First Review: Brazil Criterion
03-14-00 | 04:59 PM
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From: Formerly keit2208
Howdy folks, I just jotted down a review for Brazil: Criterion and wanted to get some feedback on it. Here goes...
------------------------------
Truth is information; Suspicion breeds confidence; Be safe - Be suspicious; Liberty. Equality. Fraternity. Information; Regret nothing - Report everything; Don't suspect a friend - Report him. This is the world that Sam Lowry works for in the Department of Records. However, when a mistake costs an innocent man his life, Sam's attempt to correct the mistake finds himself the target of the government instead.
Ah, the Criterion Collection… how I do love thee. In the short three months that I've owned a DVD player, I've managed to pick up almost half of the Criterion Collection and still manage to be impressed with every Criterion title I own. Criterion basically pioneered the special edition format with their extensive collection of laserdisc titles, pampering the home theatre enthusiast with the best possible transfer from the source material, director approved versions, original aspect ratios and excellent commentary tracks. All of this brings us to Brazil, which is probably the most comprehensive Criterion DVD currently available. Three full DVDs of Brazil should whet the appetite of any fan of the movie or any fan of DVD in general. Anyhow, enough about my Criterion Collection fetish, let's get on to the specs.
DISC ONE-THE FINAL CUT:
· New, pristine widescreen transfer of Terry Gilliam's 142-minute final cut
· Remastered Dolby® stereo surround soundtrack
· Shot-by-shot audio commentary by Terry Gilliam
· English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
· Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
DISC TWO-THE SUPPLEMENT:
· What is Brazil?, Rob Hedden's 30-minute on-set documentary
· The Battle of Brazil: A Video History, an original 56-minute Criterion documentary by Jack Mathews
· Screenwriters Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown illuminate the script through several drafts and treatments
· Production designer Norman Garwood displays his designs for Brazil's unique sets
· Costume designer James Acheson on the couture of fantasy and fascism
· Storyboards for Gilliam's original dream sequences, many of which didn't make it into the film
· Composer Michael Kamen unveils the sources of his score
· A study of the special effects
· Theatrical trailer
· Publicity and production stills
· Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
DISC THREE-The "Love Conquers All" Version:
· The 94-minute cut of Brazil, with all the changes that Gilliam refused to make, from the alternate opening to the controversial happy ending
· Audio commentary by Gilliam expert David Morgan
Prepare to spend quite a bit of time to watch all the material on this disc.
No qualms at all with the film, especially when presented as the director's intended version. The film is probably best categorized as a satiric dark comedy detailing the struggle of one man against the bureaucracy of Brazil. The story revolves around Sam Lowry, a low-level bureaucrat for the Department of Records. However, a typographical error causing the erroneous arrest of Archibald Buttle instead of Archibald Tuttle leads Sam into a confusing journey that ends up with the government after him instead. The role of Sam Lowry was (literally) written for Jonathon Pryce and he does an excellent job of presenting the perpetual loser who earns our sympathy. The supporting cast has great performances all around, especially Robert DeNiro's bit part as Harry Tuttle, the renegade heating engineer who was supposed to be arrested. The movie has the rare ability to be both richly humorous yet depressing at the same time, which owes a lot to the quality of the actors and the director both.
Unfortunately, this disc is non-anamorphic, but it is presented in a 1: aspect ratio and is likely the best transfer of Brazil possible. There is some grain on the film but for the most part colors are bright and sharp. The "Love Conquers All" version on the other hand is pan and scan but that's understandable as this version is simply meant as a reference to show the power of editing on a movie and illuminate the controversy over the American release of Brazil.
As is tradition with the Criterion Collection, Brazil is released in its theatrical Dolby stereo presentation. This isn't necessarily a bad thing however, the dialog is clear and the explosions have power behind them. The movie relies mainly on dialogue and the theme "Brazil" which are adequately portrayed by the Dolby mix.
