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Passes the Bechdel test

Brazil

1985. Directed by Terry Gilliam, written by Terry Gilliam and Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    8 women characters. 5 of them speak.
  2. Yes 2. Who talk to each other
    In 1 scene out of 143.
  3. Yes 3. About something besides a man
    In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

Poster for Brazil

The film

Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a harried technocrat in a futuristic society that is needlessly convoluted and inefficient. He dreams of a life where he can fly away from technology and overpowering bureaucracy, and spend eternity with the woman of his dreams. While trying to rectify the wrongful arrest of one Harry Buttle (Brian Miller), Lowry meets the woman he is always chasing in his dreams, Jill Layton (Kim Greist). Meanwhile, the bureaucracy has fingered him responsible for a rash of terrorist bombings, and Sam and Jill's lives are put in danger.

Released
18 Dec 1985
Genres
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated
R
IMDb
7.8 / 10
Metascore
84 / 100
Awards
Nominated for 2 Oscars. 11 wins & 10 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Sam 353 lines, man
  2. Jill 93 lines, woman
  3. Jack 71 lines, man
  4. Kurtzman 37 lines, man
  5. Spoor 32 lines, man
  6. Mother 30 lines, woman
  7. Helpmann 29 lines, man
  8. Dowser 25 lines, man
  9. Mrs Terrain 21 lines, woman
  10. Tuttle 19 lines, man
Full cast, 43 people
  • Jonathan Pryce as Sam Lowry
  • Robert De Niro as Harry Tuttle
  • Katherine Helmond as Mrs. Ida Lowry
  • Ian Holm as Mr. Kurtzmann
  • Bob Hoskins as Spoor
  • Michael Palin as Jack Lint
  • Ian Richardson as Mr. Warrenn
  • Peter Vaughan as Mr. Helpmann
  • Kim Greist as Jill Layton
  • Jim Broadbent as Dr. Jaffe
  • Barbara Hicks as Mrs. Alma Terrain
  • Charles McKeown as Lime
  • Derrick O'Connor as Dowser
  • Kathryn Pogson as Shirley
  • Bryan Pringle as Spiro
  • Sheila Reid as Mrs. Buttle
  • John Flanagan as T.V. Interviewer / Salesman
  • Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Priest
  • John Pierce Jones as Basement Guard
  • Nigel Planer as Charlie--Dept. of Works
  • Terence Bayler as T.V. Commercial Presenter
  • Gorden Kaye as M.O.I. Lobby Porter
  • Jack Purvis as Dr. Chapman
  • Howard Lew Lewis as Black Maria Guard
  • Ray Cooper as Technician
  • Brian Miller as Mr. Buttle
  • Simon Jones as Arrest Official
  • Derek Deadman as Bill - Dept. of Works
  • Bill Wallis as Bespectacled Lurker
  • Myrtle Devenish as Typist in Jack's Office
  • Ann Way as Old Lady with Dog
  • Don Henderson as First 'Black Maria' Guard
  • Oscar Quitak as Interview Official
  • Harold Innocent as Interview Official
  • John Grillo as Interview Official
  • Ralph Nossek as Interview Official
  • David Gant as Interview Official
  • James Coyle as Interview Official
  • Patrick Connor as Cell Guard
  • Elizabeth Spender as Alison / 'Barbara' Lint
  • Russell Keith Grant as Young Gallant at Funeral
  • Terry Gilliam as Smoking Man (uncredited)
  • Winston Dennis as Samurai Warrior

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 143

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 309
4 to 607
7 to 951
10 to 12611
13 to 1503
16 to 18539
19 to 214035
22 to 24085
25 to 27036
28 to 3001
31 to 33612
34 to 3601
37 to 39326
40 to 42028
43 to 4500
46 to 481841
49 to 51022
52 to 54024
55 to 5700
58 to 6019
61 to 63488
64 to 6618
67 to 6943
70 to 7248
73 to 751419
76 to 7821
79 to 8133
82 to 841918
85 to 8710
88 to 9032
91 to 9300
94 to 9654
97 to 991728
100 to 102012
103 to 10516
106 to 108621
109 to 11169
112 to 11408
115 to 11735
118 to 120240
121 to 123017
124 to 12600
127 to 12900
130 to 13227
133 to 13500
136 to 13800
139 to 14101
142 to 14302

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MRS TERRAIN: Acid on the other hand, can be used for such wonderfully subtle shading, such delicate nuances - just like a Rembrant etching ... and it's s… SHIRLEY: Salt?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 21 are women's.

181 lines from women, 700 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

8 women and 35 men in the cast. 5 women and 28 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 17 of 918. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 139 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 16% of the words (1,448), men 84% (7,662). Women have 21% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 20% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Terry Gilliam (man)
Written by
Tom Stoppard (man), Terry Gilliam (man), Charles McKeown (man)
Produced by
Arnon Milchan (man)
Shot by
Roger Pratt (man)
Edited by
Julian Doyle (man)
Music by
Michael Kamen (man)
Production design by
Norman Garwood (man)
Costumes by
James Acheson (man)
Cast by
Irene Lamb (woman), Margery Simkin (woman)

The crew, department by department

  • Costume & Make-Up

    3 women, 1 men, 4 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 3 men, 3 not listed

  • Art

    1 women, 5 men, 1 not listed

  • Other crew

    0 women, 3 men, 1 not listed

  • Sound

    0 women, 4 men

  • Camera

    0 women, 2 men, 1 not listed

  • Lighting

    0 women, 3 men

  • Writing

    0 women, 3 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit G: how old the stars were

Women: 41 on average. Men: 45 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Kim Greist 26, Katherine Helmond 55

Men

Jim Broadbent 35, Jonathan Pryce 37, Robert De Niro 41, Michael Palin 41, Bob Hoskins 42, Ian Richardson 50, Ian Holm 53, Peter Vaughan 61

Exhibit H: the money

It made 66% of what it cost.

Budget
$15 million
Box office
$10 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 143 scenes and 918 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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