Terry Gilliam

For the past decade, my favorite film of Gilliam's has been this one. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" undoubtable owes no small debt to its author either. But, to have brought Thompson's novel to life is no small feat. Whether you credit Gilliam or his D.O.P. the way the camera moves in this scene, it actually made me feel like I was tripping when I saw it in the movie theater. This film has the ability to both make want to never drop acid, but at the same time I'm capitivated to the narrative, covetious, envious of these two articluate orangutans. The way they hurl themselves head first towards adventure towards danger even against their own better judgement. Yes, its self destructive, but at the same time it is so capitvating, liberating.


Dsytopian visions are becoming pretty hum drum. Especially all the stuff that comes out of the hollywood system as of late. Here we have the requiste elements of the dystopian vision but recombined and approached in such a novel method that this film quite literally can not be duplicated. Comparisons to Brave New World or 1984 fail to convay the value and scope of this story. No one else in any artistic form could make this sort of dystopian tale. Despite the desolation and dread in this world the characters live in there is a hope and a whimsy that survives in full sincerity through most of the picture. The razor's edge of satire and characature are walked with such confidence and quality.

I first saw this film on UHF tv (remember UHF?). It was the "Hollywood" ending. I was a pre-teen and was of course mesmerized by the story telling and in my own way so satisfied, so fulfilled by the Hollywood ending. To have seen Sam triumphant in the endgave me such a lift. Of course living on the edge of the Florida everglades in the eighties on dirt roads, I had no idea about Gilliam's struggles with Hollywood and that I had not seen the actual film as it was intented. Years later while in either my last year of middle school or my first year of high school, isaw brazil again (probably on VHS) I knew that there were 2 different cuts of the picture, but I had no idea how different. I was devastated when I saw Gilliam's intented ending. Strangely enough, I wouldn't trade my approach to this film for any other way of seeing it. The only thing more powerful than Gilliam's vision was being able to compare it to the candy coated Hollywood ending I intitally expected. Sitting here at the computer, remembering this now, I'm starting to comprehend how much power these episodes with this picture my have had on the direction of my artistic expression and my conception of obstacles I have faced. My attraction to darker subject matter, toward tragedy...All of these had to have been shaped in some significant way by Gilliam and by my precieved metamorphosis of Brazil. I wonder how many others have seen the film this same way at that same time in their lives.