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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "1984 and 1/2" or "1984½")
Directed by Terry Gilliam
UK / USA 1985
In the dystopian masterpiece Brazil, Jonathan Pryce plays a daydreaming everyman who finds himself caught in the soul-crushing gears of a nightmarish bureaucracy. This cautionary tale by Terry Gilliam, one of the great films of the 1980s, has come to be esteemed alongside antitotalitarian works by the likes of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Kurt Vonnegut. And in terms of set design, cinematography, music, and effects, Brazil is a nonstop dazzler. *** Brazil (1985), directed by Terry Gilliam, is a dystopian science-fiction satire set in a retro-futuristic, bureaucratic nightmare where Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce), a lowly clerk in a totalitarian society, dreams of freedom and romance amid a world of oppressive government, malfunctioning technology, and endless paperwork. When a clerical error—caused by a literal bug in a typewriter—leads to the wrongful arrest and death of an innocent man, Sam becomes entangled in a quest to correct the mistake, encountering the rebellious Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), a rogue heating engineer, and Jill Layton (Kim Greist), a woman resembling his fantasy dream girl. As Sam navigates a surreal landscape of Orwellian surveillance, absurd red tape, and consumerist chaos, his pursuit of love and truth pits him against the system, led by figures like his pompous boss Mr. Kurtzmann (Ian Holm) and the sinister Deputy Minister Helpmann (Peter Vaughan). Blending dark comedy, striking visuals, and a haunting rendition of the song “Brazil,” Gilliam’s film critiques authoritarianism, dehumanization, and escapism, culminating in a bleak yet ambiguous ending where Sam’s rebellion may be just a delusion. A cult classic, Brazil is a visionary, chaotic masterpiece of imagination and social commentary. |
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Theatrical Release: February 1985 (Berlin International Film Festival)
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Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Criterion - Region FREE - 4K UHD
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Criterion Spine #51 - Region FREE - 4K UHD | |
Runtime | 2:23:26.556 | |
Video |
1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 97,958,594,226 bytesFeature: 94,303,926,912 bytesVideo Bitrate: 72.17 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate 4K Ultra HD: |
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master
Audio English 2013 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2013 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -31dB |
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Subtitles | English (SDH), None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion
1.85:1 2160P 4K Ultra HD Disc Size: 97,958,594,226 bytesFeature: 94,303,926,912 bytesVideo Bitrate: 72.17 MbpsCodec: HEVC Video
Edition Details: • Audio commentary by Gilliam • What Is “Brazil”?, Rob Hedden’s on-set documentary (29:07) • The Production Notebook, a collection of 6 interviews and video essays, featuring a trove of Brazil-iana from Gilliam’s personal collection - We're all in it Together: the Brazil Screenwriter (10:42) - Dreams Unfulfilled: Unfiled Storyboards of Brazil (9 parts) - Designing Brazil Visual Essay (20:45) Flights of Fantasy - Brazil's Special Effects (9:50) - Fashion and Facism - James Acheson on brazil's Costume Design (7:01) - Brazil's Score (9:41) • The Battle of “Brazil,” a documentary about the film’s contentious release, hosted by Jack Mathews and based on his book of the same name (55:09) • “Love Conquers All” version, the studio’s 94-minute, happy-ending cut of Brazil, with commentary by Brazil expert David Morgan (1:33:37) • Trailer (2:37) PLUS: An essay by film critic David Sterritt
Transparent 4K Ultra HD Case Chapters 20 |
Comments: |
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
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.
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Menus / Extras
Blu-ray 1
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Blu-ray 2
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY and 4K UHD CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL RESOLUTION
1) Universal - Region 1 - NTSC TOP 2) Criterion - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM |
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1) 20th Century Fox (UK) Region 2 - PAL TOP 2) Criterion - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM |
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1) Fox Video (Brazil) Region 4 - NTSC TOP 2) Criterion - Region FREE - 4K UHD BOTTOM |
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More Criterion - Region FREE - 4K UHD Captures
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More full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K Ultra HD Captures for Patreon Supporters HERE
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Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | Criterion Spine #51 - Region FREE - 4K UHD |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |