Brazil (DVD, 1999, Criterion Collection; 3-Disc Set)

This is one of the few movies that one can call a classic. On the surface it can be the equivalent of salt on a wound. In an age of fluff, perhaps, it should be avoided by many. If one has stamina, and heart, see it. To say much more is to detract from it.
It will linger in your mind for months or years.
Once seen, never forgotten.

This movie is one of the funniest I've ever seen. The jokes were fresh and orginal, real knee slappers. The storyline plays a great interesting pun a terrorists. Both educated and average people can laugh at this one since the jokes aren't just stupid knock-knocks. An interesting joke of this movie is it has absolutely nothing to do with the country of Brazil! I highly recomend this one to anyone who likes comedies.
Thanks For Ready And Hope I Helped!

Brazil is a rarely seen movie, made by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python Fame. Because of disagreements between Gilliam and the producers, it was only released for a short time, in a format that Gilliam didn't like at all! This particular set comes with three different versions of Brazil- the Producers Cut, which was released theatrically, the original cut, which is the one that Gilliam wanted released, and a third cut, which is kind of between the two versions. This movie is a hilarious satire about a world dominated by bureaucracy- besides being very funny, it's also a look at what may happen if we let the system take over!!! I highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants a good laugh- and also a warning of possible things to come!!! (This set is great, because it contains all of the different versions of the film!_)

This is not going to be a review of the film, as I'll assume anyone looking at this version already has a working familiarity with the story. Rather, I'll just briefly go over what I think of it as a product.
The Criterion series is about as good as it gets for film fans in home viewing, and this set is not exception. This set includes both Gilliam's final version of the film (somehow the only version I've ever seen!) and the controversial Sid Sheinberg (sp?) version seen on television in the US. Both include commentary, the former from Gilliam and the latter from 'Gilliam expert David Morgan'; I'm listening to the Gilliam right now, and haven't even watched the other version yet.
The second disc is all bonus features, with two insightful films about Brazil, one actually contemporary to the production of the film. Unfortunately, a majority of the Production Notebook is textual, so is more of a read than a view. Still very informative, but interviews and film would've been better in my book.
The package design is fairly lovely, although it's turned a little around from the usual in order to facilitate a little trick they wanted of the front cover of the first disc showing through the face of the box, while still keeping the spines facing out of the hole. Does that make sense? Nice box, anyway, and the design on the disc menus, etc., is also very nice and appropriate to the film.
The only real drawback to this set is that the first disc (the Gilliam version) was not programmed for today's players & TVs. I watched the film on a great home cinema system, but there wasn't any way I could get the black bars on the sides to go away without brutally stretching the image! This is clearly no fault of Criterion's, but it is a major flaw in watching the film on a proper system today.
Absolutely worth the price of admission, but hopefully they'll reprogram the discs at some point to bring them up to date with modern equipment.

This movie is very interesting, and another gem from Terry Gilliam along the lines of 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Is it a comedy? A drama? Well, it has it's funny moments but overall serves as a commentary on the ever growing beaurocracy of our world. I recommend checking this one out- if you can find it!

I could not find a DVD copy of this out of print Terry Gilliam classic that I first saw when in college. I was even more surprized to find that a 3 DVD release had been available with two movie versions (one with an unseen alternate ending recommended by the motion picture company for public release, but not used) and other extras. Surely I paid more than I anticipated, but am very satisfied.