THE ‘BRAZIL’ NUT

I haven’t seen Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil,” whose uncertain fate was discussed in Film Clips by Jack Mathews (“The Battle to Release ‘Brazil,’ ” Nov. 5), but I know that the film is cynical, bleak, Orwellian--as well as insightful, brilliant and frequently hilarious.

I know these things because I’ve read the script. Question: Did MCA president Sid Sheinberg, who is holding up the film’s release and threatens to revise it heavily, ever bother to read the script before filming started?

Either he did not, or he did--but he capriciously and wastefully decided he would re-configure the film to his specifications after the money was spent on production, not before. There is no third alternative.

Nobody, not even Sheinberg, claims that Gilliam made a film that differs in any way from the one he promised. If Sheinberg’s quarrel is merely with the film’s being longer than 2 hours and 5 minutes, then he should simply slash a few minutes out of “Brazil” to make it fit its contractual Procrustean bed--not talk about altering the story’s ending (which is perfectly satisfying), its theme or its tone.

If “Brazil” is truly so uncommercial, then Sheinberg shouldn’t try to blame or punish others for his own bad business decision. He can’t claim he wasn’t warned, and he shows a lot of audacity when he affects surprise at the film he received. Sheinberg strikes me as the irresponsible party in this dispute.

MARTIN CANNON

Canoga Park