Clevercell Very disappointing...

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

BA_Harrison SPOILER: Nazi-themed thriller The Boys From Brazil, based on Ira Levin's bestselling novel, features a great central cast, most notably veterans James Mason, Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck. It also stars a young Steve 'Police Academy' Guttenberg, but fortunately his character gets killed off fairly quickly.Guttenberg plays Barry Kohler, who discovers the whereabouts of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele (Peck), who has been laying low in Paraguay, planning the rise of the Fourth Reich. Shortly before he is murdered for his trouble, Kohler contacts ageing Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Olivier) to convince him to investigate. As he searches for the 'Angel of Death', Lieberman uncovers a bizarre plot to clone Adolf Hitler.The idea of cloning Der Führer might seem rather implausible, even with today's scientific advances, but it sure makes for a fairly enjoyable potboiler, especially with the seasoned performers hamming it up for all they're worth. Olivier is a hoot as the Jewish German mit der terrible accent, Peck is ultra slimy (and no more convincing as a German than Olivier), and the always entertaining Mason makes for a great Nazi officer. Director Franklin J. Schaffner handles matters with a seriousness that only makes the film all the more amusing.While not a 'classic' thriller, it's hard not to recommend The Boys From Brazil: it's simply too silly to not like.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the brief appearance of lovely Linda Hayden as doomed English hottie Nancy.

brefane Expensively produced adaptation of Ira Levin's novel is a combination of Marathon Man and The Omen. The Boys from Brazil should have been intense and gripping, but it's weighed down by a convoluted plot spanning the globe with too many characters whose function is to provide exposition. Franklin J. Schaffner who often helmed large scale productions: Patton, Pappilion, The Planet of the Apes, Nicholas and Alexandria is a plodding director and this material needs a visionary. The film is watchable with some effective scenes and performances, and a sweeping score to carry it, but the sluggish pace makes it a long 2 hours. Jeremy Black is amusing as the boys from Brazil, Uta Hagen is memorably intense, and Olivier in role that provided him with his final Oscar nomination is basically repeating his Marathon Man performance. And though I enjoyed Peck playing the bad guy, George C. Scott who was originally cast might have provided a terrifying powerhouse of a villain that would have ignited this film.

Hitchcoc Ira Levin was really hot stuff in the 1970's. He had books like "Rosemary's Baby," "The Stepford Wives," and this, "The Boys from Brazil." This is social science fiction. Somehow cloning has been perfected and an aging Nazi creates a race of young men using DNA from Hitler. If that isn't going to spin your beanie, stop right there. So, people have speculated that Hitler and other Nazi leaders took off for South America after the war since many were never found. And, we all know that the Germans had some great scientists. So Levin extrapolates from that. Now we get a man who is hunting these guys played by Laurence Olivier (who was actually a Nazi in "Marathon Man"). The Hitler boys seem to be progressing nicely, being artistic and deadly. There is a lot of science and sociology that would dispute this happening. Remember, Hitler rose to power because of a shattered Germany. If you are totally willing to suspend disbelief, you may enjoy this. I never bought the premise.

grantss Good action-thriller. Very original and innovative script, based on the novel by Ira Levin.The cast is a prestigious one - Sir Laurence Olivier, Gregory Peck, James Mason - and they all put in great performances. Olivier got the Leading Actor Oscar nomination but Peck is the one to watch. He appears as the arch-villain of the piece, and is quite convincing. It is a rare occasion when Gregory Peck plays a villain, and he pulls it off superbly.Steve Guttenberg makes a brief appearance, in one of his earliest roles, but don't let that put you off.A reasonably entertaining and intriguing movie.