- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,786
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
The reason for this post....
I just finished watching the new Blu-ray release of THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN this morning. Until I read the bio of this film, I honestly thought this was something out of the mind of Terry Gilliam.
...and that got me thinking about BRAZIL.
I clearly remember almost 30 years ago hearing about Terry Gilliam's supposed masterpiece. I was working in a video store at the time and took home a VHS copy to watch.
After 20 minutes I had to turn it off. This was my first introduction to Gilliam and I was not impressed. I had no idea what the f---k was going on, nor did I have the patience to give the film a chance.
Years later, 12 Monkeys became a favorite film of mine. You'll even be very surprised to hear that I absolutely LOVED Baron Münchausen. I even liked The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. What impresses me most about Gilliam films is its visuals. There are just moments from his movies that get etched in your mind forever. I can't listen to Louis Armstrong singing What A Wonderful World without thinking of Bruce Willis, almost moved to tears, as it plays on a a car radio.
So why is it that I hated Brazil?
Well, firstly, I will admit that only watching 20 minutes of it isn't giving the film much of a chance.
It's just that I have been rather intrigued, over the years, that whenever there is a new format release of this title, members of this forum go absolutely crazy.
Kind of wondering.....Is this Gilliam's most far-out project? Could it just be that 12 Monkeys and Baron Münchausen are safer and more mainstream-orientated films?
To reiterate what I said at the top of this post, the reason I even bring this up, is because it's very obvious that I do enjoy very twisted visual films as long as there is a comprehensible story to them. I would think that is what Brazil strived to be, and as such, perhaps I should give this a second chance?
I just finished watching the new Blu-ray release of THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN this morning. Until I read the bio of this film, I honestly thought this was something out of the mind of Terry Gilliam.
...and that got me thinking about BRAZIL.
I clearly remember almost 30 years ago hearing about Terry Gilliam's supposed masterpiece. I was working in a video store at the time and took home a VHS copy to watch.
After 20 minutes I had to turn it off. This was my first introduction to Gilliam and I was not impressed. I had no idea what the f---k was going on, nor did I have the patience to give the film a chance.
Years later, 12 Monkeys became a favorite film of mine. You'll even be very surprised to hear that I absolutely LOVED Baron Münchausen. I even liked The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. What impresses me most about Gilliam films is its visuals. There are just moments from his movies that get etched in your mind forever. I can't listen to Louis Armstrong singing What A Wonderful World without thinking of Bruce Willis, almost moved to tears, as it plays on a a car radio.
So why is it that I hated Brazil?
Well, firstly, I will admit that only watching 20 minutes of it isn't giving the film much of a chance.
It's just that I have been rather intrigued, over the years, that whenever there is a new format release of this title, members of this forum go absolutely crazy.
Kind of wondering.....Is this Gilliam's most far-out project? Could it just be that 12 Monkeys and Baron Münchausen are safer and more mainstream-orientated films?
To reiterate what I said at the top of this post, the reason I even bring this up, is because it's very obvious that I do enjoy very twisted visual films as long as there is a comprehensible story to them. I would think that is what Brazil strived to be, and as such, perhaps I should give this a second chance?