BRAZIL (Movie, 1985) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Archive-name: movies/brazil-faq
Last-modified: 1994/12/16
Version: 1.2

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                                  BRAZIL
                        Frequently Asked Questions

                      Copyright 1994 David S. Cowen
                              Release 1.2.5

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This release: Brazil WWW page now on-line!

                               INTRODUCTION

Nine years after its release, Terry Gilliam's _Brazil_ remains one of the
most hotly discussed movies on the net, due to its complex plot, unique
style and the legendary battle about _Brazil's_ release between Terry
Gilliam (the director) and Sidney Sheinberg (then president of Universal
Studios).  This FAQ has been created to answer frequently posted questions
pertinent to all matters about the film.

This list will be posted on approximately the 16th of every month to
rec.arts.movies, news.answers, and rec.answers, and alt.cult-movies.

The followup field is set to rec.arts.movies.

This FAQ is available for anonymous FTP wherever news.answers is archived,
for example:

        rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/movies/brazil-faq

There are many other FTP sites in Northern America, Europe and Asia which
archive this FAQ.  Use archie or veronica to find one near you.

The Brazil Hypermedia FAQ is now online, featuring all of the FAQ text,
a link to the Brazil page on the Cardiff server, and various images
from the film.  Point your Web browser to:

In the USA: http://execpc.com/brazil/
The rest of the world: http://poppy.kaist.ac.kr/cinema/brazil/

There is a automatic response brazil-faq mail server.  Send mail to
brazil-faq@fische.com to receive the latest copy of the FAQ.

This FAQ contains spoilers.

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                            TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.  I didn't understand the film at all.  What's it all about?
2.  Why were there problems with _Brazil's_ release in America?
3.  How many versions of _Brazil_ have been released?
4.  Why isn't a Criterion Collection laserdisc of Brazil available?
5.  What is the title _Brazil_ supposed to mean?
6.  How does _Brazil_ fit in with Gilliam's other movies?
7.  What are the lyrics to the song _Brazil_?  Is a soundtrack available?
8.  The sets are stunning.  Where were they filmed?
9.  What do all the signs say?
10.  What is Information Retrieval Charging?
11.  What does the singing telegram girl sing?
12.  Miscellaneous questions, answers and observations.
13.  Where can I get more information about Brazil?
14.  Notable Quotes.
15.  Appendix: Who is <so-and-so>?  What else were they in?

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1.  I didn't understand the film at all.  What's it all about?

     _Brazil_ is a film rich in depth -- the plot does not focus on just
one subject, but instead many different plots which weave together.  These
plots are held together by the character of Sam Lowry, a clerk in the
records department of a huge government bureaucracy, the Ministry of
Information.  Sam's perception of the world alternates between being
trapped as a mere "cog in the machine" in a grim world of paperwork and
escaping from his grim existence by becoming a hero in his own elaborate
dreams.  His life and these dreams begin to merge together...his dreams
become more realized as his life tears apart.  Eventually, the goverment
imprisons him, finding him guilty of none other than "wasting the
Ministry's time and paper" after the messy pursuit of his dream girl --
who was unrightly wanted by the Ministry as a suspected terrorist.
     Terry Gilliam, the director of _Brazil_, has given us a film which
rolls up many of the problems of the century into one big plot:
industrialization, terrorism, government control and bureaucracy (from
both capitalist and socialized countries), technology gone wrong, inept
repair people, plastic surgery, Love, and even modern filmmaking -- all
woven into a plot which shows the dehumanizing effect all of these
problems have on people in today's society.  In the world of _Brazil_,
set "8:49 p.m., somewhere in the 20th century", fantasy is the only
escape.  Gilliam approaches the style of the film with his trademark wit
and stunning visuals, both honed during his years as the animator for
_Monty Python's Flying Circus_ and during the production of his film
_Time Bandits_.

Words from Gilliam himself, part of an interview for The South Bank Show,
filmed 6/29/91:
     "_Brazil_ was a film that sat around for some years, I mean like 10
years I'd been sort of thinking about this thing. I mean on a very simple
level it's just its just very cathartic for me. It's all about my own
frustrations and my seeming inability to achieve what I wanted to achieve
and my inability to affect a system that is clearly wrong. The fears of
_Brazil_ are not so much that the world is spinning out of control because
of the system, because the system is us.  What _Brazil_ is really about is
that the system isn't great leaders, great machinating people controlling
it all. It's each person performing their job as one little cog in this
thing and Sam chooses to stay a little cog and ultimately he pays the price
for that.
     "Now on the other hand I also felt that there's the ideal that if we
all do our bit the world will become better. Then there's the pessimistic
side that says enough of this 'do our bit, ain't gonna make a blind bit of
difference as we're all gunna, lemming like, go over the abyss'. And so
then there was 'how do you escape from that world?' and Sam escapes by
going insane. I actually started this film with that idea of 'can one make
a film where the happy ending is a man going insane?'"

     Keep in mind, however, that Gilliam has been quoted as saying "Because
I dislike being quoted I lie almost constantly when talking about my work."
===========================================================================
2.  Why were there problems with _Brazil's_ release in America?

