Terry Gilliam faced a problem in 1985: Although it had been released without a hitch by distributors outside the US, his final cut of
Brazil was deemed unfit for release in North America by executives at
Universal. Faced with Gilliam's stern refusal to re-edit his work and craft a more commercial movie as proposed, a team at Universal — headed by
Sidney Sheinberg — took on the job themselves and began to reshape the film. In October, with hands tied, Gilliam went public, and responded by way of a very brief open letter to Sheinberg. It was printed as a full-page ad in
Variety and can be seen below.
Gilliam's cut of Brazil went underground and, despite being unreleased, was quickly awarded Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Director by the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association. An official release soon followed.
Transcript follows. Image courtesy of
Moving Image Source. Huge thanks to both
@SuitablyManic and
@Criterion.
Transcript
Dear Sid Sheinberg
When are you going to release my film, 'BRAZIL'?
Terry Gilliam
