The Boys from Brazil (1978)

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 | Nazi Hunter | Paraguay | Mengele | SS

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
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Lofquist
Michael Gough	...	Mr. Harrington
Joachim Hansen	...	Fassler
Sky du Mont	...	Hessen (as Guy Dumont)
Carl Duering	...	Trausteiner
Linda Hayden	...	Nancy
Richard Marner	...	Doring
Georg Marischka	...	Gunther
Günter Meisner	...	Farnbach
Prunella Scales	...	Mrs. Harrington
Raul Faustino Saldanha	...	Ismael
Jürgen Andersen	...	Kleist (as Jurgen Anderson)
Mervyn Nelson	...	Stroop
David Brandon	...	Schmidt
Monica Gearson	...	Gertrud
Wolf Kahler	...	Schwimmer
Gerti Gordon	...	Berthe

Directed by
Franklin J. Schaffner

Writing credits
Ira Levin		(novel)
Heywood Gould		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Fryer	....	executive producer
Stanley O'Toole	....	producer
Martin Richards	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Henri Decaë		(director of photography) (as Henri Decae)

Film Editing by
Robert Swink		(as Robert E. Swink)

Casting by
Alixe Gordin

Production Design by
Gil Parrondo

Art Direction by
Peter Lamont

Set Decoration by
Vernon Dixon

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Ronnie Cogan	....	hair stylist
Patrick Grant	....	hair stylist
Bill Lodge	....	makeup artist
Christopher Tucker	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ron Carr	....	production supervisor
Dieter Meyer	....	production manager: Austria

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Terence Churcher	....	second assistant director (as Terry Churcher)
Paul Esposito	....	assistant director: USA
Mike Jordan	....	assistant director: USA
José López Rodero	....	first assistant director (as Jose Lopez Rodero)
João Severino	....	assistant director: Portugal
Marijan David Vajda	....	second assistant director: Austria (as Marijan Vajda)

Art Department
Stephen Hendrickson	....	art director: USA (as Steve Hendrickson)
Michael Murchan	....	construction manager
Thomas Ricabona	....	assistant art director: Austria
Richard Mccarthy	....	plasterer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Derek Ball	....	sound recordist
Bill Barringer	....	sound assistant
Don J. Bassman	....	supervising sound mixer (as Don Bassman)
William Hartman	....	sound editor
Godfrey Marks	....	dialogue editor
Ken Nightingall	....	boom operator
Richard Overton	....	sound re-recording mixer
Edward Rossi	....	sound editor
Richard Sperber	....	sound editor
Richard Weaver	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Stunts
Del Baker	....	stunts
Dinny Powell	....	stunts
Eddie Powell	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Bert Cann	....	still photographer
Jack Coggins	....	gaffer
Colin Davidson	....	assistant camera
James Devis	....	camera operator (as Jimmy Devis)
Michael Ginsburg	....	still photographer: USA
Ted H. Hauser	....	assistant camera: USA (as Theodore Hauser)
Dewi Humphries	....	assistant camera
Ed Irvins	....	assistant camera: USA
Bob Puglisi	....	camera operator: USA

Casting Department
Renate Arbes	....	casting: Vienna
Maude Spector	....	casting: London

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rebecca Breed	....	wardrobe mistress
Richard Pointing	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Jenny Schaffner	....	apprentice editor
Dennis Wooley	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	music editor (as Len Engel)
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Gerhard Rupp	....	transportation manager (uncredited)