     In January of 1985, Terry Gilliam delivered his completed _Brazil_ to
Universal studios, on time and on budget.  _Brazil's_ complex and
interweaving plot demands a lot of screen time in order to tie up all the
loose ends -- and Gilliam was happy about the way the film worked in its
142 minute cut.  Fox Pictures International had just signed the
international agreement to the film and had accepted the 142 minute length
without any sort of protest, so Gilliam expected Universal to accept it for
distribution in America.
     Not so.  Sidney Sheinberg, the president of Universal studios, had
taken an interest in _Brazil_ -- Sheinberg "liked many parts of _Brazil_,
and thought there were many moments of bravura filmmaking," but what
Sheinberg saw lacking was commercial potential.  The cure for this, in
Sheinberg's eyes, was a re-edit, one that took the various parts of _Brazil_
that were commercially viable, namely Sam's pursuit of his dream girl, the
stunning set design and Gilliam's off-beat style of humor, while removing
those things that were not, namely the film's dark ending, the overtones
of the dehumanizing effects of the government, and Michael Kamen's
witty but dark orchestral score.
     This began a personal battle between Terry Gilliam and Sidney
Sheinberg for control of the film.  Sheinberg had forced Gilliam to sign a
time provision which said that the running time of _Brazil_ would have to
be 132 minutes for Universal to accept it, and that even then Universal
could follow up with any editing it deemed necessary.  A rough cut of
_Brazil_ which ran at 132 minutes was created by Gilliam's editor Julian
Doyle in order to fulfill the contractual obligation on time, and was sent
to Universal pictures.  Gilliam worked on a 132 minute edit, while
Sheinberg himself began work on the studio's edit of the film.
     Scheinberg's editors Bill Gordean and Steve Lovejoy created an edit
which cut out many of the dream sequences and essential threads in the plot
of _Brazil_, while splicing in all elements of humor and all usable footage
involving Sam Lowry and Jill Layton, the "dream girl".  If that wasn't bad
enough, Gordean and Lovejoy also lopped off the entire ending sequence
which involved Sam Lowry's interrogation (and eventual loss of sanity)
by his coworker Jack Lint.  Instead, they chose to end the film where Sam
finally consummates his relationship with Jill, and escapes with her to the
country.  Also suggested was the replacement of Kamen's symphonic score
with one of rock music -- in order to "attract teens."
     Ultimately, this edit subverted the entire point of _Brazil_, making
the movie a futuristic fairy tale about a man's quest for a dream woman,
with a lot of action and a sub-plot about terrorism thrown in.  Gilliam's
original message of dehumanization and technology gone wrong was completely
removed in Scheinberg's edit -- an edit which sent the message that if you
played the game and remained a good little cog in the machine, that one day
you'll end up with your dreams come true.
      Scheinberg, upon seeing Gilliam's second 132 minute edit, decided
to test the studio's version instead.  Gilliam would not stand for this.
Arnon Milchan, the producer of the film, began making public declarations
on how the studio had taken away Gilliam's film because it was only a few
minutes over contractual obligation, and began calling for critics to
see the film in England, where it was available from Fox Pictures.
Sid Sheinberg responded back by saying that no amount of critical praise
could reverse the studio's decision about _Brazil_.  Gilliam told
Sheinberg that if he was going to release to studio's edit of _Brazil_
that he wanted his name off of the credits, and then started an out and
out publicity war.  In Gilliam's own words:
     "It became a stalemate situation and Arnon Milchen, the producer said,
"We've got to get lawyers in here and we've got to deal with this" and I
said "Nah, can't get lawyers in. They've got all the lawyers in the world.
They've got all the money. They don't have to release the film, it's not
going to kill them.  They can sit on it". and I said "we'll just have to
approach it in a much more personalized way".  So the first thing I did was
to take a full page ad out in Variety which was this blank page except for
this black border and in the middle of it it said:

                  Dear Sid Sheinberg,
                      when are you going to
                      release my film 'BRAZIL'?
                                     Terry Gilliam.

and eventually what happened was the LA critics became very interested in
the film and some had seen it and they set up a whole series of clandestine
screenings of this film around Hollywood in peoples homes.  It came time to
vote at the end of the year for their films and they realized in their
bylaws it didn't say that a film had to be released to be able to be voted
upon and so they all voted upon whether _Brazil_ could be voted upon and
they agreed it could be and then it went out and it won Best Picture, Best
Direction and Best Screenplay.  [The awards were] announced the very night
of the premiere of Out Of Africa in New York which was Universal's big film
that year. All the big brass were there in their ties & DJ's and they were
told that Out Of Africa had won nothing and _Brazil_, this film that they
won't release has won all these awards. They had to release it and what was
wonderful was I was getting all these phone calls from people saying "Oh
well done, maybe now the flood gates will open we'll get films out,
blahblahblah". Of course it didn't, just like _Brazil_, the system doesn't
change, you just escape in your madness, that's all."
                              - Terry Gilliam, The South Bank Show, 6/29/91

      Universal finally opened Gilliam's 132 minute cut of _Brazil_ at two
theaters in Los Angeles on Christmas Day, 1985, later bringing it slowly
across the country in a limited number of theatres with limited
advertising.

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3.  How many different versions of _Brazil_ have been released?

      Three versions of _Brazil_ have been released commercially thus far.
These three are the 142 minute European Release (to be referred here as ER,
later released to theaters in America as the "director's cut"), the 132
minute American film and video release (AR), and Sid Sheinberg's edit (SE),
which has been shown on television.  There are reports of two different
European Releases being shown in American theatres, and television stations
have been known to do their own editing on the American Release.

The European Release contains many scenes cut from the American
release.  These are:

      A brief scene involving Sam and his mother Ida entering the
      restaurant where they meet Mrs. Terrain and Shirley.  They
      have to pass through a metal detector in order to gain
      entrance, and Ida's present to Sam (one of the "Executive
      Decision Makers", seen later in the movie) sets off the alarm.

      Part of the beginning of the first "Samurai" dream sequence, where
      Sam explores through the concrete labyrinth he finds himself in.
      In the European release, the Samurai sequence is one long sequence,
      whereas in the American version is is divided into three separate
      sequences.

      A scene where Sam and Jill lie in bed after the implied
      consummation of their relationship.  Jill has taken off the
      wig she was wearing in the scene before, and has a pink bow
      tied around her naked body.  She says to Sam: "Something
      for an executive?" and he unties her.

      The "Interrogation" scene, where Sam is charged with all of
      the violations of the law he committed throughout the film,
      including "wasting Ministry time and paper."

      The "Father Christmas" scene where Helpmann visits Sam after
      his booking, Helpmann is dressed as Santa Claus.  Among other
      things, Helpmann informs Sam that Jill Layton has been killed...
      twice.

      The European release begins abruptly with the 'Central Services'
      advert about ducts, and ends with a held shot of Lowry in the
      cooling tower.  No clouds.

