decaying bodies of the Forces of Darkness (the small, troll-like creatures which Sam sees in his dreams) to be an intermingling of the beginning and ends of life. |
| Q: | Does Gilliam cameo in the film? |
| A: | Gilliam himself appears as one of the lurkers in Shangri-La towers, the one belching smoke as he runs into Sam. The lurkers were put in the script to get the idea across that people were being arbitrarily picked out for surveillance. |
| Q: | How is the song "Brazil" used in the movie? |
| A: | As well as frequently (almost constantly) occurring as a theme in the orchestral soundtrack, the song Brazil is hummed by Tuttle as he puts the panel back inside Sam's apartment, and by Sam as he folds up Mrs. Buttle's check and puts it in the pneumatic delivery tube. A few notes of the song are played by the keypad as Sam punches in "EREIAMJH" in Mr. Helpmann's lift. |
| Q: | Are there any references to other films in Brazil? |
| A: | Past the obvious reference to Casablanca, there are a few scenes which should be familiar to film buffs. The first is the opening dolly shot of the
clerk's pool at the Department of Records, intended as homage to
Stanley Kubrick, who used a similar dolly shot in Paths of Glory. The music which plays throughout the western movie Sam's coworkers are so intent on is common stock music from the Dewolfe company, used more than once in Monty Python (such as the films Holy Grail and The Meaning of Life). Most of the rest of the references are found in Sam's dreams. Sam is clearly a film buff (note the posters in his room) and his fantasies are strange mixtures of medievalism, angelism, fighter epics, Japanese films and everything inbetween. The electric samurai is inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa (as were similar creations in George Lucas' Star Wars films.) Some have compared the shot in which the samurai is revealed to be Sam himself to a similar shot in Irvin Kirschner's "The Empire Strikes Back." The sad, papery "death" of Tuttle in Sam's final dream is similar to a scene in John Ford's "The Informer." But scholars must especially note the scene in the same, final dream where Sam and Harry
Tuttle escape from Information Retrieval. The actions of the soldiers
in this scene, marching mechanically in time and lowering their rifles,
mirrors shot-for-shot the famous "Odessa Steps" sequence in the silent film BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. The scene
in the Russian classic takes place on the steps of Odessa, portraying
a glimpse of the Russian revolution. In POTEMKIN, we have a baby
carriage rolling down the stairs in the midst of battle, while in
Brazil, we have a floor polisher going down the stairs -- the operator,
like the mother in POTEMKIN, is shot in a similar fashion This famous scene is also alluded to in THE UNTOUCHABLES, during the train station stand-off, and was re-drawn for Stick Figure Theatre on MTV's Liquid Television. Zbigniew Rybczynski's short film STEPS is all about what happens when modern day tourists get to walk around in this famous film sequence. Many other films have used referenced POTEMKIN, as well. Those who've seen the original will know why. |
| Q: | Why does Mrs. Terrain disintegrate over the course of the film? |
| A: | Mrs Terrain reveals in the restaurant bombing sequence that she is seeing Mr. Chapman for cosmetic surgery. Chapman is also known as "the acid man". From the gelatinous, bony mess found in her coffin, we can assume the acid treatment was ultimately unsuccessful. Gilliam, on the Criterion collection set in his commentary, mentions that his father had used an "acid man" to treat a growth on his ear... and that the acid ate through his father's entire ear! |
| Q: | Are any of the characters' names significant? |
| A: | Mr Kurtzmann (German for `short man') stands for small in stature and
success. Named after the editor of Help (Harvey Kurtzman), a
magazine that Gilliam worked for in the mid-60s. It was at a photo
shoot for this magazine that Gilliam met John Cleese, who would later
