The Boys From Brazil

There are certain films that fascinate me, movies I would go as far as to say that I love. These movies generally get re-released time after time, after time; and me like the silly fool I am have to go out and purchase it just in case I’m missing something, or because I prefer the packaging, one such movie is The Boys From Brazil and the recent Blueray release proved too much of a temptation to let me pass by.

 

Beginning in Paraguay in 1978 Barry Kohler (Steve Guttenberg) an American Jew obsessed with the Second World War has arrived in the small South American country, acting on a tip off. Concerned with the heavy influx of Nazi war criminals arriving in the country Kohler worries about the possibilities of a new uprising. When Eduard Seibert (James Mason) arrives, he is convinced that things are going to turn very nasty; Seibert during the war went by the nickname “The Executioner”. Reaching out to famous Jewish Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier) for help, Lieberman dismisses Kohler as another kid on a wild goose chase. The next discovery however is far more distressing, as more Nazi’s pour into the country there is a final shocking arrival in the form of Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck), Hitler’s dubious surgeon. Having bugged an imperial looking chateau Kohler discovers that there is a sinister plan to assassinate ninety four 65 year old men, but for what means?

 

Why I enjoy The Boys From Brazil so much is all down to the cleverness of the storyline, this is very much the sort of film that starts one way and ends with something very different. Based on the novel by Ira Levin (The Stepford Wives, Rosemary’s Baby, Sliver) and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Papillion, Patton, Planet Of The Apes) Boys From Brazil is a strange synergy of war movie, tense thriller, and very real horror, it’s this alternating  genre turning that makes this an all-round winner. While not necessarily being the most action packed of movies a high body count and a series of rather striking images and situations burn a hole in your head and causes you to believe you have seen something far harsher than you actually had.

 

Boys From Brazil sort of marked the end of big British filmmaking, not long after Lew Grade’s movie company ceased making movies, and this is without a doubt a very worthwhile swansong. Not only does the movie have an impressive cast that also includes Denholm Elliot, Lilli Palmer, Michael Gough, Linda Hayden and Prunella Scales; but also offers some pretty impressive location filming which included Portugal, Austria, America and Great Briton. In between this the effects are pretty impressive, and the musical score by the late great Jerry Goldsmith is enough to send a pretty big shiver down your spine.

 

I won’t ruin the story by getting into the heart of what it’s all about, but I will say that like numerous other Ira Levin pieces of work it was way beyond its time in respect of ideas, the main focus of the movie surrounding something incredibly controversial now, as well as the ethical nature of it. I must say when I first saw the movie nearly 30 years ago, I was really struck by the story, and a little shocked by the revelation, while seeming incredibly farfetched back then it’s strangely obvious now days that someone would try such a thing.

 

There are two moments in the film that critics applaud, a rather sinister series of flashbacks that Mengele sees in his head while exploring an old derelict hospital, combined with a haunting Goldsmith score being the first and for me the most powerful image of the film. The second involves the final face of with Lieberman and Mengele involving a gang of hungry Rottweiler’s, while not so haunting is by far the most known scene of the movie.

 

Of our cast Gregory Peck performs rather well as the demented and devoted follower, looking more Charlie Chan than Nazi war criminal he wears his white suit with pride and has the most wonderful punch up with one of his assassins, while laying the boot into his wife with his tongue. Never much of an Olivier fan, I do really enjoy seeing the great actor here, this is the image I have in my head when I hear the name Laurence Olivier, an incredibly frail old man with a steel like resolve. Steve Guttenberg, on the cusp of his A-List status of the 80’s shows a little comedy that we are all familiar with but also at the same time giving his most serious and tragic role. But it’s the understated James Mason that kind of rules the day, laid back as Hitler’s faithful Executioner he emerges the strongest of all the cast in both performance and character, like Olivier this is how I always see Mason its his finest role.

 

So what difference does our latest technological revolution have on the film? I kind of had my doubts about this one, because in fairness older movies do not normally suit the wonder of Blueray previous discs of pre 80’s movies left me feeling like I had been done, literally getting a good DVD image for the extra five pounds on top of a normal standard DVD release.  One thing you don’t win on is value of content the only additional feature on the extra 30 odd gigabytes of storage is a theatrical trailer. There are also some subtitles, but to be honest with you lots of the words are missed out. What I cannot grumble about however is the beautifully rich image the movie rewards you with, from vibrant colours and a sharpness of image that really makes the movie look like it was made yesterday, not thirty years ago. The sound in fairness however is not much different to the last DVD release. The fact that special features are thin on the ground I guess could explain why the RRP of this DVD is just £14.99.

 

If you have not seen The Boys From Brazil, there has never been a better time (ordinary DVD is just around the £3 mark), in order to preserve the mystery of the movie I have had to keep my review a little thin on the ground, this is one of those movies that if you don’t really know what’s coming you’ll get the best reward.