However, the American Release adds a few things not found in the European
Release:

      There are clouds that open and close the film in the American
      Release.  Some of the footage of these clouds was extraneous
      footage from _The Never Ending Story_.

      After watching Mrs. Lowry's first plastic surgery treatment,
      Sam exclaims "My god, it works!"

Some prints of the European Release are known to omit the scene
featuring Sam and Jill after their consummation, for unknown reasons.

The Sheinberg Edit makes the following changes (it is likely a number of
versions of the SE have been shown on television, as the stations
themselves may have done their own editing for time.)

      The "Something for an executive?" scene between Jill and Sam
      described above is included.  Afterwards, only Sam is captured.
      Jill is not killed.

      The film ends with a brief sequence where Jill wakes Sam in their
      country hideaway.  Sam says "I don't dream anymore," looks at a
      picture on the wall of himself wearing the dream-sequence wings,
      and the film ends with them flying up into the heavens.

      Many of the fantasy sequences were missing, or slightly different.

      After Sam blows up the Ministry of Information, a piece of paper
      flutters down.  It's got a wanted message for Sam on it.

      Extended dialogue between Jill and Sam outside his apartment, and
      while in the truck.

      Extended dialogue in the scene where Sam meets Jack at Information
      Retrieval, and Jack has his daughter in his office.

      A cut of Casablanca featuring the line "Here's lookin' at you, kid."
      right after Sam leaves Kurtzmann's office.

      Jack says "You look like you've seen a ghost, Sam..." to Sam at the
      entrance of the Ministry of Records when Sam sees Jill Layton in the
      monitors.

===========================================================================
4.  Why isn't there a Criterion Collection Laserdisc of Brazil?

      The Criterion Collection release of Brazil was to feature a new
director's cut of the film, as well as director's commentary on the analog
tracks, deleted scenes, storyboards, and "other treats" from Gilliam's
collection.  However, the studio battle described in earlier portions of
the FAQ lives on -- Gilliam is in 'discussions' with Universal about what
consititutes a "Director's Cut", and what footage he can and can't use.
Currently, Universal has not budged -- but because Gilliam is working on
a new project with Universal ("The Twelfth Monkey"), many are hopeful that
the two parties will be able to come to a resolution.  In the meantime,
however, the package is delayed "indefinately".  Criterion is still
enthusiastic about _Brazil_'s release, but don't hold your breath.

    Here's a sneak preview of some dialogue from the Criterion disc's second
audio channel commentary:

    "Unlike a lot of directors, I was an animator first, which I think
distorts your viewpoint immediately.  Even before the animation I was a
cartoonist, looking at the world through a caricaturist's eyes, making
ordinary things seem grotesque.  And so I see the world that way.  To me
it seems normal.  I only discover after making a film that to others its
not normal.
     Animation is interesting; I perceive film in a frame-by-frame
sequence, rather than a scene with actors just moving about, saying
lines.  I sort of see 24 frames per second.  When it comes to doing
special effects, this is fantastic -- I can work them out in a more
sensible way.  With storyboards, I draw the film out like a comic book.
My films immediately have this strange or caricatured or distorted
quality even before I come up with a weird idea.
    I think I've gotten braver.  _Brazil_, even in it's emotional side,
is a little bit constricted compared to _The Fisher King_ where I let go
more.  Now that I've let go, I'm not as afraid of being emotional in the
films, whereas in Brazil there was a tension, a pulling back.  It was
actually a fear.  I think that's the interesting thing about _Brazil_ --
it's about the fear, the vulnerability of being in love.  Sucker!"
    -Gilliam, from "Voyager's Laserdiscs: A Decade of Unparalleled Vision"
     (catalog available free from Voyager: (800) 446-2001)

      Brazil is available in its American Release format on laserdisc from
MCA Home Video, #40171.  This disc has recently gone "out of print", but
still should be widely available from most laserdisc retailers.

      A Japanese laserdisc pressing of Brazil contains a transfer of the
European cut of Brazil from the European PAL masters.  This version is
also in Dolby Surround (opposed to MCA's matrixed surround).  Little is
known about the current availability of this disc, however -- it is likely
out of print.

===========================================================================
5.  What is the title _Brazil_ supposed to mean?

     Certainly, _Brazil_ is an enigmatic title for a movie that seems to
have nothing to do with the country of Brazil.  The first-draft
screenplay was entitled _The Ministry of Torture, or Brazil, or How I
Learned to Live with the System -- So Far_, and Gilliam also considered
calling his screenplay 1984 1/2.  In the book _The Battle of Brazil_,
Gilliam explains where the inspiration stemmed from, while he was in Port
Talbot, Wales:
     "Port Talbot is a steel town, where everything is covered with gray
iron ore dust.  Even the beach is completely littered with dust, its just
black.  The sun was setting, and it was quite beautiful.  The contrast was
extraordinary, I had this image of a guy sitting there on this dingy beach
with a portable radio, tuning in these strange Latin escapist songs like
'Brazil.'  The music transported him somehow and made his world less gray."
     Linking to the bureaucratic theme, in the country of Brazil you need 9
photos and 4 pieces of identification to get a part-time job.  The
government also has a "Department of Debureaucratization"
     Sid Sheinberg didn't like the title, and had the Universal staff
submit suggestions for a new title.  These suggestions included the titles:

If Osmosis, Who Are You?                  Some Day Soon
Vortex                                    Day Dreams and Night Tripper
What a Future!                            Litterbugs
The Works                                 Skylight City
You Show Me Your Dream...                 Access
Arresting Developments                    Nude Descending Bathroom Scale
Lords of the Files                        Dreamscape
The Staplegunners                         Progress
Forever More                              The Right to Bear Arms
Explanada Fortunata Is Not My Real Name   All Too Soon
Chaos                                     Where Were We?
Disconnected Parties                      Blank/Blank
Erotic                                    Shadow Time
Maelstrom                                 Forces of Darkness
The Man in the Custom Tailored T-shirt    Fold, Spindle, Mutilate
Can't Anybody Here Play the Cymbals?      Sign on High
The Ball Bearing Electro Memory Circuit Buster
This Escalator Doesn't Stop At Your Station
Gnu Yak, Gnu Yak, and Other Bestial Places.

