What is the best country release of Brazil (1985)?

[tron]

I know it's out in the USA but is that the best transfer? It looks like its out in a number of other countries as well. Do any of them have better transfers?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by tron

I know it's out in the USA but is that the best transfer? It looks like its out in a number of other countries as well. Do any of them have better transfers?

It appears that it is the best release for PQ/AQ, but I'm not sure if there's another edition out there with more extras.

[Arkadin]

the US release is the "studio" version that does not have Gilliam's intended ending.
according to what has been posted the UK and French releases are the so called "director's cuts" with Gilliam's intended ending.
bottom line--most fans of the film would never touch the Universal release and are waiting for the Criterion release, which will have the proper ending.

[Wraithform]

Yep . . . what Arkadin said . . . waiting on the Criterion release. There can be only one ......

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

the US release is the "studio" version that does not have Gilliam's intended ending.
according to what has been posted the UK and French releases are the so called "director's cuts" with Gilliam's intended ending.
bottom line--most fans of the film would never touch the Universal release and are waiting for the Criterion release, which will have the proper ending.

I thought the endings are the same on the theatrical and director's cuts(aside from the background of the end credits being different). It's the Love Conquers All hackjob by the studio that changed the ending.

[Arkadin]

no the US bd is shorter, but not like the "love conquers all version". that one is a totally separate creation in itself that contains changes Gilliam refused to make--it's like a joke version showing how ridiculous the film would be if Universal got their way on everything.
but all of the Universal releases--dvd and bd--are cut short, and don't have Gilliam's intended ending.
that's why the Criterion dvd is the only one people in the know want to have--because it restored Gilliam's intended ending.
apparently the UK and French bds replicate the Criterion "director" version dvd as far as length and content.
bottom line--the current Universal bd is NOT the version Gilliam wanted as far as the ending.

[peptalk]

The UK version is different from the French/German version, it has a lossy track according to the different topics on this forum.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by peptalk

The UK version is different from the French/German version, it has a lossy track according to the different topics on this forum.

That's why I said the US was superior for AQ.

[dougotte]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

no the US bd is shorter, but not like the "love conquers all version". that one is a totally separate creation in itself that contains changes Gilliam refused to make--it's like a joke version showing how ridiculous the film would be if Universal got their way on everything.
but all of the Universal releases--dvd and bd--are cut short, and don't have Gilliam's intended ending.
that's why the Criterion dvd is the only one people in the know want to have--because it restored Gilliam's intended ending.
apparently the UK and French bds replicate the Criterion "director" version dvd as far as length and content.
bottom line--the current Universal bd is NOT the version Gilliam wanted as far as the ending.

I thought only the Love Conquers All version had a different ending. The other versions seem to have some different scenes sprinkled throughout, but the ending appears to be the same.

Can you explain the ending differences between the US BD edition (132 minutes) and other editions?

Thanks,
Doug

[ozzsoad]

What's the difference between the cut of the film of the US Blu-ray and the Criterion DVD? I didn't notice anything different...

[Arkadin]

I don't have the US bd because I had read that it was not the Criterion version, which I have always understood to be the version Gilliam wanted.
the US Universal dvd was definitely shorter than the Criterion dvd and did not have the same ending.
It is possible that Universal may have changed the bd to reflect the Criterion version, but I thought I had read that it was still the slightly truncated version.
maybe someone that knows the different versions of the film and that has the US bd can comment something definitive.
my understanding from everything I have read concerning the bds is that the US version is the slightly shorter US theatrical version--NOT the cut preferred and approved by Gilliam for the Criterion dvd, and the version that people claim is reflected by the French and Uk bds.
(the "love conquers all version" is not on any of the bd releases. That is ONLY on the Criterion box set, and exists only in that boxset. That version has nothing to do with the official bd releases, and is its own separate entity created specifically for the Criterion dvd boxset)

from Wiki--Brazil

143 minutes (Original cut)
132 minutes (American cut)
94 minutes ("Love Conquers All")

I am assuming the American cut is what is reflected by the US bd, while the "original" cut is what is on the French and UK bds.

also from Wiki--
"Gilliam's original cut of the film is 142 minutes long and ends on a dark note. This version was released internationally outside the US by 20th Century Fox."

It is hard to talk about the different releases without giving the ending away, which I certainly don't want to do out of consideration of people who have not seen the film.

[Adam_ME]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

It is hard to talk about the different releases without giving the ending away, which I certainly don't want to do out of consideration of people who have not seen the film.

The dark ending is in both the 132 and 143 minute cuts. It's the Love Conquers All cut of the movie that was about an hour and a half long that had the happy ending.

[tama]

Debating if I should import the French Digibook

[neo_reloaded]

The US BD from Universal is the original US theatrical version. There are only minor differences between the US theatrical, the international theatrical (presumably what is on the UK/other European BD releases), and the director's cut (only available on the Criterion DVD to my knowledge). These are all minor variations on the same basic film, and none have the heavy-handed studio changes. The only version with the different ending and studio nonsense is the "Love Conquers All" version and that has never been officially released as a stand-alone title in any capacity to the best of my knowledge. It is merely a supplement in the 3-disc Criterion DVD set, as a "look how bad it could have been" curiosity.

