Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn’t be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That’s why we’ve rated them 1-5 on the patented “crunchy goodness” scale.
Title: Brazil
Date: 1985
Vitals: In a dystopian future where a vicious, surreal government bureaucracy justifies itself by claiming it fights terrorism, a humble public servant named Sam Lowry dreams of being a romantic hero. Under the influence of a good Samaritan trucker and a duct hacker, he slowly becomes a subversive – and discovers that the State will stop at nothing to punish those who disobey.
Famous names: Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Pryce, Michael Palin, Robert DeNiro
Crunchy goodness: 5
Design breakthrough: Directed by famed Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam, who has made a career out of dark, visually-arresting films, Brazil masterfully contrasts Sam’s trippy, gorgeous dreamscapes with the claustrophobic, information-industrial urban space where he lives.
Stunt casting: Gilliam’s Python pal Michael Palin plays a twitchy, unctuous torturer.
Spinoffs: 12 Monkeys, another Gilliam film, appears to take place in an even darker version of the world he invented for Brazil.
