For those who are on the fence about buying the new Criterion Brazil, here is a thumbs up recommendation from me. The one time I had ever seen Brazil was when it opened in 1985, and while it was visually stunning, the concept had gone clear over my head. But 14 years have passed since that screening, and my appreciation for ambitious works like this has matured. Besides getting a beautiful new transfer, Director Terry Gillam has practically opened the vaults, and literally given us all the "keys" to understanding and appreciating his vision here. Nothing has been left out as far as extras are concerned, and I think this set will go to the top of the DVD class alongside Alien Legacy, and whatever else. My appreciation for Brazil has just gone way up, and so has my respect for Terry Gilliam. To those responsible for bringing this great set to the market, you have my thanks.

Criterion's "Brazil" is to put rather mildly--fantastic. Everything about it is cool... from the compelling menus to the package design. It's a first class product... if only Disney and Fox would take notice. Can you imagine if "A Nightmare Before X-Mas" or the upcoming "Roger Rabbit" or were treated with the same respect?

The best dvd(s) I have.

I love the movie, and I love the discs.

My take -

I purchased this movie on the recommendations of everyone here, never having seen the actual film. Generally, I like cult films, so I figured this probably wouldn't be a bad purchase. I was indeed correct. Besides the fact that it's a beautiful transfer, etc, it really is quite an excellent movie. There are parts I found to be a little over the top and unnnecessary (more on that later), but overall, a well-done picture.

That said, having watched "The Battle of Brazil", I really have to say that Universal was right. I haven't watched the "Love Conquers All" version yet, but the fact is when he took Universal's money it was pitched as a commercial film, and quite frankly I don't think after viewing the final product that it would ever be mistaken as one. Much is made of how Terry Gilliam beat the Big, Bad Studio (tm) through sticking with his Artistic Vision (tm) and a little grandstanding by the LA Critics Association, but what seems to be overlooked is the fact that the studio was indeed right.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not in favor of changing the meaning of the movie like Sheinberg intended to do. I do believe, however, that it could have easily been cut down in order to meet the studio's contractual demands. Most of the fantasy sequences are far to heavy-handed. Beyond knowing that he dreams of being special, and Jill is the woman to do it for him, all the dream sequences do is smack you over the head with ideas that you probably should have picked up if you were paying attention in the first place. I didn't need the stone Kurtzman holding him back in the dream to know he felt held back by society in life. I didn't need the Samurai Yoda Cave sequence to figure out Sam Lowry, MOI operative was holding back Sam Lowry, Superhero.

Anyway, I'll shut up now, but I just had to get that off my chest.

Edited to correct horrendous spelling errors

[This message has been edited by Duran (edited 08-02-1999).]

The box set is GREAT and works well with the Collector's Edition of 12 Monkeys. The Time Bandits Criterion is nice, but now not up to par with Brazil and 12 Monkeys. I HOPE that a Collector's Edition of Fisher King will come out and complete the trilogy.

Duran--if you watch the "Love Conquers All" version, you won't feel that the studio was right--it's abysmal. Also, for U.S. release they did cut the film down by 11 minutes.

Duran,

Universal had approved Gilliam's script. It was only when the studio changed regimes that the film faced opposition. The bottom line is that the studio's version of the film just kills Gilliam's vision. Watch it with commentary... it's unbelievably awful.

I think you all misunderstood what I was saying. I don't agree with what was done to the film in the Love Conquers All version - it changes the entire meaning of the film. The studio, however, was obligated to take the film if it was below the 2:05 running time, and Gilliam refused to cut it to that. My point was that there were quite a few parts that were a bit superfluous that could have easily been excised from the picture with no real effect.

I just have a problem with Universal being blamed for wanting to make the picture more commercial (i.e. length in accordance with having 2 evening showings, etc.). They are a business, not an art investor. I certainly don't agree with Mr. Sheinberg's "solution", but I can understand the studio's frustration with the whole thing.

My only problem, it'll take me a month and a half to see everything on these disks.

I spent 6 hours with these damn disks over the weekend, until my wife pulled me away.
Truly amazing - and I still haven't watched the actual movie! Now if I could just get that song out of my head.

The point about Universal being right is well-taken. Although I personally am glad Gilliam won (actually, we all won).

Duran,

I now understand and actually agree with your point about the running time issue. But Universal still handled the situation rather stupidly. And the film actually works much better at 2:22 than at the original release time of 2:11.

An incredible set of discs for an incredible film.

