Why were there problems with BRAZILs 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), wh
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, w