Where this disc truly shines however, is the vast amount of information available to someone interested about the film-making processes and problems involved in making Brazil. One significant problem was the "Battle of Brazil" where Gilliam refused to make the edits desired for an American Release of the film. The American release (disc 3 of this set), also known as the "Love Conquers All" version radically changes the story through the omission of key details and makes Brazil into a "happy" movie instead. As such, the "Love Conquers All" version is a reminder of the extent that editing can change a movie. Fortunately, Gilliam eventually won this battle and got to release his own cut of the movie. This is all chronicled in the "Battle of Brazil" documentary along with a multitude of other documentaries, commentaries, storyboards, ad infinitum that are mentioned above. Even the box itself is a piece of art: the slipcase is clear with the title placed over light clouds; the individual DVD cases each have artwork of our hero flying away from an endless amount of filing cabinets that show through the clear slipcase.
There was recently a scare that Brazil: Criterion Collection had gone out of print as all online DVD retailers ran out of stock and no new copies arrived for a time. However, Criterion was merely experimenting with a repackaging of the 3-disc set, as there were complaints that the slipcase didn't hold the individual DVDs firmly. As a result, the online DVD retailers have Brazil: Criterion in stock again along with a new snug slipcase and some minor cosmetic alterations. One thing notable however is that the first disc seems to have a problem with certain DVD players (most notably mine!*). On certain players, Disc 1 simply begins to start skipping around chapter 21 through the end of the movie. However, on other players (such as my DVD-ROM), the movie plays without a hitch. Other than this unfortunate problem though, the disc makes an excellent, though expensive ($59.95 MSRP), addition to any serious DVD collection. If the Criterion is too rich for your blood, also consider that Universal Studios has released a bare-bones Brazil DVD if you are merely interested in the movie. The Universal version is actually also the director's cut (though the liner notes incorrectly give the time for the original release) that's featured on the Criterion but suffers from lower visual quality and the absence of all the wonderful extras that make up the Brazil: Criterion set. If you're looking to pick up something to be the centerpiece of your DVD Collection, Brazil makes a wonderful showcase of the wonder of DVD for all of your VHS friends.
Movie: 5, Video: 4, Audio: 4, Extras: 5
Overall: 4.5
- Ken, like Madonna and Cher, has no need for a last name.
* Samsung DVD-709
------------------
My DVD List http://dvd.kenatou.com
[This message has been edited by keit2208 (edited March 14, 2000).]
------------------------------
Truth is information; Suspicion breeds confidence; Be safe - Be suspicious; Liberty. Equality. Fraternity. Information; Regret nothing - Report everything; Don't suspect a friend - Report him. This is the world that Sam Lowry works for in the Department of Records. However, when a mistake costs an innocent man his life, Sam's attempt to correct the mistake finds himself the target of the government instead.
Ah, the Criterion Collection… how I do love thee. In the short three months that I've owned a DVD player, I've managed to pick up almost half of the Criterion Collection and still manage to be impressed with every Criterion title I own. Criterion basically pioneered the special edition format with their extensive collection of laserdisc titles, pampering the home theatre enthusiast with the best possible transfer from the source material, director approved versions, original aspect ratios and excellent commentary tracks. All of this brings us to Brazil, which is probably the most comprehensive Criterion DVD currently available. Three full DVDs of Brazil should whet the appetite of any fan of the movie or any fan of DVD in general. Anyhow, enough about my Criterion Collection fetish, let's get on to the specs.
DISC ONE-THE FINAL CUT:
· New, pristine widescreen transfer of Terry Gilliam's 142-minute final cut
· Remastered Dolby® stereo surround soundtrack
· Shot-by-shot audio commentary by Terry Gilliam
· English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
· Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
DISC TWO-THE SUPPLEMENT:
· What is Brazil?, Rob Hedden's 30-minute on-set documentary
· The Battle of Brazil: A Video History, an original 56-minute Criterion documentary by Jack Mathews
· Screenwriters Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown illuminate the script through several drafts and treatments
· Production designer Norman Garwood displays his designs for Brazil's unique sets
· Costume designer James Acheson on the couture of fantasy and fascism
· Storyboards for Gilliam's original dream sequences, many of which didn't make it into the film
· Composer Michael Kamen unveils the sources of his score
· A study of the special effects
· Theatrical trailer
· Publicity and production stills
· Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
DISC THREE-The "Love Conquers All" Version:
· The 94-minute cut of Brazil, with all the changes that Gilliam refused to make, from the alternate opening to the controversial happy ending
· Audio commentary by Gilliam expert David Morgan
Prepare to spend quite a bit of time to watch all the material on this disc.
