Review of The Boys from Brazil (1978) by Scott K — 17 Sep 2008

This film is a fictionalized story of Dr. Josef Mengele, played by Gregory Peck, and Ezra Lieberman, played by Laurence Olivier. Mengele was a real person who was an member of the Nazi SS. He conducted human experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz. Lieberman is a fictionalized character but Olivier based him on Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.

Peck and Olivier give excellent performances. Olivier was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance but lost to Warren Beatty. it's especially interesting to see Peck play against type. It shows his range as an actor to play Mengele at one end of the spectrum and Atticus Finch at the other.

Director Franklin J. Schaffner does a credible job of building tension throughout the film. The script is careful not to foreshadow too much.

This film was released in 1978 and the central plot device in the film would have been pure science fiction at that time. With the advances in science over the years, the plot is much more plausible today, making it all the more frightening. It shows what could be accomplished by those with a twisted agenda.