Customer Reviews

The Battle of Brazil: Terry Gilliam v. Universal Pictures in the Fight to the Final Cut (The Applause Screenplay Series)

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Based on the reviews so far, I bought this book from Amazon.com and received it yesterday. It was so gripping, I finished it that evening. After seeing films like THE PLAYER and talking to aquaintences who like predictable movies with happy endings, I figured the big studios discouraged original, thought-provoking films. But this book shows how they try to rationalize it. I liked how Jack Mathews tried to be objective and show both sides and I was amazed at the differences between LA and NY critics and how they affect films. Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen!

Even if you don't think much of the film BRAZIL, if you love interesting films and want to know why it's rare to see one come out, read this book. I'm sure Terry Gilliam isn't alone in his battles with studios and critics. If you did like BRAZIL, you'll also get a glimpse of Gilliam's creativity with some of his storyboards, plus you get the entire script of the film with some annotations. After reading this book, I got a great behind-the-scenes look of not only how a film comes about, but how it gets marketed to the public as well.

Terry Gilliam's satirical film (usually referred to as being science fiction though its actually the furthest from that) Brazil is one of the greatest unseen film of the past few decades. While the film has a strong cult following, most mainstream audiences never had a chance to see this film and the few that did found themselves confronted not with Gilliam's original vision but instead with a severely shortened and defanged bastardization that was edited under the supervision of less-than-visionary studio head Sid Sheinberg.

How this came to be is the subject of Jack Matthews' fascinating book, The Battle of Brazil which follows the creation of this masterpiece from the germ of inspiration to the film's triumphant success at the 1985 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. Along the way, we get a wonderful view into the heads of both Gilliam and Sheinberg. (Though the book is clearly on Gilliam's side, Sheinberg is not presented extremely unfairly. If he comes across as a bit of an unimaginative ogre at times -- well, that's because he was.) We get the full details of Gilliam's battles with Sheinberg over both the length and the tone of the film and, in one of the book's best chapters, an in-depth analysis of the differences between the two versions. This chapter, I think, beautifully illustrates how, just through selective editing, you can change the entire feel of a film without reshooting a single shot. Much as how you can't help staring at a car wreck, there's a sick fascination with how Sheinberg was able to change Brazil from one of the greatest films of all time to a bland, unmemorable love story without any apparent sense of humor.

The behind-the-scenes details of the making of the film itself are anecdote filled and a great read with candid details that cover everything from how Gilliam's original vision evolved during the shooting to his on-set difficulties with actress Kim Griest. Especially amusing to me were the lists of actors also considered for the lead role of Sam. One's mind boggles at some of the suggestions (Tom Cruise!?) and makes Jonathan Pryce's sly lead performance all the more appreciated.

The last half of the book contains Gilliam's shooting script for his version of Brazil, along with copious footnotes that clear up several of the obscurities (i.e., what the singing telegram girl is singing, what Michael Palin's daughter says to Sam) that have occasionally confused even the most devoted of audiences. Its a brilliant script to boost.

Neither side comes out as particularly positive in this story of how a furious film director prevented a studio from ripping his work to meaningless shreds in the name of commercial popularism, but there's no doubting where Mathews stands on the subject.

The description associated with this item gives some idea of what the story is about (Boy makes film, Boy loses film to studio, Boy fights studio, studio finally releases film.) Mathews presents the story as factually as he can, from the point of view of someone who clearly loves what Gilliam had made.

The Battle of Brazil section itself is reasonably brief but manages to capture the spirit of the events, painting portraits of the major players in the events, their backgrounds and concerns. No party is painted either as a monster or a saint, though Mathews isn't shy about suggesting 1984 newspeak parallels for some of Sheinberg's defenses.

The second half of the book is a/the script of (almost all) of the final director's cut of Brazil. I spotted a missing sequence or two but for the most part it's there, essentially unabridged, with annotations on opposing pages describing anything from anecdotes, how the script evolved to that point, to differences between the European/American/Final cuts.

Both sections are gems, the first gives an insiders glimpse of the politics within Hollywood, the other a view of the guts of a wonderful film.

It's about time this book was back in print! And an updated version no less! The book primarily relates a blow-by-blow account of director Terry Gilliam's struggle to get studio executives to release his film "Brazil" without first 'dumbing it down' for the American market. But the book also succeeds on another level by giving you glimpses into the filmmaker's vision for the film and leaves you wondering how much more the film could have been if not for the harsh reality that movies are a business. A 'must have' for any fan of the movie.

What went into the release of Brazil is a fascinating look into how Hollywood operates and the lack of respect they have for the makers of movies and the audince that pays to watch the movies. A fascinating look at the "dumbing down" of movies and why it is so.

Funny and entertaining. Gilliam is crazy and hilarious! There are so many classic moments in this book, I recommend it! It also gives you a good feel for the Hollywood system of making movies.

This is a great book about the troubles of releasing the movie Brazil for Universal Pictures. It's much more sympathetic than Andrew Yules Losing the light which is another fine book. It includes the screenplay which is a bonus.

Jack Matthews' "The Battle of Brazil" not only contains the FULL story of Terry Gilliam's "battle" with Universal Pictures head Sid Sheinberg over the release of Brazil, but it also contains the complete annotated script for the film as well. This also includes photos from the film, both in color and black and white, and several pre-production sketches and other similar illustrations. Out of print since the late '80's I managed to snag a hardcover copy in 1992. This definitely a book that any fan of Terry Gilliam and especially the film "Brazil" should own.

Sure, I might be biased (Brazil is one of my favorite movies) but it was great to see the fighting that took place in order to unleash such a beautiful piece of work. A must read for anyone involved commercially in the creative process, and anyone who loves Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

I read this book when it first came out, before I really knew anything about filmaking. It is an ancient story, one of art versus commerce, and a triumphant moment (from which Director Terry Gilliam is doubtlessy still recovering) when the artist finally fought back to maintain control. The book also contains deleted scenes, and the full screenplay. It is definitely a must for any Gilliam enthusiast.