invite him to join the Monty Python team. Kurtzman himself was a founding father of MAD Magazine and well-known to comics fans. Mr Warrenn works in a rabbit-warren style place: a maze of corridors. Dr. Chapman, "the acid man" responsible for Mrs. Terrain's deteriorating condition, is an allusion to fellow Python Graham Chapman. The late Chapman was called "Doctor" by his friends since he had had some medical training. The character is played in the film by the late Jack Purvis, a shockingly short actor who served as head midget on the set of all three of George Lucas' Star Wars films and also appears in large roles in Gilliam's own Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. However, the original screenplay described Dr. Chapman as tall, detached, and pipe-smoking - in short, a dead ringer for Graham. Mrs. Lowry's plastic surgeon is Dr. Jaffe, a possible reference to cartoonist Al Jaffee, also of MAD Magazine. That might be stretching it, though. |
| Q: | What is the tool that Jack Lint uses during Sam's interrogation? |
| A: | It is a device used to perform a frontal lobotomy. It is inserted through the nose and then pushed up to sever the frontal lobe. It can be assumed through the context of the film that Sam has been lobotomized by the end of the film. He is still alive: we see him twitch and hear him hum the tune Brazil. |
| Q: | What is the gift Sam keeps getting and giving? |
| A: | An executive decision maker, a novelty gift in the Spencer's Gifts vein: it has a plunger that can fall to one side of a divider, landing on "YES" or "NO". The toy is of no value in the film, simply commentary on the knee-jerk giving of useless gifts at Christmastime, and the commercialization of the holiday. The gift in real life was more expensive - it cost 2000 dollars to design and make for the film. |
| Q: | What does "'ere I am, J.H." mean? |
| A: | It's obviously an anagram of "Jeremiah". However, the phrase is slightly puzzling: Jeremiah (the anagram of "EREIAMJH") was Sam Lowry's late father, so we can assume his initials were J.L. Helpmann's initials, seen earlier in the tag on a present, are G.H. (for Gene Helpmann), or E.H. (Eugene Helpmann). So, who's J.H.? |
| Q: | How were the flying sequences filmed? |
| A: | 
"We used either close ups of Jonathan ... and the rest of the shots
were done on this model. This thing was so good we were able to come
in very close on it and still fool the camera. This whole thing was
connected by wires to a battery that was then run on a huge track. To
make it look like the size of a human being you've gotta slow the
thing down so we shot it at 4 or 5 times normal speed and the operator
trying to follow this thing was in a terrible state. We'd set this
whole thing up and the clouds would get going and we'd shout "Action!"
and it would go Wham! and then this thing would fly through the air
"Berrrrrap!" and that was it and it would take us another hour to set
it up again. By the end of the day you wouldn't know what you'd
achieved, but come the next morning, you saw the rushes and the film
slowed down to the right speed ... it's fantastic, you saw this
incredibly graceful, soaring, sweeping figure. That's what we
ended up with on film."- Terry Gilliam, The South Bank Show, 6/29/91 |
Out of print for years, Jack Mathew's _The Battle of Brazil_ has been
re-published in a new, paperback edition and is christened with the
ludicrously long title _The Battle of Brazil: Terry Gilliam v. Universal
Pictures in the Fight to the Final Cut -- the Totally Restored, Revamped,
and Researched Blow-by-Blow Recounting of the Most Spectacular Title Bout
in the Blood-Soaked History of Hollywood_.
The out of print hardcover of _The Battle of Brazil_ was published
by Crown Publishing, New York, 1987 ISBN 0-517-56538-2. The second
edition in paperback was published by Applause Books, New York, 1998
ISDN 1-55783-347-8 and should be available in bookstores nationwide, or
at http://www.amazon.com . Much of the information in this FAQ was gleaned
from this invaluable resource.
Phil Stubbs' web site DREAMS: THE TERRY GILLIAM FANZINE is the best
resource of current Terry Gilliam information on the net, including a
vast amount of information on Gilliam's unfilmed projects and updates on
the production of THE DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE. DREAMS is available at
http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams .
The Internet Movie Database
offers very comprehensive information about films, and has a wonderful section on Brazil.
Terry Gilliam: Director of Brazil, as well as the films Jabberwocky, Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 12 Monkeys, and The Fisher King. Gilliam also co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Jones. Gilliam is reknowned for his animation work with Monty Python's Flying Circus, as well as the opening segment of the film The Meaning of Life, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance."
Tom Stoppard: co-scriptwriter of Brazil, tragicomic playwright well known for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, as well as for working on the screenplays of Billy Bathgate and The Russia House.
Charles McKeown: co-scriptwriter and Lime, Lowry's annoying co-worker in Information Retrieval. Responsible for many of the propaganda signs throughout the film. Appears in many Gilliam or Python-related films. Appeared in one episode of "Fawlty Towers," in "Life of Brian," and so on. Also co-wrote The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and appears as Adolphus.
Arnon Milchan: producer of Brazil. Recently known for funding Oliver Stone's latest projects. Had a fall out with Gilliam before the production of Munchausen.
Sidney Sheinberg: president of Universal studios during production of Brazil. Called for studio edits of not only Brazil, but Mask and Legend.
Roger Pratt: Director of Photography. Also worked on The Fisher King and Mona Lisa.
Julian Doyle: Editor. Helped secure Gilliam's final cut. Thankfully.
Michael Kamen: Composer of Brazil's orchestral score. Also worked on The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Die Hard I & II, Lethal Weapon 1, 2 & 3, Polyester, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Wall, among many others.
Sam Lowry: the main character, an anesthetized bureaucrat who works for the Ministry of Information filing records. Later chases after his dream girl, Jill Layton. Played by Jonathan Pryce, known for his performances as Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes and in Glengarry Glen Ross, Jumpin' Jack Flash, The Ploughman's Lunch, Evita (movie), and the Broadway production of Miss Saigon, among many others. Jonathan worked many years as a pitchman for Infiniti automobiles, made a guest appearance in the last episode of the radio version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and even recently did a James Bond film so he's keeping busy.
Archibald "Harry" Tuttle: A renegade heating engineer who is sought after by the Ministry of Information for "Freelance Subversion". Allies with Sam after fixing Sam's heating system. Played by Robert De Niro, best known for Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, GoodFellas, Taxi Driver, Wag the Dog and many many others.
Ida Lowry: Sam's youth-obsessed mother, responsible for getting Sam's promotion. Played by Katherine Helmond, who performed in Time Bandits and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and who is best known for the TV series Soap and Who's the Boss.
Kurtzmann: Sam's nervous supervisor at the Department of Records. Played by Ian Holm. Also in Time Bandits, Kafka, Naked Lunch, Alien, The Sweet Hereafter among many others.
Spoor & Dowser: Department of Works employees who end up trashing Sam's flat and getting a "sticky end". Spoor is played by Bob Hoskins, best known for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mona Lisa, A Prayer for the Dying. Dowser is played by Derrick O'Connor, also in Jabberwocky, Lethal Weapon 2, and The Missionary.
Jack Lint: Friend of Sam and Ministry of Information officer 412/L, who interrogates Sam at the end of the film. Played by Michael Palin, best known for his work with Monty Python. Also in Jabberwocky, A Fish Called Wanda, The Missionary, Fierce Creatures, A Private Function, Three Men in a Boat, and Time Bandits.
Warrenn: Head of Information Retrieval, played by Ian Richardson. Also in: Cry Freedom, M. Butterfly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Whoops Apocalypse among many others.
Helpmann: Deputy Prime Minister, offers Sam the promotion to Information Retrieval. Played by Peter Vaughan. Also in Time Bandits, The Missionary among many others.
Jill Layton: Sam's dream girl, and supposed terrorist. Played by Kim Griest. Also in: Punchline, Throw Momma from the Train, Manhunter among many others.
Dr. Jaffe: Ida Lowry's plastic surgeon, "the knife man." Played by Jim Broadbent. Also in: The Crying Game, Enchanted April, among others.
Mrs. Terrain: Ida Lowry's friend, destroyed by her cosmetic surgery, and mother of Shirley. Played by Barbara Hicks. Also in: Howard's End, Petticoat Pirates among others.
Shirley: Mrs. Terrain's daughter, gets "set up" with Sam at Mrs. Lowry's party. Played by Kathryn Pogson. Also in: The Company of Wolves.
Spiro: Maitre D' at the restaurant where Sam, Ida, Mrs. Terrain and Shirley have lunch. Played by Bryan Pringle. Also in: 3 Men and a Little Lady, Jabberwocky, Drowning by Numbers among others.
Mrs. Buttle: Wife of Mr. Buttle, Shoe Repair Operative, who makes an agonized plea to Sam when he delivers her refund check for her dead husband. Played by Sheila Reid. Also in: The Dresser and Othello (1965).
T.V. Interviewer/Salesman: performed by John Flanagan. Also in: The Medusa Touch, Arthur's Hallowed Ground.
Technician: Kills a beetle, which ends up killing Mr. Buttle. As well as Jill Layton, for that matter. Played by Ray Cooper. Also in: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
Mr. Buttle: Arrested early in the film, confused for Archibald Tuttle. Accidentally killed during his interrogation. Played by Brian Miller.
Boy Buttle & Girl Buttle: Played by Simon Nash & Prudence Oliver.
Arresting Officer: arrests Mr. Buttle. Played by Simon Jones, best known as Arthur Dent from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Walter Raleigh in Blackadder II. Also in Green Card, Gilliam's own 12 Monkeys, and Monty Python's the Meaning of Life.
Bill & Charlie: Department of Works employees, they attempt to plug the hole in Mrs. Buttle's ceiling. Charlie is played by Nigel Planer, formerly of the Young Ones, and Eat the Rich. Bill is played by Derek Deadman, also in: National Lampoon's European Vacation, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, among others.
M.O.I. Lobby Porter: Requires that Jill have the proper stamps on her paperwork. Played by Gordon Kaye, of 'Allo 'Allo, and Jabberwocky.
Neighbor in Clerks pool: Tells Sam that Casablanca is on the tele. Played by Tony Portacio.
Samurai Warrior: Played by Winston Dennis. Also in: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Commitments, and Nuns on the Run.
Telegram Girl: Sings Sam's invitation at the pitch of a dog whistle. Played by Diana Martin.
Dr. Chapman: Cosmetic Surgeon, "the acid man." A midget. Played by Jack Purvis. Also in: Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and the Star Wars Trilogy.
Alison/Barbara Lint: Does not wear false ears. Played by Elizabeth Spender.
Porter at Information Retrieval: Played by Antony Brown, also in Under Siege.
Typist in Jack's Office: Transcribes interrogation sections. Played by Myrtle Devenish. Also in: Tug of Love.
Holly: One of Jack Lint's triplets. Played by Holly Gilliam, Terry Gilliam's daughter.
Basement Guard: Played by John Pierce Jones. Also in: The Wicked Lady.
Old Lady With Dog: Dog has an interesting bum. Played by Ann Way (the old lady, that is), also in Haunted Honeymoon, Once Upon a Crime, and more. Burning Trooper: Played by Terry Forrestal.
Black Maria Guards: Played by Don Henderson of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Star Wars and more, and Howard Lew Lewis, of Chaplin and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Interview Official: Played by Oscar Quitak.
Cell Guard: Played by Patrick Connor. Also in: Lifeforce, Ragtime, among others.
Priest: Played by Roger Ashton-Griffiths. Also in King Ralph, Young Sherlock Holmes, Dreamchild, among others.
I'm active in rec.arts.movies and alt.cult-movies, but my clunky old
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comments, questions, corrections & suggestions directly to me at the
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