The Boys from Brazil (1978)

SPOILER: Nazi-themed thriller The Boys From Brazil, based on Ira Levin's bestselling novel, features a great central cast, most notably veterans James Mason, Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck. It also stars a young Steve 'Police Academy' Guttenberg, but fortunately his character gets killed off fairly quickly.Guttenberg plays Barry Kohler, who discovers the whereabouts of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele (Peck), who has been laying low in Paraguay, planning the rise of the Fourth Reich. Shortly before he is murdered for his trouble, Kohler contacts ageing Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Olivier) to convince him to investigate. As he searches for the 'Angel of Death', Lieberman uncovers a bizarre plot to clone Adolf Hitler.The idea of cloning Der Führer might seem rather implausible, even with today's scientific advances, but it sure makes for a fairly enjoyable potboiler, especially with the seasoned performers hamming it up for all they're worth. Olivier is a hoot as the Jewish German mit der terrible accent, Peck is ultra slimy (and no more convincing as a German than Olivier), and the always entertaining Mason makes for a great Nazi officer. Director Franklin J. Schaffner handles matters with a seriousness that only makes the film all the more amusing.While not a 'classic' thriller, it's hard not to recommend The Boys From Brazil: it's simply too silly to not like.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the brief appearance of lovely Linda Hayden as doomed English hottie Nancy.

Much like The Omen, Don't Look Now, The Exorcist, Halloween and The Wicker Man, Franklin J. Schaffner's The Boys From Brazil is one of the best thrillers from the 1970s. Yet it has never enjoyed the same critical kudos and audience awareness that the films mentioned above enjoy. I have never understood why, because in my opinion, this is one of the best films of it's era. I remember catching this film on TV late one night as a teenager, and I've never forgotten it. Re watching it, it's just as unsettling, tense and nerve-wrenching as when I was young, perhaps even more so, because now as an adult, having read about the real life Dr. Josef Mengele, the film has more resonance to me now. Franklin J. Schaffner really was a chameleon filmmaker, I was surprised to find that the same director of this film made Planet of the Apes and Patton. However on closer inspection, his earlier films do have a reoccurring style. Back in the 70s the possibility of cloning Hitler seemed implausible, but now the film is even more chilling because we are now capable of creating such monsters. Laurence Olivier is brilliant as the aging Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman, and Gregory Peck gives a chilling performance as Dr. Josef Mengele. The music is haunting, and the bleak cinematography adds to the overall feeling of dread and inevitability. The ending feels a bit rushed, but that's a minor complaint. Few films have stuck in my mind quite like Boys From Brazil. It is a must watch for genre fans and film buffs in general.

If Hollywood starts turning out movies this good again, then maybe they will solve their problems with declining ticket sales.This movie grabs you from the opening scenes and keeps grips on you until the end. It makes me want to dig up the original novel (Ira Levin, Rosemary's Baby and a long list of others) and read it.I watched this on DVD the first time, which is the way to go. I've only seen scratchy versions chopped up by TV commercials before now. The DVD version looks like it's been taken off the master prints. It does not have the scratches and other defects of a circulation print.I knocked off a star because of Gregory Peck's congenital inability to master foreign accents and some continuity errors. These minor flaws are easy to ignore. Hollywood should learn from it past successes, and this is one.

Laurence Olivier stars as Nazi Hunter Ezra Lieberman, who is contacted by a young student(Steve Guttenberg) that he has discovered the whereabouts of infamous Nazi criminal Josef Mengele(Gregory Peck); Ezra dismisses it as a crank call, but when the student turns up murdered, Ezra decides to investigate further, and discovers to his horror that Mengele is alive, and working on a sinister plan to resurrect the Fourth Reich! Olivier is magnificent as the Nazi Hunter, a well-rounded and sympathetic, thoughtful performance; sadly it comes in a film that defies logic to such an extent that it feels wasted. Gregory Peck as Mengele is too one-dimensional; he is portrayed as evil incarnate, and that's it, as if Peck didn't have to try very hard, as a result, his performance seems campy. Idea of recreating Hitler is ludicrous, though climax with the Dobermans is memorable, and brutally ironic.Based on Ira Levin's novel.