I read this book decades ago, an excellent guide to the struggles Terry Gilliam faced to realize the vision he had for Brazil, up to and including his fight for final edit of wheat is arguably one of the most outstanding films of his career. There's also a documentary by the same name, I recommend looking it up after reading this book. ( )

Could also be titled The War of the Egos. The Battle of Brazil chronicles Terry Gilliam's fight to have his movie Brazil released by Universal without it first being recut by the studio. That he actually managed to do this is a testament to his passion for his art, but I can't help but think that if he was a little more diplomatic he might have gotten his way without declaring war on a major studio.

The best part of the book is the annotated screenplay. The movie makes more sense know that I've read it.

Or maybe the best part is contained in the epilogue, where Mathews writes that Sid Sheinberg, the studio exec who was Gilliam's arch enemy, is hard at work with a film that he personally launched and he takes great pride in called Jaws: The Revenge. ( )