The Boys from Brazil (1978)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Heywood Gould (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 October 1978 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

If they survive...will we?

Plot:

A Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Jungle | Civil Servant | Nudity | Conspiracy

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Dr. Josef Mengele
Laurence Olivier	...	Ezra Lieberman
James Mason	...	Eduard Seibert
Lilli Palmer	...	Esther Lieberman
Uta Hagen	...	Frieda Maloney
Steve Guttenberg	...	Barry Kohler (as Steven Guttenberg)
Denholm Elliott	...	Sidney Beynon
Rosemary Harris	...	Mrs. Doring
John Dehner	...	Henry Wheelock
John Rubinstein	...	David Bennett
Anne Meara	...	Mrs. Curry
Jeremy Black	...	Jack Curry / Simon Harrington / Erich Doring / Bobby Wheelock
Bruno Ganz	...	Professor Bruckner
Walter Gotell	...	Mundt
David Hurst	...	Strasser

Also Known As:

Boys from the Brussel (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

125 min | West Germany:100 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2002) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Australia:M | West Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | UK:18 | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Ateliers der Wien-Film G.m.b.H., Sievering, Vienna, Austria

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Gregory Peck and The Big Country (1958) co-star Charlton Heston both played the infamous Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele: Peck in The Boys from Brazil (1978), Heston in My Father, Rua Alguem 5555 (2003).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Sweden has many mountains and hydro power plants. But, these look no way near the Alpine landscape and the curved concrete structure which are supposed to be in central Sweden in this movie. The only Swedish thing in this scene is the Volvo, but the license plates look more Finnish than Swedish and the tax sticker on the rear plate is completely wrong.

Quotes:

Ezra Lieberman: You're not a guard now, madame! You are a prisoner! I may leave here today empty handed. But you... are not going anywhere.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "High Chaparall: (#2.4)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

WE'RE HOME AGAIN

Absorbing

Old veterans Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason team up in this well-constructed and absorbing thriller. The plot sounded so bizarre that I had to check the film out. Although there is some choppy editing and cartoonish acting, "The Boys from Brazil" makes for a good viewing.