The Boys from Brazil (1978)
April 26, 2016 6:39 PM - Subscribe

A Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich, culminating in a showdown in, of all places, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Trailers from Hell: ’m not entirely sure what we were expecting, but I know that when my best friend and I skipped our college classes to see The Boys from Brazil (1978) for the first time, we were somewhat nonplussed at how tacky the whole thing seemed to be, and how carelessly over-the-top were the performances of Laurence Olivier, as Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman, loosely based on real-life counterpart Simon Wiesenthal, and Gregory Peck, wooden and lacquered to the hilt as Dr. Josef Mengele, on the loose with a plan to clone 94 copies of Adolf Hitler from the original’s DNA. Yet I seem to recall that a good portion of the reviews I read at the time (Pauline Kael’s being a notable exception) were at the very least respectful of its origins as a well-reviewed best-seller written by Ira Levin, and were certainly not as fazed by its obvious histrionic flaws. How could you watch this big-budget production, with its slickly packaged international cast, loony aplomb and utter absence of style and élan, and not be even slightly amazed at how cracked it all was?

Yet my friend and I went back to see the movie at least one more time in the theater, drawn to its treasure trove of found humor and odd bits of business. By the time The Boys from Brazil premiered on Showtime the following year, where it ran several times a week, it had entered our pantheon of personal favorites, bits of dialogue and stiff line readings working their way into the code of our everyday conversation—if I asked something of my pal, my request might be nonsensically greeted by Lieberman’s indignant response to an arrogant ex-prison camp official: “You are not a guard now, madam! You are a prisoner!”

Roger Ebert Interviews James Mason

The first Boys From Brazil: Nazi graveyard discovered deep in the Amazon rainforest

Full Movie on YouTube

Jerry Goldsmith: Suite from The Boys From Brazil
posted by MoonOrb (11 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is a great movie to watch as a double feature if you follow it with Marathon Man.
posted by valkane at 2:56 AM on April 27, 2016


The novel is super-good, one of Levin's best. (And that's a high bar!) The film is not nearly as bad as Trailers From Hell would have it, but I wouldn't call it great.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:22 AM on April 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


My brother and I rewatched this recently, on a Levin kick, and I had forgotten how bad Olivier is. He's way overperforming, turning Lieberman into some kind of schticky vaudeville mugging caricature.

Peck I feel is just miscast and has no hope of rescue. Like, while I think Olivier could have done a better job if he'd turned down the hambone about eight clicks, I don't think there's any way Peck could have managed a Mengele. It's hard for me to imagine the original casting process, where they went, "Yes! Perfect!"

But you know who is super-terrible in this movie and who I'd forgotten all about? Steve Guttenberg. I know people have gotten used to him, and even have some kind of (to my mind inexplicable) fondness for him these days, possibly based on the fact that he's been part of the Hollywood furniture for so long now. But in this movie he is just plain TERRIBLE. I watched with my mouth open, asking, "Who is he related to, to get that part and not be fired instantly after day 1?"
posted by theatro at 8:13 AM on April 27, 2016


"Who is he related to, to get that part and not be fired instantly after day 1?"

In fairness, he is almost immediately garroted.
posted by maxsparber at 8:58 AM on April 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


Maybe Peck as Mengele was intended as a bit of stunt-casting, a la Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West? (Which is not to denigrate Fonda's excellent performance in the latter, mind you.)
posted by tobascodagama at 9:34 AM on April 27, 2016


maxsparber, not immediately enough for me! Seriously, he's the engine of the initial part of the film, where we're supposed to get hooked. Bleah.

tobascodagama, that's an interesting thought! Although in the case of Fonda, I tend to think of that as pulling out and using an underlying chilliness that was always there, but then I often find him chillier than other people do. Maybe Peck's burden is just a hundred times heavier because he's having to try a German accent, and I would never have called him a verbal chameleon.
posted by theatro at 12:07 PM on April 27, 2016


But you know who is super-terrible in this movie and who I'd forgotten all about? Steve Guttenberg. I know people have gotten used to him, and even have some kind of (to my mind inexplicable) fondness for him these days, possibly based on the fact that he's been part of the Hollywood furniture for so long now. But in this movie he is just plain TERRIBLE. I watched with my mouth open, asking, "Who is he related to, to get that part and not be fired instantly after day 1?"

Really makes you wonder who makes Steve Guttenberg a star.
posted by MoonOrb at 12:42 PM on April 27, 2016 [5 favorites]


Steve Guttenberg is a star because he is great. Just like jets feel great on your balls.
posted by maxsparber at 2:38 PM on April 27, 2016


Uh...no, thanks?
posted by theatro at 5:31 PM on April 27, 2016


This movie is invaluable for the Steve Guttenberg-Laurence Olivier connection in Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Between them they've received four Academy Awards!
posted by kirkaracha at 7:31 PM on April 28, 2016


I'd never thought of that. Very handy to have, then, for long road trips! It's all worth it now.

Also, you know who has nothing to apologize for in this movie? James Mason. Either he was born to play a seedy, louche, weary Nazi, or he just can't help but bring his A-Game, or both.

I read this 1978 interview with him on rogerebert.com, and he indicates that he was hoping for either of the leading roles. Oh my god, can you imagine? I don't know if I can quite see him as Lieberman, I suppose I just get too much banked-sinisterness from his star persona--but I would have LOVED to see him as Mengele.
posted by theatro at 7:38 AM on April 29, 2016


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