The Boys from Brazil (1978)

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Laurence Olivier is Lieberman, a broke Nazi hunter being bothered by phone calls from a Barry Kohler (Steve Guttenberg). It seems Kohler has discovered a gathering of Nazis in Paraguay, including the elusive Dr. Josef Mengele (an unrecognizable Gregory Peck). Before Kohler can give Lieberman details, he is killed. Lieberman learns Mengele has ordered the worldwide slayings of over ninety civil servants who have turned sixty-five years old. The killings begin, and Lieberman soon discovers a link between all the men- they all adopted a little boy, who has piercing blue eyes, pale skin, and dark black hair. Lieberman sees a couple of these boys and assumes they are a multiple birth divided between international parents. Further investigation proves he could not be more wrong.

Franklin Schaffner directed from Ira Levin's novel, which seemed so far-fetched just a few years ago. There is a chilling scene where Mengele talks of Hitler living into the 1980's, the 1990's, and the year 2000, a year that seemed so far off in 1978, when this was released. Schaffner uses a lot of silent scenes to convey the plot, like when Mengele stands in a broken down building and remembers this was where he committed his most heinous experiment. Another chilling sequence involves the "experiments" that Mengele has been working on- scarred, abused people who now roam around his South American estate, always in frame during scenes taking place there. There are light moments, as well, that do not seem forced, but completely natural. Lieberman's run-in with his landlord is perfectly choreographed. Olivier was one of the greatest actors of all time, and proves it here. He is Lieberman, he does not simply play him. Peck is equally grand as Mengele, his scene at the farmhouse where he tries to pin a murder on Lieberman is brilliant. The cast has many recognizable names in supporting roles, all of them superb (including Guttenberg, who is quite good in the type of role he should have stuck with before becoming the goofball in those unwatchable "Police Academy" films). What seemed impossible decades ago plays plausible today.

Stats:
(1978) 125 min. (* * * * 1/2) out of five stars
-Directed by Franklin Schaffner
-Screenplay by Heywood Gould based on the novel by Ira Levin
-Cast: Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, Steve Guttenberg, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Uta Hagen, Denholm Elliott, Rosemary Harris, John Dehner, John Rubinstein, Anne Meara, Bruno Ganz, Walter Gotell, Michael Gough
(R)