Rating: 
Summary: Scary movie! Scary Book!
Review: Ira Levin is a completely underrated horror writer, which is too bad as the only horror writer who can equal him in tight plotting and outre situations is Dan Simmons. The movie _Boys from Brazil_ is based upon Levin's book of the same name and it is fantastic. The twist is utterly fantastic and rather convincing. The only part of this movie that grates somewhat is the fact that Neither Gregory Peck, as Josef Mengele or James Mason as another senior Nazi can do a convincing German accent. On the other hand listening to their voices in their scenes together and their masterful delivery of chilling lines makes up for this small discrepancy. Check out the book and then get the movie. You won't be disappointed with either.
Rating: 
Summary: "Zend in ZE Clones!", or, They Saved Hitler's DNA
Review: It's a dreary, rainy Sunday afternoon, Monday is lurking around the corner, and you're feeling a little blue. What to watch to lift those sodden spirits? If you're like me, you should immediately pop "The Boys from Brazil" into the hopper, sit back with a big bowl of extra-buttery popcorn, and you'll cheer up in no time. Director Franklin Shaffner pulls out all the stops in this delicious 1970's romp, uses all the tricks at his disposal to concoct and serve up a steaming, hardy serving of Nazi conspiracy mongering deep in modern day South America, and garnishes this well-seasoned little dish with ample amounts of the red sauce, killer attack Dobermans, a small army of sneering little clones, and gratuitous amounts of both Lawrence Olivier and Gregory Peck chewing up the scenery like starving men at an All-you-can-Eat Buffet. And what a tasty and well-stocked buffet it is: "The Boys from Brazil" gets to work immediately and plunges its arms deep into its tale of young Jewish Nazi-hunters (one of whom is played by Steve Guttenberg) on the trail of infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, now escaped to Paraguay and meeting with SS officers to brew up an insidious plot. Gregory Peck has the time of his career playing the wicked, moustachioed, banana-yellow tie & white sear-sucker suit-wearing Mengele, barking orders, rolling his R's, making midgets cower, yowling invective at an improbably ugly SS wife, and generally having great fun. And what high-cheese Nazi hunt would be complete without Sir Lawrence Olivier, who plays veteran Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman, who gets drawn into all the fun from semi-retirement in Vienna, Austria? Franklin Schaffner was a high-powered Hollywood director who had helmed some mega-hits and a few classics, including "Planet of the Apes", "Nicholas and Alexandra", and "Patton", and he plays it straight in "The Boys from Brazil", rounding out an impressive ensemble of serious actors with a Jerry Goldsmith score (solid, but sounding like something Strauss might have composed had he done his composing from the inside of an insane asylum). But it's all to no avail: much like "Dreamcatchers" did with Larry Kasdan, "Boys from Brazil" gets away from its director, zagging when it should zig, taking on a life of its own, and as a result the movie is a hoot and completely, and unintentionally, hysterical. For one thing, Olivier's performance is so over-the-top as to constitute self-parody---and yet it works! On the bad-guy side, despite the inclusion of staid veteran actors like James Mason and Walter Gotell (the elegant, understated German actor who played Soviet General Gogol in the bond films)ideally to serve as ballast on Peck, the man digs in to his role like a Frenchman with a slab of brie---you *roll* those R's, Gregory! With that in mind, what do you get with this little Wagner-goes-Samba potboiler? *See Gregory Peck stomping around in banana-yellow tie, white suit, and (occasionaly) booties, screaming profanity at underlings! See Peck get all mushy over fond memories of vivisection and genetic experimentation! *See Peck and Nazi-Hunter Olivier in a bare-fisted, no-holds-brawl that would make Mike Tyson blush, complete with neck clawing eyeball gouging, and arm-biting! *See a full-bodied Nazi celebration at a Paraguayan hotel, replete with drum-beating Hitler youth and Adolf Hitler banners! *See an exposition sequence that makes the DNA-splicing segment in "Jurassic Park" look nimble and deft! *See a sneering international army of snotty little clones (played to nerve-twitching perfection by child-actor Jeremy Black, born ahead of his time---a shame, too, he would have been a natural for the Annakin Skywalker role in "Star Wars: Episode 1") stomp around and bully their parents and anyone else who gets in the way! *And best of all, see Uta Hagen get her dander up and prove that Olivier is outgunned when it comes to chewing scenery! "The Boys from Brazil" is a hearty serving of Bavarian cheese with a side-order of cheese, but fortunately this little excursion is helmed by professionals: good pacing, good direction, good cinematography, competent acting, and a score that complements the action---and best of all, "Boys" delivers on its premise with both barrels, and isn't afraid to skimp on the red sauce. If you've ever wanted to see Gregory Peck rolling around on the floor with Laurence Olivier in a kind of 1970-s version of "Bumfights", this is the movie for you.
