Post by ronnierocketago on Jan 27, 2006 1:56:09 GMT
Originally Published: January 26, 2006
Looks like my long-planned EVIL DEAD review, plus the praise for Bruce Campbell, will have to wait for another time, due to a damn mistake from the Ministry of Information. Damn bureaucrats. So instead, we will make this column's triumphant return after an almost 3 month vacation with a picture with a production history that is more known and legendary than the movie itself. But, more on that later...
Sam Lowry(Jonathan Pryce) 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 Buttle, 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. Not to mention that Sam meets an illegal heroic "rebel" Archibald "Harry" Tuttle(Robert DeNiro). Why is he a rebel? Because he is one illegal freelance Heating Engineer. Yes, it’s that sort of movie.
I probably decided to review Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL because I watched his recent dud THE BROTHERS GRIMM, which despite having a workable potential premise and good actors, turned out to be quite a conventional and bland adventure tale that holds no special quality. Yet I am then reminded of his movie from 20 years ago that was quite enchanting, quite brilliant, and quite creative...and we almost didn't get it.
Apparently, Universal Studios and its Cheif Huncho Sid Sheinberg, were quite pissed that for the $15 million they spent turned out to be an arty, if "uncommercial" picture, and of which turned their trained smoking monkeys to re-edit into a new "marketable" movie called LOVE CONQUERS ALL, where all the dream fantasy sequences are abruptly cut out and instead a sweet sappy nice happy ending is slapped on through (lousy) editing manipulation.
What becomes is a notable and press-filled royal rumble between Gilliam and Sheinberg, an epic battle of two egos, or a talented guy and a hack executive(if you read about his attempted man-handling changes of BACK TO THE FUTURE, you would agree that he is a hack). Luckily, due to many unauthorized screenings across Los Angeles(and supposedly as well on the campus of USC), the City's organization of film critics saw it, and then promptly announced BRAZIL as the best movie of 1985. Faced with possible embarrasment and bad press for hacking up an "award-winning movie", Universal gave in and basically released Gilliam's final cut(save for about 12 minutes that was restored in the terrific CRITERION DVD set). Later the film got well-deserved Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Original Screenplay.
BRAZIL as well cemented Gilliam's career for good as a talented legit filmmaker and with an admirable distinguished career behind the camera(and not simply known as the American member of MONTY PYTHON) that includes other great flicks as FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, THE FISHER KING, 12 MONKEYS, etc. However, BRAZIL is Gilliam's career achievement of a masterpiece.
No wonder since its got many themes and ideals explored both thematically and visually that not every director can successful pull off without feeling pretentious or contrite, or aloof. We see Gilliam put a serious absurd take on the crazy technilogical-controlling future of a police state that had it been made as a comedy, could have been simply MONTY PYTHON'S 1985(or to those that think THE DA VINCI CODE is high-quality literature, a joke at George Orwell's 1984). Instead, Gilliam isn't simply looking for intellectual humor that hopefully people catch on to. No, he desires much more.
Intercutting throughout the movie is the hero daydreaming different sections of an absolute tapestry of a flying heroic adventure to save the girl(who soon looks like the real-life girl that hes trying to save) from a samurai metaphor of the imperial-ruling technology that dominate the future. This culminates in the ending that while most would call it an absolute downer, I disagree. In fact, such a fantastic ending where truely one proves that despite a police state controlling one's lives from security to food to even their culture...they can never breach one's mind...and one's imagination as well.
Final Film Rating - Masterpiece - *****
Well, one could argue that two-time RRA'S CULT MOVIE REVIEW subject filmmaker Terry Gilliam(for he co-directed MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL) made himself for one hell of a loyal fanbase after BRAZIL, and which persists to this day, even with the quite mediocre THE BROTHERS GRIMM, many of his fans still went and tried to support him. Besides, he's a Python...and we all know how those fans are like.
Hell, this movie is an essential role model for all future Cult films. It has that peculiar sense of uniqueness that is still fresh 20 years on, even if its been ripped off by many music videos and other movies. Better yet, you still see many film fans calling this among the great movies of the 1980s...and of course how can one not dig a movie with a freelance heating engineer?
