NOTE: The below Blu-ray and 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the respective discs.

ADDITION: Criterion 4K UHD (June 2025): Criterion have transferred Terry Gilliam's Brazil to 4K UHD. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration of Terry Gilliam’s director’s cut, supervised and approved by Gilliam". The 4K UHD package has one 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features. Back in 2012 we compared 4 DVD and 2 Blu-rays of Brazil, HERE. We've compared a few captures below to the new 4K UHD image.

It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software is simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So, our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. The framing, detail, grain texture support, etc. are generally not effected by this simulation representation.

The 2160P transfer elevates the film’s retro-futuristic aesthetic to a richer, heavier, film-like appearance. Sourced from a 35mm interpositive, the image boasts sharper detail, revealing the intricate clutter of Norman Garwood’s production design - tangled ducts, cramped offices, and gritty streets - with remarkable texture. The muted grays, browns, and greens of the dystopian world contrast beautifully with the vivid golds and blues of Sam Lowry’s dream sequences, and Dolby Vision HDR enhances this dynamic range, making the drab bureaucracy feel oppressively real and the fantasies luminously vibrant. Fine details - typewriter keys and print, retro screens, and bizarre costumes - pop with precision, while moderate grain in harsher dream scenes (e.g., the samurai battle) adds a filmic quality. Some minor softness persists in wider shots, a nod to the 1985 production, but this restoration is a marked improvement over prior digital editions, delivering Gilliam’s chaotic, surreal vision with dazzling fidelity. With all the extreme variance of the previous DVDs (pinks, blues, orange etc.) and Blu-rays (contrast inconsistence) - this presentation is far more balanced. The best of the film has ever looked for home theater consumption.

NOTE: We have added 56 more large resolution 4K UHD captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their 4K UHD, Criterion audio is is cited as a 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master soundtrack. It doesn't vary much from the Criterion Blu-ray and still complements the visuals with a robust, immersive mix. Restored to remove hiss, it’s clean and effective, capturing the film’s chaotic soundscape - clattering typewriters, hissing ducts, and distant explosions - with clarity. Dialogue, from Jonathan Pryce’s timid stammers to Michael Palin’s chillingly genial lines, remains audible, though the busy mix occasionally muddles softer exchanges, a quirk of the original design. Michael Kamen’s score, reworking “Aquarela do Brasil,” shines, shifting from jaunty to eerie across channels, with orchestral swells lifting dream sequences and discordant notes underscoring tension. Effects like steam bursts and mechanical whirs creep into the surround field, enhancing the dystopia’s unease, though the 2.0 setup lacks the depth of modern 5.1 mixes. It’s a faithful, dynamic track, perfectly suiting Gilliam’s blend of whimsy and dread, and a strong upgrade for this 1985 classic. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE 4K UHD.  

The Criterion 4K UHD package is ploaded with a wealth of extras, mostly housed on the two Blu-rays discs, offering a deep dive into Brazil’s creation and legacy. An audio commentary by Terry Gilliam, recorded in 1996, kicks things off - accessible on both 4K UHD and feature Blu-ray, with the director energetically detailing the film’s journey from concept to screen, anecdotes about casting Robert De Niro, and its growing cult status - lively and insightful for a dozen-plus minutes or more. What Is “Brazil”?, Rob Hedden’s on-set documentary (around 29 minutes), blends behind-the-scenes footage - filming at Croydon’s cooling towers - with interviews from Gilliam, Jonathan Pryce, and others, exploring themes and the unfilmed “Eyeball Sequence.” The Production Notebook is a standout, a collection of six pieces: We’re All in It Together: The Brazil Screenwriter (roughly a dozen minutes) interviews Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, and Charles McKeown on the script; Dreams Unfulfilled: Unfilmed Storyboards of Brazil (nine parts, about 20 minutes) has David Morgan narrating unshot dream sequences; Designing Brazil Visual Essay (around 20 minutes) delves into the noirish production style; Flights of Fantasy - Brazil’s Special Effects (nearly a dozen minutes) examines the practical effects; Fashion and Fascism - James Acheson on Brazil’s costume design (about a quarter hour) covers quirky outfits like shoe-hats; and Brazil’s Score (close to a dozen minutes) highlights Michael Kamen’s haunting music. The Battle of “Brazil”, a documentary hosted by Jack Mathews (over 50 minutes), unravels the film’s contentious release, based on his book, The Battle of Brazil: Terry Gilliam v. Universal Pictures in the Fight to the Final Cut, detailing Gilliam’s fight with Universal - a fascinating saga. The “Love Conquers All” version, the studio’s 94-minute, happy-ending cut, runs about an hour and a half with David Morgan’s commentary, dissecting its diluted tone. A theatrical trailer (a few minutes) hypes the original release, and a booklet with an essay by critic David Sterritt (The Films of Alfred Hitchcock, The Films of Jean-Luc Godard: Seeing the Invisible) ties it together, probing the film’s dystopian depth.

Terry Gilliam's Brazil blends his anarchic humor with a dark vision. Set in a dystopian “somewhere in the 20th century,” Brazil follows Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a timid clerk in the Ministry of Records, navigating a nightmarish society of oppressive bureaucracy, malfunctioning ducts, and constant surveillance. The 132-minute theatrical cut balances satire and tragedy; the 142-minute director’s cut (on Criterion releases) extends dream sequences and bleak details; the 94-minute studio cut sanitizes the ending, showing Sam and Jill happily escaping, undermining Gilliam’s vision. Brazil savages red tape - endless forms, inept officials, and a faceless Ministry crush individuality. The Buttle/Tuttle mix-up exposes a system where errors kill, and no one’s accountable, echoing Orwell’s 'Big Brother'. Sam’s fantasies of heroism and romance with Jill contrast the grim reality of surveillance and decay, questioning whether escape is possible or just a coping mechanism. Technology fails (exploding ducts, glitchy typewriters), and consumerism - plastic surgery, tacky ads - reduces people to cogs. The tagline “We’re all in this together” is ironic, as society isolates and punishes. Such a rewatchable masterpiece and to see it in the flawless 4K UHD presentation was a joy. The package extras - spanning commentary, documentaries, and a rich Production Notebook - offer hours of insight into the film’s creation, effects, and infamous studio battle, with the “Love Conquers All” cut a curious bonus. This three-disc set (one 4K UHD, two Blu-rays) is a must-own for fans, blending stellar video and audio with exhaustive supplements, cementing Brazil’s legacy as a visionary classic. Our strongest recommendation.

Gary Tooze