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6.  How does _Brazil_ fit in with Gilliam's other movies?

     The films _Time Bandits_, _Brazil_ and _The Adventures of Baron
Munchausen_ form a trilogy, roughly outlining the various stages of life.
This is not an interpretation of the film begun on the net; it was
mentioned by Gilliam on talk shows promoting _Baron Munchausen_, and was
also mentioned in the book _The Battle of Brazil_.  _The Battle of Brazil_
explains that Gilliam's trilogy is about the ages of man, and the
subordination of magic to realism.  _Time Bandits_ was part one, about the
fantasist as a child.  _Brazil_ was part two, the fantasist as a young man,
and _Baron Munchausen_ closes the series with its story about an old man
who, through the innocence and open mindedness of a small girl, regains his
belief in magic.   Both _Time Bandits_ and _Brazil_ have bleak endings, but
_Baron Munchausen_ shows the final triumph of this sort of magic, as
Munchausen circumvents the reality of his death in his own tall tales.

    _The Fisher King_ was not written by Gilliam, although it does continue
Gilliam's primary theme of intermingling fantasy and reality.

===========================================================================
7.  What are the lyrics to Brazil?  Is a soundtrack available?

     Brazil...
     Where hearts were entertaining June
     We stood beneath an amber moon
     And softly murmured someday soon...
     We kissed...
     And clung together
     Then...
     Tomorrow was another day
     The morning found me miles away *
     With still a million things to say
     Now...
     When twilight dims the skies above **
     Recalling thrills of our love
     There's one thing I'm certain of
     Return...
     I will...
     to old...
     BRAZIL.

 (NOTES: * In some versions, this line is "The morning found US miles away"
        ** In some versions, this line is "When twilight dims the STARS
           above")


     The soundtrack by Michael Kamen is available on compact disc, Milan
35636-2.  The disc features music from the film as well as snippets of
dialogue and the title track sung by Kate Bush.  The recording is
excellent, and the disc offers insightful liner notes written by Steven
Smith, Terry Gilliam and Michael Kamen.

Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack BRAZIL (Michael Kamen)
   CD: 1993 US (Milan 35636-2)
          1:41  Central Services / The Office
          2:10  Sam Lowry's 1st Dream / "Brazil" (vocal by Kate Bush)
          0:42  Ducts
          3:00  Waiting for Daddy / Sam Lowry's Wetter Dream
                "The Monoliths Erupt"
          1:15  Truck Drive
          1:34  The Restaurant (You've Got To Say the Number)
          1:14  Mr. Helpmann
          0:45  The Elevator
          2:07  Jill Brazil / Power Station
          1:03  The Party (Part 1) / Plastic Surgery
          1:53  Ducting Dream
          3:26  Brazil (Performed by Geoff Muldaur, from the Geoff and
                        Maria Muldaur album _Pottery Pie_)
          1:18  Days and Nights in Kyoto - The Party (Part 2)
          1:46  The Morning After
          1:03  Escape?
          4:30  The Battle
          1:50  Harry Tuttle - "A Man Consumed By Paperwork"
          1:44  Mother's Funeral / Forces of Darkness
          2:26  Escape ! No Escape !
          2:51  Bachianos Brazil Samba

    British musicians S'express have done a cover of the song Brazil,
featuring samples from Gilliam's film.

===========================================================================
8.  The sets are stunning.  Where were they filmed?

     The sets in _Brazil_ were designed to look like "the century was
compacted into a single moment," the style being eclectic.  In order to
create this sort of mood, Gilliam's film was shot on-location at many
locations in Europe.
     Sam's apartment building actually exists in France, at the Marne la
Vallee, a huge apartment complex designed by Ricardo Bofil.  The truck
chase, with Sam and Jill outrunning the security pursuit vans as well as
shots of Sam walking home from the transporter station were filmed there.
     Dr. Jaffe's surgery room, where Ida Lowry receives her cosmetic
treatment early in the film, was shot in Leighton's House, the home of Lord
Leighton.  Leighton was a Victorian artist and collector of moorish tiles.
     The clerk's pool where Sam works in the Records Department was shot
in an abandoned grain mill in London's Dockland.  The mill was sprayed
with gray paint, and flour sifters were turned into benches.  This same
location was used for the corridors of the Information Retrieval
department where Sam goes after being promoted.  The giant holes in the
ceiling are the bottoms of twelve-story-high grain silos.
     The restaurant where Sam, Ida, Mrs. Terrain and Shirley have lunch
was shot in Mentmore Towers, part of the former Rothschild mansion in
Buckinghamshire.
     Sam's mother's apartment was filmed in the Liberal Club in London,
located next to old Scotland Yard.
     The Information Retrieval torture chamber where Sam is interrogated
was shot in a cooling tower at a power station in South London.  The stunt
men who rescue Sam during his interrogation had to descend a distance of
170 feet to 9-inch wide metal spines 40 feet above the ground for Sam's
escape scene.
     The Croydon power station was used for the setting of the basement
of the Ministry of Information, as well as an exterior scene where Sam
"arrests" Jill in her truck.

===========================================================================
9.  What do all the signs say?

     Few of the propaganda signs were in the original script of _Brazil_.
They can be credited to co-scriptwriter Charles McKeown, who played Sam's
smarmy co-worker at Information Retrieval.  Also, most every object in
the film has a stencilled part number or Ministry of Information logo on
it.

In the Department Of Records:
 "The Truth Shall Make You Free" - on statue
 "Information Is The Key To Prosperity. A Ministry Of Information" - sign
   above security stall.
 "Help The Ministry Of Information Help You" - poster on wall
 "Be Safe: Be Suspicious" - sign on wall
 "Loose Talk Is Noose Talk" - poster on the wall of the computer room

Kurtzmann's office:
 "Suspicion Breeds Confidence" - sign
 Ministry of Information logos are stamped on many of the small items in
 Kurtzmann's office, such as the teacup given to Lowry and the fishbowl.
 These are nearly impossible to see on video.