It is a great film and a great set of discs. I watched the Gilliam version and most of disc 2 overthe weekend, I'll probably watch "Love Conquers All" at a later date. My only problem is I have had that stupid song bouncing through my head for the last 3 days. HELP

I have yet to watch the "butchered" version of Brazil, but I know every time I pay to see a Terry Gilliam film that it's gonna run long. That's just his nature. That's why I was surprised to find out that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas clocks in at a lean 1 hr. and 59 minutes. Nobody ever tells Oliver Stone or Marty Scorcese to cut their stuff down (I could be wrong), and I have a sneaking feeling that the heads at Universal just didn't know what to make of the film, and wanted something "easier" on audiences. I can dig that, but Gilliam as a director doesn't make films that are "easy". (Terry Gilliam on Enemy Mine? HA!) But I'm glad that Terry Gilliam and Criterion put this DVD set out, and given us all this great inside stuff about the controversy I knew so little about. This set seems designed to promote discussion, as opposed to just re-presenting the movie.

So if you were fascinated by tales of the "war" between Gilliam and Scheinberg, I recommend a great book called, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, by Premiere editor Peter Biskind. Different era, and no Terry Gilliam, but a great book about visionary directors vs. the Studios. Does anyone know if a book exists for further reading about Terry Gilliam? Thanks!

Two new books on Gilliam...

"Gilliam on Gilliam" and "Dark Knights and Holy Fools".

Both are good.

[This message has been edited by Marcus Daly (edited 08-03-1999).]

"Brazil" certainly has my vote as the best DVD release so far. So now all the other companies have a challenge: TRY TO BEAT "BRAZIL"!

Duran:

Gilliam had already to cut the movie below 2:15, as his contract stated he had to. Seems to me (from the commentary track and the book "The Battle of Brazil") that the studio was only using the length as an excuse to make the movie into some romantic Hollywood dreck. Hence the "Love Conquers All" version.

Note: I don't think that dark movies are necessarily doomed at the box office. It seems to me that most dark movies are completely mishandled by the studios. A recent example is "Babe: Pig in the City". The movie got great reviews at preview screenings, and all the critics loved it, but the studio freaked out and ordered it lightened up. All the publicity about the movie being "too dark" probably hurt the movie's box office take a lot. If Universal had just kept their mouth shut and released the movie, maybe it would have done ok.

Indeed, the studio was using the length as its reason to essentially change the film. They didn't think it would be a commercial success in it's full form (and, note, they were right, since the film only made like 10-15 mil, and cost 15 mil to make). However, if Gilliam had cut it below 2:05, Universal could have not refused the film. He was contractually bound to cut it below 2:15, but (the way I understand it) below 2:05 the studio couldn't refuse.

It looks to be a nice collection for the Brazil fanatic, but at $60 it's pretty steep. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I think it may have been better to release this collection without the third disc. I'll bet NOBODY watches the last disc more than once (or once alone and once with commentary). I think I would be satisfied to hear about the butchered Universal edit and how much it sucked without actually having to watching it. It would have been nice if they had released a two disc set at $10-20 less MRSP. Actually, Universal released the full 12 Monkeys film, audio commentary and 90 minute documentary on one disc, so Criterion could have maybe done the same.

Decker, I somewhat agree with you. The third disc will probably not get too many repeated viewings from me. But, as a film lover, I am FASCINATED by the changes they made, and how significantly they altered the film. I'm glad it's on there.

Decker,

I agree the $60 retail price is up there but of course you know it's a lot cheaper online. A lot of us lucky stiffs got it from Borders when they mispriced it and using the $10 off coupon got it for $21.94 shipped, yes all the way here to Hawaii also. Well worth it for all three discs.

Kahuna

[This message has been edited by kahuna (edited 08-05-1999).]

Maybe I am the only one that is upset by this disc-set, but has ANY body noticed that the movie itself is essentially the same version that Universal released years ago? The same mediocre non-anamorphic video, and the same boring pro-logic audio. Everyone gets so excited about the supplements, but aren't we forgetting what DVD's are about? They are about showing the best possible transfer of a movie - not the supplements! I find it more than sad that people are excited about the Criterion release and (in some cases) only have seen the supplements - but not the movie yet...

I really think we have lost focus on what is important. If Criterion really cared about Brazil they would have spent the money on improving the movie transfer rather than on the supplements.

Long live anamorphic DD5.1 transfers!

Uhhh, the transfer looks great to me. And supplements are a very important part of presenting a film as well as you can, at least to me. Guess what else? I don't have a widescreen television, so I don't much care about 16x9. When I get a widescreen television, it will be HDTV, and I'll have a blue-laser DVD player anyway, so I'll have to upgrade all my software.

Criterion doesn't do anamorphic for 2 reasons: downconversion problems (yes, some players have problems with this) and the lack of access to a 16x9 transfer. They are at the mercy of the original studio on that.

They don't do DD5.1 when that wasn't a part of the original release because frequently pumping up the bass and moving sounds to the back speakers and such really just screws up the movie (check out Psycho, the 5.1 soundtrack sucks). Every movie should have at least the choice between the original soundtrack and the 5.1 soundtrack unless the original director approves the new one.

ctroutt wants opinions on brazil...