Other crew
Arie Bohrer	....	location manager: Austria
Derek Bromhall	....	technical advisor (as Dr. Derek Bromhall)
Pamela Carlton	....	continuity
Tony Cerbone	....	location manager: USA
Hunt Downs	....	publicist
Ann Ford	....	assistant to producer
Lew Grade	....	presenter (as Sir Lew Grade)
Peter Lancaster	....	production accountant
Marcella Markham	....	accent coach
Frederick Muller	....	location manager: Portugal (as Frederico Muller)
Francis Nugent	....	production assistant: USA
Tish Oulman	....	production assistant: Portugal
Cecilia Peck	....	publicity assistant
Fernando Pessa	....	location liaison: Portugal
Fernando Pessa	....	public relations: Portugal
Simone Pessa	....	location liaison: Portugal
Simone Pessa	....	public relations: Portugal
David Quintans	....	production assistant: Portugal
Mary Richards	....	assistant to producer
John Sargent	....	production accountant
Ilse Schwarzwald	....	production secretary: Austria
Jean Walter	....	production secretary
Scott Wodehouse	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Lew Grade (presents) (as Sir Lew Grade)
• Producers Circle (as A Producer Circle Production)
• Incorporated Television Company (ITC) (from) (as ITC Entertainment)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tuschinski Film Distribution (1978) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS) (Pan and scan for ITC Entertainment)
• Ascot Filmverleih (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• VCL Video (1986) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Media Transfer International (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Scanbox Entertainment (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Filmax Home Video (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Elephant Films (2004) (France) (all media)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• LW Editora (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Maple Pictures (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• Carlton (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• ITV DVD (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Adams Filmi (1979) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Artisan Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• CBS / Fox Video (1986) (Greece) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (laserdisc)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Fox Video (VHS)
• Fox Video (laserdisc)
• Future Film (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan for Twentieth Century Fox)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (video)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1984) (2001) (Finland) (TV)
• Showtime (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Top Tape (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1996) (1998) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Anvil Film and Records Group  music recorded at
• Elstree Film & Television Studios  movie studio
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition)
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Panavision  photographic equipment by (as Panavision®)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Studios, Hollywood  rerecorded at

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 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Australia:M | West Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Peru:14 | Argentina:18 (original rating) | Finland:K-18 (1979) | France:-16 | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) (2000) | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Lew Grade

Trivia:

George C. Scott was cast as Mengele but pulled out before principal photography began.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the end of the film, Lieberman is in the hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but there is an English-style TV on the wall.

Quotes:

Mrs. Doring:Would you like me to tell you who really killed him? God.To set free a stupid little farm girl after twenty-two years of unhappiness. Do Nazis answer prayers Herr Lieberman? No, that is God's business and I have thanked Him every night since He pushed Emil under that car. He could have done it sooner, but I thank Him anyway.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Blame It on Lisa (#13.15)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

The Blue Danube

Engaging mystery with impressive performances

Young Nazi-hunter Barry Kohler (Steve Guttenberg) is tracking war criminals in Paraguay when he discovers that the old Nazis seem to be plotting something big. Kohler's fears are confirmed when the Nazis' guest of honor arrives: the infamous concentration camp scientist Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck). Mengele order his followers to carry out the murders of over 90 men, all of whom are 65-year-old civil servants, none of whom are Jews.

Kohler phones his idol, Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), with a report of what he's uncovered. Lieberman has fallen on hard times and lives in a leaky apartment where he cannot pay the rent. He's spent his life following every lead about Nazi war criminals and is tired of the chase. However, when Kohler's call (and his life) are abruptly cut short, Lieberman knows he must act.

He begins to investigate the bizarre plot. Why should Mengele want to kill these men who seem entirely unconnected to each other or the war? Why 65-year-olds? Why civil servants? Sadly many of the blurbs about this movie give away the solution to this mystery and the meaning of the title, but the mystery is much more engaging if the viewer unravels it along with Lieberman.

Olivier is fantastic in his role! He always put as much effort into his roles in genre films like this one, "Marathon Man," and "Dracula" as he devoted to Shakespeare, and it shows. He is thoroughly convincing as an elderly German Jew. Gregory Peck is also magnificent; he radiates pure evil. The top-notch supporting cast includes James Mason and Denholm Elliott. (So what's Steve Guttenberg doing in this movie?)