No qualms at all with the film, especially when presented as the director's intended version. The film is probably best categorized as a satiric dark comedy detailing the struggle of one man against the bureaucracy of Brazil. The story revolves around Sam Lowry, a low-level bureaucrat for the Department of Records. However, a typographical error causing the erroneous arrest of Archibald Buttle instead of Archibald Tuttle leads Sam into a confusing journey that ends up with the government after him instead. The role of Sam Lowry was (literally) written for Jonathon Pryce and he does an excellent job of presenting the perpetual loser who earns our sympathy. The supporting cast has great performances all around, especially Robert DeNiro's bit part as Harry Tuttle, the renegade heating engineer who was supposed to be arrested. The movie has the rare ability to be both richly humorous yet depressing at the same time, which owes a lot to the quality of the actors and the director both.
Unfortunately, this disc is non-anamorphic, but it is presented in a 1: aspect ratio and is likely the best transfer of Brazil possible. There is some grain on the film but for the most part colors are bright and sharp. The "Love Conquers All" version on the other hand is pan and scan but that's understandable as this version is simply meant as a reference to show the power of editing on a movie and illuminate the controversy over the American release of Brazil.
As is tradition with the Criterion Collection, Brazil is released in its theatrical Dolby stereo presentation. This isn't necessarily a bad thing however, the dialog is clear and the explosions have power behind them. The movie relies mainly on dialogue and the theme "Brazil" which are adequately portrayed by the Dolby mix.
Where this disc truly shines however, is the vast amount of information available to someone interested about the film-making processes and problems involved in making Brazil. One significant problem was the "Battle of Brazil" where Gilliam refused to make the edits desired for an American Release of the film. The American release (disc 3 of this set), also known as the "Love Conquers All" version radically changes the story through the omission of key details and makes Brazil into a "happy" movie instead. As such, the "Love Conquers All" version is a reminder of the extent that editing can change a movie. Fortunately, Gilliam eventually won this battle and got to release his own cut of the movie. This is all chronicled in the "Battle of Brazil" documentary along with a multitude of other documentaries, commentaries, storyboards, ad infinitum that are mentioned above. Even the box itself is a piece of art: the slipcase is clear with the title placed over light clouds; the individual DVD cases each have artwork of our hero flying away from an endless amount of filing cabinets that show through the clear slipcase.
There was recently a scare that Brazil: Criterion Collection had gone out of print as all online DVD retailers ran out of stock and no new copies arrived for a time. However, Criterion was merely experimenting with a repackaging of the 3-disc set, as there were complaints that the slipcase didn't hold the individual DVDs firmly. As a result, the online DVD retailers have Brazil: Criterion in stock again along with a new snug slipcase and some minor cosmetic alterations. One thing notable however is that the first disc seems to have a problem with certain DVD players (most notably mine!*). On certain players, Disc 1 simply begins to start skipping around chapter 21 through the end of the movie. However, on other players (such as my DVD-ROM), the movie plays without a hitch. Other than this unfortunate problem though, the disc makes an excellent, though expensive ($59.95 MSRP), addition to any serious DVD collection. If the Criterion is too rich for your blood, also consider that Universal Studios has released a bare-bones Brazil DVD if you are merely interested in the movie. The Universal version is actually also the director's cut (though the liner notes incorrectly give the time for the original release) that's featured on the Criterion but suffers from lower visual quality and the absence of all the wonderful extras that make up the Brazil: Criterion set. If you're looking to pick up something to be the centerpiece of your DVD Collection, Brazil makes a wonderful showcase of the wonder of DVD for all of your VHS friends.
Movie: 5, Video: 4, Audio: 4, Extras: 5
Overall: 4.5
- Ken, like Madonna and Cher, has no need for a last name.
* Samsung DVD-709
------------------
My DVD List http://dvd.kenatou.com
[This message has been edited by keit2208 (edited March 14, 2000).]
07-27-00 | 04:42 PM
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