Brazil shown in Astoria 12/12/99 was NOT European Version

On the weekend of 12/12-12/13/1999, the American Museum of the Moving Image (in Astoria, Queens, NY) showed two screenings of Terry Gilliam's Brazil. According to their own literature and signage, the film was 142 minutes in length. According to the advance write-up in The Village Voice, this was to be the 142-minute European Version (or Director's Cut) rarely seen in America, and it was to be a new print.

In fact, the Brazil that was shown was the 131-minute, American Version, and it was not a new print. It was a badly scratched print, and was the same version of the movie that's available in America on videotape, and was the same version that usually shows in theaters.

Having seen the European Version, and a new print, before, I am upset that audiences are being mislead into thinking they've seen a version of the film that they in fact have not seen. (I also felt cheated out of my $8.50, since I did go specifically to see the European Version.)

All the people at the main desk of the museum had to say about it was, "We'd wondered why the film kept getting out 10 minutes early."

Oddly, I have experienced this problem with Brazil before: theaters very often claim to be showing the European, 142-minute Version, and then turn around and show the American, 131-minute Version. There is already enough confusion over the various versions of Brazil (there's also a TV version, and a fourth version that I know little about). Additionally, duping audiences into thinking that they've seen a "new print" and then showing an old, scratched-up print, will further serve to confuse them over the general quality of film prints.

If you ever have the opportunity to see the actual European Version of Brazil (and I don't know how you'll be able to verify this ahead of time), I highly recommend it. It has a couple of key additional scenes that had been abruptly edited out for the American Version for contractual running-length reasons, and the movie really falls short without these scenes. Additionally, there were a few moments edited out here and there for the same reason that also make much more sense being back in the movie. Also, I was truly blown away by the quality of the new print that I had seen. I had forgotten that a film could look as good as that.

(One of the simplest ways to tell which version you're seeing is by one of the two longest scenes added back in, both of which occur near the end after the bag is put over Sam's head. If immediately after the bag is put over his head, it is then removed to reveal Sam being in the vast interrogation chamber, then you are not seeing the European Version. There are other ways to tell whether you're seeing this version much earlier in the film, but they're hard for me to explain at this time. I think in one of the first scenes, where the family is sitting around sharing Christmas together, the little girl asks something about whether Santa Claus is going to come and visit, in the European Version.)

Never, ever see the TV version. It has been significantly reedited (without Terry Gilliam's consent) to change the feel of the movie in a way that is supposed to make the movie happier and more positive. It completely destroys the movie, and the editing is sloppy, as well.

There is an excellent web page describing the complicated history of the various versions of Brazil. I will link to it when I dig the address back up. There was also a book called The Battle of Brazil, which documented the lengthy battle between the director (Terry Gilliam) and the producer (Arnon Milchan) during and after the making of the movie.

As far as I have read, the version recently released in America on DVD is the European Version. I have not verified this first hand. It also cannot compare, image-quality wise, to a 35-mm showing on a big screen with a new print. (There are various small things throughout the film that you cannot read on a TV screen. And, of course, if the DVD version is not letterboxed (wide-screen format), that's another great reason not to see it.)

Please send me your comments. If I have helped clear anything up, if you were at one of the showings in Astoria, or if you know of an upcoming screening of the European Version, I would love to hear from you.