Review of The Boys from Brazil (1978) by Gordon C — 15 Oct 2008

People often like to speculate on what would happen if they were able to go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler before he came to power. The trouble with that idea is that, as everyone knows, when you go back in time, the first thing you have to do is kill your grandfather. It's a tradition, or an old charter, or something.

Of course, this means you cease to exist, and that explains why you've never met anybody who's gone back in time. It also means you can't do anything about Hitler.

But even if you could, it seems to me that the Nazis rise to power was more a result of socio-economic conditions than with the personality of one man. If Hitler hadn't been there, somebody else would have come forward to lead the movement.

Similarly, if Hitler were around now, no doubt he'd have a hard-core following, but I seriously doubt that he and his henchmen would be able to get back into power.

Which leads me to this film. And you probably thought I was just spouting irrelevant nonsense. Which, in the minds of some, might be a good description of the film itself.

Actually, skimming through some of the other reviews on this site, I see that some other people are suggesting that the cloning plot is more plausible nowadays, or is some kind of science fact. Hellooooo? No-one's even close to being able to clone a human being. And it sure as Hell won't happen in my lifetime.

But then, as Professor Farnsworth said in Futurama, "Everyone's always in favour of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a giant shark - oooooh - suddenly you've gone too far.".