The other difference between the two worlds - Orwell's and the one created here by director and co-writer Terry Gilliam - is that Gilliam apparently has had no financial restraints. Although "Brazil" has had a checkered history since it was made (for a long time, Universal Pictures seemed unwilling to release it), there was a lot of money available to make it. The movie is awash in elaborate special effects, sensational sets, apocalyptic scenes of destruction and a general lack of discipline. It's as if Gilliam sat down and wrote out all of his fantasies, heedless of production difficulties, and then they were filmed - this time, heedless of sense.
The movie is very hard to follow. I have seen it twice, and am still not sure exactly who all the characters are, or how they fit.
Perhaps it is not supposed to be clear; perhaps the movie's air of confusion is part of its paranoid vision. There are individual moments that create sharp images (shock troops drilling through a ceiling, De Niro wrestling with the almost obscene wiring and tubing inside a wall, the movie's obsession with bizarre duct work), but there seems to be no sure hand at the controls.
The best scene in the movie is one of the simplest, as Sam moves into half an office and finds himself engaged in a tug-of-war over his desk with the man through the wall. I was reminded of a Chaplin film, "Modern Times," and reminded, too, that in Chaplin economy and simplicity were virtues,...
Read moreEstádio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha, also known as Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Estádio Nacional de Brasília, Arena Mané Garrincha or simply Mané Garrincha, is a football stadium and multipurpose arena, located at the Brasília, in the Distrito Federal. The stadium is one of several structures that make up the Poliesportivo Ayrton Senna Complex, which also includes the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium and Nelson Piquet International Autodrome., among others. Opened in 1974, the stadium had a total capacity of 45,200 people. After the reconstruction of 2010 – 2013, the capacity was increased to 72,788 people, making it the second-largest stadium in Brazil after Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro and one of the largest in South America.
It was re-inaugurated on May 18, 2013 following renovations completed in preparation for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup. The original architect was Ícaro de Castro Mello. The project was completed at a cost of US$900 million, against an original budget of US$300 million, making the stadium the third-most expensive football stadium in the world after England's Wembley Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha is owned by the Department of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation of Distrito Federal. The name is a homage to the football legend Mané Garrincha, who won the 1958 and 1962 World Cup with the Brazil...
Read moreThe stadium is really incredible and is a good example of an outstanding landmark built after 2010's. It looks a bit archaic outside, considering we're talking about one of the capitals of modern architecture in the world (Brasília), but it's pretty cool. It's a shame that very few football matches happen in this stadium since the teams that play home matches at Estádio Nacional play at the bottom of the lower league, therefore the stadium receives no games during several months. It sometimes receives Série A matches from bigger clubs from the Southeast Brazil, but in fact it's more used for anything (concerts) other than football. I had the chance to go there twice, one of them during 2014 World Cup. It's very massive. I hope more matches happen in this stadium, we should support the Brasília's clubs to rise again inside the Brazilian football system for...
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