Shangri La Towers:
 "Happiness: We're all in it together" - Billboard
 (This billboard is copied from a sign that appeared throughout the United
  States during the depression.)
 "Mellowfields. Top Security Holiday Camps. Luxury without fear. Fun
  without suspicion. Relax in a panic free atmosphere." - advert on wall
  above children playing.
 "Reality" - graffiti on wall
 "Shangorilla Towers" - Shangri-la tower's defaced sign.
 "DO NOT FOLD, SPINDLE, MUTILATE" - stencilled on concrete wall inside.

Mr Lime's Office at Info. Retrieval:
 "Trust in haste, Regret at leisure" - poster on wall
 "Don't suspect a friend, report him" - poster on wall (also seen in both
                                        Lint and Kutzmann's offices)

Jack's Office at Info. Retrieval:
 "Who can you trust?" - poster on wall

Processing Plant:
 "Mind that parcel.  Eagle eyes can save a life." - poster on wall
 "Power today.  Pleasure tomorrow." - poster seen when the house gets lifted.

Shopping Mall:
 "Consumers for Christ" - banner carried by band in the mall.
 "Utopia Railways" - ad in the street when Sam blows up the building.
 "Keep your city tidy" - sign on the trash can.


===========================================================================
10.  What is Information Retrieval charging?

     A subplot that many viewers of _Brazil_ seem to miss entirely is that
of Information Retrieval charging.  "Information Retrieval" is a euphemism
for "interrogation."  The extent of Information Retrieval Charging is
revealed in Deputy Minister Conrad Helpmann's interview, which is shown
on the telescreen while a technician swipes at the beetle which determines
the fate of the movie.  The interviewer asks the Deputy Prime Minister
about the economics of the terrorist situation, and the Deputy Prime
Minister replies:

    "I understand this concern on behalf of the taxpayers.
    People want value for money.  That's why we always
    insist on the principal of Information Retrieval
    charges.  It's absolutely right and fair that those
    found guilty should pay for their periods of detention
    and the Information Retrieval procedures used in their
    interrogations."

     The check Lowry delivers to Mrs. Buttle is a check for the amount
debited from the Buttle's charge account when Mr. Buttle was interrogated
and killed (because of Information Retrieval's torturous methods) early in
the film.  The police officer says to Sam after he is strapped into the
chair at the torture chamber "Don't fight it son, confess quickly.  If you
hold out too long, you could jeopardize your credit rating."  Note that
this is not merely a funny line; a scene present only in the ER (and
presumably in the forthcoming laserdisc) has a MOI official arranging a way
for Sam to pay his charges via installments.

    Inspiration for this subplot may have possibly stemmed from German
history -- the Nazis were known to charge Jews for their forced passage to
the concentration camps.

===========================================================================
11.  What does the singing telegram girl sing?

     Mrs. Ida Lowry requests the pleasure
       of your companyyyy
       at her apartment tonight,
     from eight thirtyyyyy
       to midnight
     to celebrate the completion
       of her recent cosmetic surgeryyyy
     The guest of honor will be
       Mr. Conrad Helpmann,
     Dep. Under Minister of State
       for Public Informationnnn,
     R.S.V.P. by singing telegram!

     There's a reason for the singing telegram girl's rather odd dance
during the last bit of the recital -- in the original script, she
later asked if she could use Sam's bathroom.

     Gilliam considered "subtitling" the scene with this text in
"telegram" style letters.  Gilliam has said the he wishes he had actually
done that.

===========================================================================
12.  Miscellaneous Questions, Answers, and Observations.

Q. What kind of car did Sam drive to deliver the refund check?
A. It's a Messerschmidt.  Gilliam obtained two from a collector's club
   in order to shoot the film, one of which was destroyed for the scene
   at Shangri-La Towers.

Q. What does Jack Lint's little girl say to Sam after Jack leaves?
A. "Put it on, big boy.  I won't look at your willy."  Holly, the
   little girl, is Gilliam's daughter Holly Gilliam.

Q. Who is Sam's mother played by in the scene at Mrs. Terrain's funeral?
A. Its Kim Greist, who plays Jill Layton.  Gilliam shot footage with both
   Greist and Katherine Helmond playing the part, and decided to use the
   footage of Greist with Helmond's voice dubbed in.  However, if you look
   closely, the last shot of Sam's mother _is_ Katherine Helmond.

Q. Who is the rock man supposed to represent?
A. Sam's boss at the Department of Records, Kurtzmann.

Q. Who does Sam find when he lifts the faceplate of the Samurai?
A. Himself, which lends itself to the Quixotic nature of Sam's quest.
   The samurai is a huge, monolithic, powerful machine, and is assumed
   to represent technology -- and Sam finds his own participation
   in the machinations of this technologically based society to be a
   hindrance to his own self.

   Gilliam hinted, during a recent Q & A session on America Online,
   that the Samurai may simply be a bad pun.  The word samurai, divided
   into syllables, sounds like the phrase "Sam or I".

Q. Why the hideous masks, like the one Jack Lint wears for the
   interrogation?
A. Gilliam's mother once sent him a mask like that, and it haunted him ever
   since.  Gilliam intended the effect of combining the masks and the
   decaying bodies of the Forces of Darkness (the small, troll-like
   creatures which Sam sees in his dreams) to be an intermingling of the
   beginning and ends of life.

Q. Does Gilliam cameo in the film?
A. Gilliam himself appears as one of the lurkers in Shangri-La towers, the
   one belching smoke as he runs into Sam.  The lurkers were put in the
   script to get the idea across that people were being arbitrarily picked
   out for surveillance.

