Robert De Niro wants to play Jack, but Terry Gilliam has agreed to give this role to Mike Palin. De Niro still wanted to be included in the movie, so he became Tuttle.
The role of Jonathan Press, Sam, had already taken shape in his mind many years ago. He was originally set to be around 25 years old (when Gilliam was writing the script, Price was in his early 30s). After many years in prison, Gilliam changed the age of the role to A little more than 35 years old, at this time Price is exactly 37 years old.
It is said that the director Terry Gilliam disliked Kim Grester's performance very much, and as a result, many of her scenes were drastically cut off. In some of these places, it was replaced by a studio version of West German Schienborg’s "Love Conquer All".
Regarding the ending of the film, Gilliam had a fierce dispute with the film producer. The producer hopes that the film will have a "Hollywood Reunion" ending, deleting (among other things) the final transformation and the sharp dialogue that reveals Jill's fate. These changes were added to the movie. This "violent" version has been shown on American television more than once. Gilliam threatened to deny the movie, and finally all the versions he saw in theaters and videotapes were the versions he insisted on (although the lines about Jill were still omitted from the American theaters).
The young Mrs. Rory is played by Kim Grace and Catherine Hemond.
Director cameo: (Terry Gilliam) The man who smoked at Shangri-La Castle hits Sam.
Battelle’s youngest daughter standing outside Shangri-La Castle is actually Terry Gilliam’s daughter Holly.
During the dispute between him and the film company, Terry Gilliam asked for a full-page advertisement that was different from day to day, which cost $15,000 at the time. He made the paper like a funeral invitation, and it said: "Dear Sid Schienborg, when will you release my movie? Signature: Terry Gilliam."
All the background music is a variation on the main melody song "Brazil".
Terry Gilliam and his colleagues were very excited when they first worked with Robert De Niro. As time progressed, they found that De Niro needed to "research" everything and pay too much attention to details, and their dissatisfaction gradually increased to the point that he "wanted to strangle him."
When Sam came to see Mrs. Battelle's apartment, she told a long monologue, during which she did not blink.
