Following the huge success of the director Danny Boyle’s opening proceedings of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, planners in Rio sought to achieve the same by using a established director from the world of film.

They settled on former Python and creator of the Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam.

“Though we thought of him because of his dystopian classic ‘Brazil’, we didn’t think he would take quite so much inspiration from it for this.”

The drab costuming and dour marching, combined with heavy use of dental imagery and torture during the fireworks display, was too much for some viewers.

“Terry has a very vivid imagination – probably too vivid in hindsight.”

On the bright side, organizers say it’s making everything else about the Rio games look much more upbeat by comparison.