Rating:
Summary: MY TEACHERS ARE NOWHERE
Review: Jeremy Black is stunningly good in this film. James Mason kind of phones it in, but Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and Uta Hagen all go for broke. This is actually one of Olivier's best comic performances, despite the morbidity of the story. It's a stretch, but fascinating. Violence, intrigue, comedy, a little sex, killer Dobermans, and a universal menace--overall, a very satisfying thriller. Compared to a Tom Clancy film, this is a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A scary film with modern day ramifications
Review: Lawrence Oliver and Gregory Peck are chillingly adept as Nazi Hunter and Nazi in this surprisingly good 1978 Science-Fiction thriller. Oliver plays a determined Nazi Hunter based on Simon Wiesenthal who sets out to find the elusive Dr Mengele, portrayed by Peck who has been hiding out in South America since the end of the war. In his search Oliver makes a ghastly discovery: Mengele has been experimenting with genetics and has managed to clone several copies of Adolf Hitler, all now living in different countries growing up as supposedly ordinary boys with a deadly difference. Mengele's plan is to recreate Hitler's early in as many ways as possible, from placing the children with docile women married to aggressive and overbearing fathers, to the death of the boys fathers early on in the cloned Hitler's lives. Mengele hopes the environment he has woven for these boy-clones will be self-fulfilling and that they will follow in Hitler's footsteps, thus resurrecting the Nazi order of 30 years ago. What Mengele hasn't counted on though is the interference of a determined Nazi Hunter in the shape of Oliver, as well as Israel's deadly Secret Service in the guise of Mossad who have no intension of a Fourth Reich rising from the ashes of the Third. There are several disturbing scenes such as Mengele's attempt to genetically alter some South American Indians, and the Doberman dogs trained to kill on command. One of the best performances is given by the young cloned Hitler played to perfection by Jeremy Black whose vivid blue eyes are a constant reminder of who and what he could become. Mengele is ironically killed by one of the clones who finds out that the Doctor ordered the death of his father, and in a calculated act of compassion spares Oliver's life, and inadvertently saves his own because Oliver is the only person left alive who knows in where all over the world the cloned children are living. Oliver refuses to tell Mossad where the children are, because he knows they will be killed, thus bringing into the storyline the element of ethics where genetics is concerned. Despite heavy critical panning, "The Boys from Brazil" is both suspenseful and chilling and Oliver and Peck give credible performances as Jew and Nazi hell-bent on each other's destruction. Considering this film was made in a time when bad film were in abundance "The Boys from Brazil" is worth renting or buying if you have the chance. It probably is one of the first films to look at the concept of genetics with any real intelligence and for that alone you can forgive Peck his over dyed black hair, and Oliver's attempt at a German accent.
Rating:
Summary: Oddity...
Review: OK, I enjoyed this film. The plot is erie. The concepts of genetic engineering is looked at a from a moral view. Small dark haired boys raised in the right enviroment could make another Hitler? A strange film, but that is the plot. After the war hitler is cloned and surviving Nazi war Criminals are attempting to recreate their leader. it is supprisingly well done, but might seem a little slow and haokey to modern audiences (Orange blood? 70's clothes, etc.) but good stuff over al... and yes, that is a young Stve Gutenburg in the beguining.
Rating:
Summary: "Shut up, you ugly ...!"
Review: Probably the most unlikely line ever uttered by Gregory Peck, as the evil Dr. Mengele here in "The Boys from Brazil". In the scene, he had just assaulted one of the Nazis-in-hiding at their annual get-together, and the man's wife pleas for assistance. This very clip was shown on "The Tonight Show" when Peck was promoting the then-upcoming movie. When it was over, Johnny Carson had the strangest expression on his face--he couldn't believe what he had just seen, and that'll probably be your reaction too. Nonetheless, "The Boys from Brazil" manages to be quite entertaining as two Academy Award winners, Peck and Sir Laurence Olivier, fling caution to the wind and let loose the dogs of overacting. Larry is the Nazi hunter who gets word of Peck's awful plot to set 90-odd Hitler clones into action. Right now, they're all just 14, but it's time to murder all 90-odd fathers to replicate the circumstances of Hitler's youth. The movie builds to a face to face climax of all places in the living room of one of the Hitler kids' houses, and then really goes over the top with the inclusion of a real 1970s phenomena, killer Dobermans. All they needed was an overturned ocean liner or a blazing skyscraper, and this would have qualified as a true disaster movie. However, it's campy enough to be in a category all its own. By all means, check it out!
Rating:
Summary: "Shut up, you ugly ...!"
Review: Probably the most unlikely line ever uttered by Gregory Peck, as the evil Dr. Mengele here in "The Boys from Brazil". In the scene, he had just assaulted one of the Nazis-in-hiding at their annual get-together, and the man's wife pleas for assistance. This very clip was shown on "The Tonight Show" when Peck was promoting the then-upcoming movie. When it was over, Johnny Carson had the strangest expression on his face--he couldn't believe what he had just seen, and that'll probably be your reaction too. Nonetheless, "The Boys from Brazil" manages to be quite entertaining as two Academy Award winners, Peck and Sir Laurence Olivier, fling caution to the wind and let loose the dogs of overacting. Larry is the Nazi hunter who gets word of Peck's awful plot to set 90-odd Hitler clones into action. Right now, they're all just 14, but it's time to murder all 90-odd fathers to replicate the circumstances of Hitler's youth. The movie builds to a face to face climax of all places in the living room of one of the Hitler kids' houses, and then really goes over the top with the inclusion of a real 1970s phenomena, killer Dobermans. All they needed was an overturned ocean liner or a blazing skyscraper, and this would have qualified as a true disaster movie. However, it's campy enough to be in a category all its own. By all means, check it out!
Rating: 
Summary: The Boys Needed A Better Screenplay
Review: Sometimes movies made from books are good, other times they are not. This is one of those "nots". The movie takes too long to get the ball rolling, action-wise, and the ending seemed too quick, too contrived. It could have used a better screenplay.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Film , Shocking DVD
Review: Terrible picture quality and very poor sound ruin an otherwise excellent film - it looks like Artisan have sourced the DVD from a VHS tape picked up at a garage sale. The film is also in a 'matted' (ie letterbox) format rather than true anamorphic widescreen.
Rating:
Summary: Passionate
Review: The love secenes were especially moving. Watching two sensitive caring people commit themselves to lives of devotion and sacrifice for the benefit of children and the world was wonderfully refreshing. Long live the IV Reich !
(and George Bush!)
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