Cinema Gadfly

7. Brazil

Listen Later

My guest for this month is Allen Pike, and he’s joined me to discuss the film I chose for him, the 1985 dystopian science fiction film Brazil. You can follow the show on Twitter @cinemagadfly.

Show notes:

  • My original review of Brazil
  • The film was directed by Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam
  • Who doesn’t love a good black comedy
  • Or 1940s fashion
  • Or 1980s technology
  • Some might argue that bureaucracy has already gone wrong
  • 1985 is, in fact, before 1990
  • I love Michael Palin in basically everything he’s ever done
  • Another Terry Gilliam film was Time Bandits, I like this one a lot more
  • The studio that initially butchered the film was Universal, nice try Sid Sheinberg
  • The underground screening was for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, who awarded the film Best Picture
  • Comparisons with George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four are just silly
  • The only thing they have in common is some sense of mass surveillance
  • 2006’s Idiocracy by Mike Judge, on the other hand, does sound similar to this film
  • Seriously. Seriously! No one should get a Pizza Hut tattoo on their face. That’s a bad idea
  • Ian Holm does a wonderful job as a fairly inept boss
  • Consistentize isn’t a word, but standardize is
  • The whole essay by David Sterritt for Criterion is a great read
  • Robert De Niro’s character is named Archibald “Harry” Tuttle
  • Bob Hoskins' character is named Spoor, and his partner is named Dowser
  • Star Trek represents the most hopeful version of the future that I know of
  • Ok, but for real, don’t get a Pizza Hut tattoo on your face. Not cool
  • The app design studio Allen runs is called Steamclock, they’re great, you should hire them
  • The DMV definitely still loves paperwork
  • TSA Precheck, which is totally available for Canadians too
  • India has plenty of bureaucracy of its own
  • San Francisco is an ABC city, which makes opening a bar an insane pain
  • Vancouver, British Columbia is apparently also a tough place to open a bar
  • Disruption doesn’t justify all actions, some of these companies need to cut it out
  • The theme song, also called Brazil, was recorded by Geoff Muldaur
  • It was also used in the first trailer for WALL-E
  • There are really, seriously, almost no similarities between this film and Cannibal Holocaust
  • You should read all the interesting things Allen writes at his website

    • Rent or buy the film from iTunes
    Rent or buy the film from Amazon

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Cinema GadflyBy Arik Devens
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5
    • 5

    5

    3 ratings