Final Cult Rating - ***** out of 5
Looks like my long-planned EVIL DEAD review, plus the praise for Bruce Campbell, will have to wait for another time, due to a damn mistake from the Ministry of Information. Damn bureaucrats. So instead, we will make this column's triumphant return after an almost 3 month vacation with a picture with a production history that is more known and legendary than the movie itself. But, more on that later...
Sam Lowry(Jonathan Pryce) 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 Buttle, 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. Not to mention that Sam meets an illegal heroic "rebel" Archibald "Harry" Tuttle(Robert DeNiro). Why is he a rebel? Because he is one illegal freelance Heating Engineer. Yes, it’s that sort of movie.
I probably decided to review Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL because I watched his recent dud THE BROTHERS GRIMM, which despite having a workable potential premise and good actors, turned out to be quite a conventional and bland adventure tale that holds no special quality. Yet I am then reminded of his movie from 20 years ago that was quite enchanting, quite brilliant, and quite creative...and we almost didn't get it.
Apparently, Universal Studios and its Cheif Huncho Sid Sheinberg, were quite pissed that for the $15 million they spent turned out to be an arty, if "uncommercial" picture, and of which turned their trained smoking monkeys to re-edit into a new "marketable" movie called LOVE CONQUERS ALL, where all the dream fantasy sequences are abruptly cut out and instead a sweet sappy nice happy ending is slapped on through (lousy) editing manipulation.
What becomes is a notable and press-filled royal rumble between Gilliam and Sheinberg, an epic battle of two egos, or a talented guy and a hack executive(if you read about his attempted man-handling changes of BACK TO THE FUTURE, you would agree that he is a hack). Luckily, due to many unauthorized screenings across Los Angeles(and supposedly as well on the campus of USC), the City's organization of film critics saw it, and then promptly announced BRAZIL as the best movie of 1985. Faced with possible embarrasment and bad press for hacking up an "award-winning movie", Universal gave in and basically released Gilliam's final cut(save for about 12 minutes that was restored in the terrific CRITERION DVD set). Later the film got well-deserved Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Original Screenplay.
BRAZIL as well cemented Gilliam's career for good as a talented legit filmmaker and with an admirable distinguished career behind the camera(and not simply known as the American member of MONTY PYTHON) that includes other great flicks as FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, THE FISHER KING, 12 MONKEYS, etc. However, BRAZIL is Gilliam's career achievement of a masterpiece.
No wonder since its got many themes and ideals explored both thematically and visually that not every director can successful pull off without feeling pretentious or contrite, or aloof. We see Gilliam put a serious absurd take on the crazy technilogical-controlling future of a police state that had it been made as a comedy, could have been simply MONTY PYTHON'S 1985(or to those that think THE DA VINCI CODE is high-quality literature, a joke at George Orwell's 1984). Instead, Gilliam isn't simply looking for intellectual humor that hopefully people catch on to. No, he desires much more.
Intercutting throughout the movie is the hero daydreaming different sections of an absolute tapestry of a flying heroic adventure to save the girl(who soon looks like the real-life girl that hes trying to save) from a samurai metaphor of the imperial-ruling technology that dominate the future. This culminates in the ending that while most would call it an absolute downer, I disagree. In fact, such a fantastic ending where truely one proves that despite a police state controlling one's lives from security to food to even their culture...they can never breach one's mind...and one's imagination as well.
Final Film Rating - Masterpiece - *****
Well, one could argue that two-time RRA'S CULT MOVIE REVIEW subject filmmaker Terry Gilliam(for he co-directed MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL) made himself for one hell of a loyal fanbase after BRAZIL, and which persists to this day, even with the quite mediocre THE BROTHERS GRIMM, many of his fans still went and tried to support him. Besides, he's a Python...and we all know how those fans are like.
Hell, this movie is an essential role model for all future Cult films. It has that peculiar sense of uniqueness that is still fresh 20 years on, even if its been ripped off by many music videos and other movies. Better yet, you still see many film fans calling this among the great movies of the 1980s...and of course how can one not dig a movie with a freelance heating engineer?
Final Cult Rating - ***** out of 5