Q. How is the song "Brazil" used in the movie?
A. As well as frequently occurring as a theme in the orchestral soundtrack,
   the song Brazil is hummed by Tuttle as he puts the panel back inside
   Sam's apartment, and by Sam as he folds up Mrs. Buttle's check and puts
   it in the pneumatic delivery tube.  A few notes of the song are played
   by the keypad as Sam punches in "EREIAMJH" in Mr. Helpmann's lift.

Q. Are there any references to other films in _Brazil_?
A. Past the obvious reference to Casablanca, there are two scenes which
   are familiar to film buffs.  The first is the opening dolly shot of the
   clerk's pool at the Department of Records, intended as homage to
   Stanley Kubrick, who used a similar dolly shot in _Paths of Glory_.
   An even more striking similarity is during the scene where Lowry and
   Tuttle escape from Information Retrieval.  The actions of the soldiers
   in this scene, marching mechanically in time and lowering their rifles,
   mirrors shot-for-shot a famous scene in _Potemkin_.  The scene in the
   Russian classic takes place on the steps of Odessa, portraying a glimpse
   of the Russian revolution.  In _Potemkin_, we have a baby carriage
   rolling down the stairs in the midst of battle.  In _Brazil_, we have a
   floor polisher going down the stairs -- the operator, like the mother in
   Potemkin, is shot.

   This famous scene is also alluded to in _The Untouchables_, during the
   famous train station stand-off, and was re-drawn for _Stick Figure
   Theatre_ on MTV's _Liquid Television_.  Zbigniew Rybczynski's short film
   "Steps" is all about what happens when modern day tourists get to walk
   around in this famous film sequence.  Many other films have used
   referenced _Potemkin_, as well.

Q. Why does Mrs. Terrain disintegrate over the course of the film?
A. Mrs Terrain reveals in the restaurant bombing sequence that she is
   seeing Mr. Chapman for cosmetic surgery, also known as "the acid man".
   From the gelatinous, bony mess found in her coffin, we can assume
   the acid treatment was ultimately unsuccessful.

Q. Are any of the character's names significant?
A. Mr Kurtzmann (German for `short man') stands for small in stature and
   success.  Named after the editor of _Help_ (Harvey Kurtzman), a
   magazine that Gilliam worked for in the mid-60s.  It was at a photo
   shoot for this magazine that Gilliam met John Cleese, who would later
   invite him to join the Monty Python team.

   Mr Warrenn works in a rabbit-warren style place: a maze of corridors.

   Dr. Chapman, "the acid man" responsible for Mrs. Terrain's
   deteriorating condition, may be an allusion to fellow Pythoner
   Graham Chapman, who studied as a doctor.

Q. What is the tool that Jack Lint uses during Sam's interrogation?
A. It is a device used to perform a frontal lobotomy.  It is inserted
   through the nose and then pushed up to sever the frontal lobe.

Q. What is the gift Sam keeps getting and giving?
A. An executive decision maker, a novelty gift in the Spencer's Gifts vain:
   it has a plunger that can fall to one side of a divider, landing on
   "YES" or "NO".  The toy is of no value in the film...commentary on the
   knee-jerk giving of useless gifts at Christmastime, and the
   commercialization of the holiday.  The gift in real life was more
   expensive...it cost 2000 dollars to design and make for the film.

Q. What does "'ere I am, J.H." mean?
A. This appears to be a continuity error.  Jeremiah (the anagram of
   "EREIAMJH") was Sam Lowry's late father, so we can assume his initials
   were J.L.  Helpmann's initials are C.H. (for Conrad Helpmann).
   It is possible that H is a middle initial of one of the two men.

Q. How were the flying sequences filmed?
A. "We used either close ups of Jonathan....and the rest of the shots
    were done on this model. This thing was so good we were able to come
    in very close on it and still fool the camera. This whole thing was
    connected by wires to a battery that was then run on a huge track. To
    make it look like the size of a human being you've gotta slow the
    thing down so we shot it at 4 or 5 times normal speed and the operator
    trying to follow this thing was in a terrible state. We'd set this
    whole thing up and the clouds would get going and we'd shout "Action!"
    and it would go Wham! and then this thing would fly through the air
    "Berrrrrap!" and that was it and it would take us another hour to set
    it up again. By the end of the day you wouldn't know what you'd
    achieved, but come the next morning, you saw the rushes and the film
    slowed down to the right speed...it's fantastic, you saw this
    incredibly graceful, soaring, sweeping figure. That's what we
    ended up with on film."
                           - Terry Gilliam, The South Bank Show, 6/29/91

Additional information:

Two of Lowry's "rescuers" are wearing comic masks -- one wearing a Father
Christmas mask, the other Pluto.

There are references to Egyptology in Ida Lowry's decor, and the brooch she
wears, the beetle, is the Egyptian symbol for eternal life.  The "shoe hat"
she wears is based on an actual design from the 30's.

Ducts are pervasive throughout the film. These symbolize both the
umbilical relationship of the people to their centralized government and
the loss of aesthetics in our cities.

When Sam fights with Jill to get her parcel off her (in the lingerie
dept.) his head gets pressed against a mirror.  For a brief second before
the next shot, the film gets reversed (or flipped from left to right).

Spiro loses his French accent after the bomb goes off in the restaurant.

Gilliam tested more than a half-dozen actresses to play the part of Jill,
interviewing or testing Jamie Lee Curtis, Rebecca De Mornay, Rae Dawn
Chong, Joanna Pakula, Rosanna Arquette, Kelly McGillis, Ellen Barkin, and
even considering Madonna.  Gilliam's personal favorite was Ellen Barkin.

There was a reference to _Brazil_ on Simpsons episode [1F07]: The Last
Temptation of Homer, originally aired on December 9th, 1993.  Department
of labor workers slide in from the top of the screen on wires in a
manner very similar to Sam's rescue scene in the torture chamber.  The
Brazilian soccer team is mentioned soon afterward.

There may have been a Federal Express ad that parodied Brazil, namely
the scenes with Mr. Warrenn in Information Retrieval.