I purchased the US Universal BD as it is the first time the US theatrical version has ever been available on disc. I will pick up the Criterion BD whenever it is released to have the director's cut for completion's sake.

[Strevlac]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

The US BD from Universal is the original US theatrical version. There are only minor differences between the US theatrical, the international theatrical (presumably what is on the UK/other European BD releases), and the director's cut (only available on the Criterion DVD to my knowledge). These are all minor variations on the same basic film, and none have the heavy-handed studio changes. The only version with the different ending and studio nonsense is the "Love Conquers All" version and that has never been officially released as a stand-alone title in any capacity to the best of my knowledge. It is merely a supplement in the 3-disc Criterion DVD set, as a "look how bad it could have been" curiosity.

I purchased the US Universal BD as it is the first time the US theatrical version has ever been available on disc. I will pick up the Criterion BD whenever it is released to have the director's cut for completion's sake.

Yep. From what I remember the original theatrical cut was Gilliam's director's cut, until a few years later he decided to slightly alter the film for the Criterion laserdisc. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

The US bluray is also pretty good PQ-wise. It's definitely one of Universal's better discs.

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Yep. From what I remember the original theatrical cut was Gilliam's director's cut, until a few years later he decided to slightly alter the film for the Criterion laserdisc. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

The US bluray is also pretty good PQ-wise. It's definitely one of Universal's better discs.

Correct on both counts. I too was very happy with the PQ of the Universal BD, especially considering it comes from Universal...

In regards to a "director's cut" - I mean, I think the film was re-cut so many times in his original argument with Universal that it'd be hard to identify what the true "original" cut was before the issue began. But what got released into theaters was his cut - he won the argument with Universal, they did not release "Love Conquers All." There was never any real statement about which was preferred between the US theatrical and the international theatrical cuts, and the differences are so small as to be unimportant.

The director's cut released muuuch later by Criterion is not something that predates this. It postdates it, and represents Gilliam tinkering with the film one last time - much like Ridley Scott and his "Final Cut" of Blade Runner.

[dougotte]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

Correct on both counts. I too was very happy with the PQ of the Universal BD, especially considering it comes from Universal...

In regards to a "director's cut" - I mean, I think the film was re-cut so many times in his original argument with Universal that it'd be hard to identify what the true "original" cut was before the issue began. But what got released into theaters was his cut - he won the argument with Universal, they did not release "Love Conquers All." There was never any real statement about which was preferred between the US theatrical and the international theatrical cuts, and the differences are so small as to be unimportant.

The director's cut released muuuch later by Criterion is not something that predates this. It postdates it, and represents Gilliam tinkering with the film one last time - much like Ridley Scott and his "Final Cut" of Blade Runner.

I agree w/ everything you wrote, but I'm not sure about the last 2 paragraphs. I think (but didn't find a source online to confirm it yet) that the 142-minute Criterion cut was Gilliam's original edit that was never released to theaters. I think he compromised slightly and forced them to release the 132-minute cut to theaters.

BTW, the US BD sounds very as well as looking very good. I'd like to have the 142-minute cut on BD, but until it's available, I highly recommend the US BD.

Doug
Central Services

[budious]

I'm a huge fan of this movie and look forward to getting both cuts on blu-ray. The 132 minute compromise (for run length) cut a few scenes between the time Sam is surrounded by soldiers in his mother's bed with Jill. In the 132m he is immediately unmasked to be tortured creating a more dramatic effect, it also alludes more to fact that Jill was already dead or never released and Sam was already delusional with grief. The 142m cut with the added scenes as Sam is processed for "information retrievel" leaves less room for interpretation of Jill's demise and spoils the torture reveal drama. The longer cut also re-arranges some of the Samurai fighting scenes and dreamscape sequences and shows a little more of Jill's nudeness in the bed scene. Both versions are favorable for differing aspects of interpretation in my opinion.

[Brian81]

The US BD is quite excellent when it comes to PQ/AQ. Sounds funny saying that about a Universal catalog title. So the BD that is out in Europe (UK) is a cut that is different from both the US BD and the Criterion DVD? I will eventually pick up the Criterion BD when it is released (as long as it is the 'Director's Cut'), but if the Euro BDs have a longer 143 minute version of the film that is NOT the same as the Criterion 'Director's Cut' of the same time length, I may want that also.

This really sounds like Blade Runner as far as versions go...

[budious]

If memory serves... it has been a while since I viewed all three.

The 132 minute US Theatrical Cut is the 143 minute International Cut minus the following: an extra scene with Bob Hoskin's character performing repairs at Sam's apartment (~3 mins); extra scenes following Sam's capture in his mom's bed as he processed into "information retrieval" in preparation for torture (~7 mins). The International Cut was the original full length version.

The 142 minute Criterion Director's Cut has all the same scenes as the International Cut but some scenes use alternative takes, camera angles, change in order of dream sequences.

In one version of the film the Samurai fight and other dream sequences appear as one long scene. In the other versions the dream sequence is broken up into 3 parts throughout the movie to make it more of a reoccuring dream Sam is having. I don't recall which is which at the moment.