Brazil

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Brazil

R

1985

2h 22m

Comedy

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

65 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), he meets the woman from his daydream (Kim Greist), and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

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Critics Consensus

Brazil, Terry Gilliam's visionary Orwellian fantasy, is an audacious dark comedy, filled with strange, imaginative visuals.

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Chris Cabin

Slant Magazine

06/10/2025

Through its wildly comic, furiously creative, and intensely moving facade, Terry Gilliam’s 1985 film Brazil ponders a future made to sustain a draconian past molded by inequality.

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

01/03/2018

It's like a stoned, slapstick 1984: a nightmare comedy in which the comedy is just an aspect of the nightmarishness.

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Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

03/12/2011

[A] darkly funny and truly visionary retro-futurist fantasy.

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John Dodd

Edmonton Journal

Apr 15

3.5/4

In its scope and imagination and bizarre, twisted humor it goes beyond anything Monty Python ever did. While the movie is certainly not to everyone's taste, it is something of a comic masterpiece, a movie for mature (and therefore warped) sensibilities.

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Michael Walsh

The Province (Vancouver)

Apr 14

Brazil's "black" humor is actually multihued, a dazzling performance from which Gilliam emerges as the James Joyce of filmdom. Far better than any of the official Oscar nominees, his picture is as immediate as the latest headline outrage.

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Lee Jutton

Film Inquiry

Jan 13

A new 4K restoration director’s cut reminds us that the film’s satirical depiction of everyday life in a dysfunctional dystopia remains powerfully prescient, not to mention stunningly imaginative, forty years after its original theatrical release.

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Fernando M

@RT76471198 Jun 24

The first time I watched Brazil, it was recommended by a friend who doesn’t have the slightest idea about cinema, directors, or any of that. Yet, in my ranking, it’s among the three best films I’ve ever seen. Gilliam creates, from scratch, a retro-futuristic atmosphere with a pessimistic, totalitarian style. I think Helpmann might be my favorite character. "Beginner’s luck," "Bad losers," and lines like that, delivered with such a complete disconnect from reality, simply drive me crazy. The production design and sets are absolutely mesmerizing. De Niro’s Harry Tuttle vanishing before the machinery of bureaucracy, Bob Hoskins as the quintessential loser, Sam’s cynical mother… I’ve seen this film countless times, and I’m sure I’ll see it countless times more. Why 4½ tomatoes instead of 5? Because I would’ve loved a prequel about Helpmann and Sam’s father, supposedly old friends. And because, for someone like me, handing out 5 tomatoes doesn’t come easy. Simple as that.

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Ben W

@Username618 Apr 25

Did nothing for me, honestly.

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André Ferreira F

@andre_f Mar 21

Um pouco difícil de perceber. Requer a atenção total do espectador. As atuações são ótimas e o mundo que o Terry Gilliam cria é fenomenal. Talvez o filme peca por ser "demasiado curto": merecia uma maior exploração deste universo. (avaliação: 7.5/10)

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Cecilia T

@CBCB2000 Feb 16

A masterpiece, from acting to soundtrack, script, costumes and settings. Entertaining throughout and ironic at times. Even if dated (1985), still a great watch for any kind of evening. Cherry on top is the great post punk / steampunk aesthetics

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Del R.

@Delru Feb 11

This might be my favorite movie of all time. It’s quirky and I don’t pretend to understand the plot that well but it is very engaging. I’m not sure which of the two endings I prefer but they are both thought provoking.

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sean O.

@seandaddy0 Jan 24

I had to watch this movie more than once to grasp what was going on but it was worth it.

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Terry Gilliam

Director

Jonathan Pryce

Sam Lowry

Robert De Niro

Archibald "Harry" Tuttle

Katherine Helmond

Mrs. Ida Lowry

Ian Holm

Mr. M. Kurtzmann

Bob Hoskins

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Synopsis

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), he meets the woman from his daydream (Kim Greist), and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

Director: Terry Gilliam
Producer: Arnon Milchan
Screenwriter: Terry Gilliam, Charles McKeown, Tom Stoppard
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 18, 1985, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 1, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.7M
Runtime: 2h 22m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby A
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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