Many posters to rec.arts.movies and alt.cult-movies have intimated that
_Brazil_ is a modern-day crucifixtion story.  The relative amorality and
selfish nature of Sam Lowry would easily preclude him from being any kind of
representation of Christ, however.

===========================================================================
13.  Where can I get more information about Brazil?

     Cardiff's Movie Database (movie@ibmpcug.co.uk) offers very complete
filmographies on a seemingly endless number of films.  Send a message to
the above address with the subject HELP to get information on how to use
the server.

     The movie database is also available via WWW.  Set your pointers to
http://www.msstate.edu/Movies to navigate the database.  The Brazil WWW
page has a dynamic link to the Movie Database's Brazil page.

     Now out of print, Jack Mathew's fine hardcover _The Battle of
Brazil_, published by Crown Publishing, New York, 1987 ISBN 0-517-56538-2,
is a great source of information about the film and the ensuing studio
battles.  Much of the information in this FAQ was gleaned from _The
Battle of Brazil_.

==========================================================================
14.  Notable Quotes

Arresting Officer:

         "This is your receipt for your husband...and this is my receipt
          for your receipt."

Bill, Department of Works:

         "Mistakes?  We don't make mistakes."

Charlie, Department of Works:

         "Bloody typical, they've gone back to metric without telling us."

Shirley:

         "Salt?"

         "Pepper?"

         "Oh, it's...it's all right.  I don't like you either."

Tuttle:

         "...well, that's a pipe of a different color."

         "Listen, this old system of yours could be on fire and I couldn't
          even turn on the kitchen tap without filling out a 27b/6...Bloody
          paperwork."

         "My good friends call me Harry."

         "Listen, kid, we're all in it together."

Kurtzmann:

         "It's been confusion from the word go!"

Mrs. Buttle:

         "What have you done with his body?"

Jack:

         "Until this whole thing blows over, just stay away from me."

         "It's not my fault that Buttle's heart condition didn't appear on
          Tuttle's file!"

Sam:

         "Yes...No...I don't know.  I don't know what I want."

         "Mr. Helpmann, I'm keen to get into Information Retrieval.  Mr.
          Helpmann, I'm dying to get at this woman... no, no, no."

         "Yes, I always used to wonder if she wore falsies.  False ears..."

         "Sorry, I'm a bit of a stickler for paperwork.  Where would we be
          if we didn't follow the correct procedures?"

         "I assure you, Mrs. Buttle, the Ministry is very scrupulous about
          following up and eradicating any error.  If you have any
          complaints which you'd like to make, I'd be more than happy to
          send you the appropriate forms."

Helpmann:

          Helpmann uses a variety of sporting references, including:

         "Bad sportsmanship.  A ruthless minority of people seem to have
          forgotten good old-fashioned virtues.  They just can't stand
          seeing the other fellow win.  If these people would just play
          the game..."

         "We're fielding all their strokes, running a lot of them out,
          and pretty consistently knocking them for six.  I'd say they're
          nearly out of the game."

         "Jill?  Yes...Sam I think I ought to tell you.  I'm afraid she's
          upped stumps and retired to the pavillion.  Thrown in the towel."

         "All I can say is don't fall at the last fence.  The finishing
          post's in sight.  See you in the paddock...keep your eye on the
          ball."

Warren:

         "An empty desk is an efficient desk!"

Dr. Lewis Jaffe:

         "Just me and my little knife!  Snip snip -- slice slice... can you
          believe it?"

         "Faces are a doddle compared to tits and ass.  No hairline."

Spoor:

         "Where'd you get this from, eh?  Out yer nostril?"

         "All you've got to do is blow your nose and it's fixed, in't it?"

Lime:

         "Computers are my forte!"

Jill:

         "Care for a little necrophilia?. . .Hmmm?"

===========================================================================
15. Appendix: Who is <so-and-so>?

Behind the scenes:

Terry Gilliam:  Director of _Brazil_, as well as the films Jabberwocky,
Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and The Fisher King.
Gilliam also co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry
Jones.  Gilliam is renowned for his animation work with Monty Python's
Flying Circus, as well as the opening segment of the film The Meaning of
Life, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance."

Tom Stoppard:  co-scriptwriter of _Brazil_, tragicomic playwright well
known for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, as well as for working
on the screenplays of Billy Bathgate and The Russia House.

Charles McKeown:  co-scriptwriter and Lime, Lowry's annoying co-worker in
Information Retrieval.  Responsible for many of the propaganda signs
throughout the film.  Also co-wrote The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

Arnon Milchan:  producer of _Brazil_.  Recently known for funding Oliver
Stone's latest projects.  Had a fall out with Gilliam before the production
of Munchausen.

Sidney Sheinberg:  president of Universal studios during production of
_Brazil_.  Called for studio edits of not only _Brazil_, but Mask and
Legend.

Roger Pratt: Director of Photography.  Also worked on The Fisher King and
Mona Lisa.

Julian Doyle: Editor

Michael Kamen: Composer of _Brazil's_ orchestral score.  Also worked on
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Die Hard I & II, Lethal Weapon 1 2 & 3,
Polyester, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Wall, among many others.

Cast:

Sam Lowry: the main character, an anesthetized bureaucrat who works
for the Ministry of Information filing records.  Later chases after
his dream girl, Jill Layton.  Played by Jonathan Pryce, known for
his performances as Mr. Dark in Something Wicked This Way Comes and
in Glengarry Glen Ross, Jumpin' Jack Flash, The Ploughman's Lunch, and
the Broadway production of Miss Saigon, among many others.

Archibald "Harry" Tuttle: A renegade heating engineer who is sought after
by the Ministry of Information for "Freelance Subversion".  Allies with
Sam after fixing Sam's heating system.  Played by Robert De Niro, best known
for Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter, GoodFellas, Taxi Driver among many
others.

Ida Lowry: Sam's youth-obsessed mother, responsible for getting Sam's
promotion.  Played by Katherine Helmond, who performed in Time Bandits,
and is best known for the TV series Soap and Who's the Boss.

Kurtzmann: Sam's nervous supervisor at the Department of Records.
Played by Ian Holm.  Also in Time Bandits, Kafka, Naked Lunch,
Alien among many others.

Spoor & Dowser: Department of Works employees who end up trashing
Sam's flat and getting a "sticky end".  Spoor is played by Bob Hoskins,
best known for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mona Lisa, A Prayer for the Dying.
Dowser is played by Derrick O'Connor, also in Jabberwocky, Lethal Weapon 2,
and The Missionary.

Jack Lint: Friend of Sam and Ministry of Information officer 412/L,
who interrogates Sam at the end of the film.  Played by Michael Palin,
best known for his work with Monty Python.  Also in Jabberwocky, A Fish
Called Wanda, and Time Bandits.

Warrenn: Head of Information Retrieval, played by Ian Richardson.  Also in:
Cry Freedom, M. Butterfly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Whoops
Apocalypse among many others.

Helpmann: Deputy Prime Minister, offers Sam the promotion
to Information Retrieval.  Played by Peter Vaughan.  Also in Time Bandits,
The Missionary among many others.

Jill Layton: Sam's dream girl, and supposed terrorist.  Played by Kim
Griest.  Also in: Punchline, Throw Momma from the Train, Manhunter among
many others.

Dr. Jaffe: Ida Lowry's plastic surgeon, "the knife man."  Played by
Jim Broadbent.  Also in: The Crying Game, Enchanted April, among others.

Mrs. Terrain: Ida Lowry's friend, destroyed by her cosmetic surgery,
and mother of Shirley.  Played by Barbara Hicks.  Also in: Howard's End,
Petticoat Pirates among others.

Shirley: Mrs. Terrain's daughter, gets "set up" with Sam at Mrs. Lowry's
party.  Played by Kathryn Pogson.  Also in: The Company of Wolves.

Spiro: Maitre D' at the restaurant where Sam, Ida, Mrs. Terrain and
Shirley have lunch.  Played by Bryan Pringle.  Also in: 3 Men and a Little
Lady, Jabberwocky, Drowning by Numbers among others.

Mrs. Buttle: Wife of Mr. Buttle, Shoe Repair Operative, who makes
an agonized plea to Sam when he delivers her refund check for her
dead husband.  Played by Sheila Reid.  Also in: The Dresser and
Othello (1965).

T.V. Interviewer/Salesman: performed by John Flanagan.  Also in: The Medusa
Touch, Arthur's Hallowed Ground.

Technician: Kills a beetle, which ends up killing Mr. Buttle.  As well as
Jill Layton, for that matter.  Played by Ray Cooper.  Also in: The
Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

Mr. Buttle: Arrested early in the film, confused for Archibald Tuttle.
Accidentally killed during his interrogation.  Played by Brian Miller.

Boy Buttle & Girl Buttle: Played by Simon Nash & Prudence Oliver.

Arresting Officer: arrests Mr. Buttle.  Played by Simon Jones, best known
as Arthur Dent from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Walter
Raleigh in Blackadder II.  Also in Green Card.

Bill & Charlie: Department of Works employees, they attempt to plug the
hole in Mrs. Buttle's ceiling.  Charlie is played by Nigel Planer,
formerly of the Young Ones, and Eat the Rich.  Bill is played by Derek
Deadman, also in: National Lampoon's European Vacation, Robin Hood: Prince
of Thieves, among others.

M.O.I. Lobby Porter: Requires that Jill have the proper stamps on
her paperwork.  Played by Gordon Kaye, of 'allo 'allo, and Jabberwocky.

Neighbor in Clerks pool: Tells Sam that Casablanca is on the tele.
Played by Tony Portacio.

Samurai Warrior: Played by Winston Dennis.  Also in: The Adventures of
Baron Munchausen, The Commitments, and Nuns on the Run.

Telegram Girl: Sings Sam's invitation at the pitch of a dog whistle.
Played by Diana Martin.

Dr. Chapman: Cosmetic Surgeon, "the acid man."  A midget.  Played by Jack
Purvis.  Also in: Time Bandits, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and
the Star Wars Trilogy.

Alison/Barbara Lint: Does not wear false ears.  Played by Elizabeth
Spender.

Porter at Information Retrieval: Played by Antony Brown, also in Under
Siege.

Typist in Jack's Office: Transcribes interrogation sections.  Played by
Myrtle Devenish.  Also in: Tug of Love.

Holly: One of Jack Lint's triplets.  Played by Holly Gilliam, Terry
Gilliam's daughter.

Basement Guard: Played by John Pierce Jones.  Also in: The Wicked Lady.

Old Lady With Dog: Dog has an interesting bum.  Played by Ann Way (the old
lady, that is), also in Haunted Honeymoon, Once Upon a Crime, and more.
Burning Trooper: Played by Terry Forrestal.

Black Maria Guards: Played by Don Henderson of The Adventures of Baron
Munchausen, Star Wars and more, and Howard Lew Lewis, of Chaplin and
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Interview Official: Played by Oscar Quitak.

Cell Guard: Played by Patrick Connor.  Also in: Lifeforce,
Ragtime, among others.

Priest: Played by Roger Ashton-Griffiths.  Also in King Ralph, Young
Sherlock Holmes, Dreamchild, among others.

===========================================================================
                            NOTES

Copious thanks to all involved in writing this thing, including:

             Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
             Jon Drukman    <jdrukman%dlsun87@us.oracle.com>
             Chuck Falzone  <cjf49655@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
             John Fletcher  <jrf@psy.oxford.ac.uk>
             Hyunsuk Seung  <hseung@anat3d1.anatomy.upenn.edu>

                                 and everyone else involved who I forgot...

I'm active in rec.arts.movies and alt.cult-movies, but my clunky old
newsreader probably won't catch your post.  Please E-mail all comments,
questions, corrections & suggestions directly to me at the address
esch@fische.com.

esch@fische.com
David S. Cowen (David Eschatfische) -------------- http://execpc.com/~esch/
--
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(Eschatfische.) -------------------------- http://execpc.com/~esch/home.html