Ces garçons qui venaient du Brésil

The title may seem a little odd at first, you may stumble upon it expecting to see muscled guys from Sao Paulo in swimming trunks...

I jest of course, this is an excellent film, it starts off what you'd expect from a Nazi hunger film, but as it develops it gets darker and darker, the story becomes apparent after a while, you're able to put the jigsaw pieces together, and see the whole picture.

It's well paced, dramatic, and packed with action, some of it is actually pretty violent, the conclusion even now is really rather shocking.

Peck and Olivier shine through, Peck in particular the acting is outstanding, I couldn't believe just how many famous faces kept on popping up, Prunella Scales, Michael Gough, all small parts, but clearly wanted to be a part of it.

No wonder it was nominated for three Oscars. 9/10.

Mixing real names and real past with unreal present and unreal future can be intriguing and fresh, but can easily become a "porridge" of this and that with ambivalent elements - if not deliberately mocked or twisted as e.g. Quentin Tarantino does. Franklin J. Schaffner, however, has chosen to create a warning movie with "modest" sci-fi tinting, and combination of painful past with scientific opportunities is often odd, at times even doltish. The almost 2-hour-length contained some protracted and unnecessary scenes as well.

Luckily, there are at least good actors even in supporting roles, and Gregory Peck as Dr. Josef Mengele and Laurence Olivier as Ezra Lieberman are pleasant to follow both together and separately. Besides, different venues, both nature and dwellings, provide the movie additional value and opportunity to compare different attitudes and lifestyles.

Thus, a decent creation, but hardly for those willing to keep real historical persons and their imaginary deeds separate.

Young Nazi-hunter Barry Kohler (Steve Guttenberg) is tracking war criminals in Paraguay when he discovers that the old Nazis seem to be plotting something big. Kohler's fears are confirmed when the Nazis' guest of honor arrives: the infamous concentration camp scientist Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck). Mengele order his followers to carry out the murders of over 90 men, all of whom are 65-year-old civil servants, none of whom are Jews.

Kohler phones his idol, Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier), with a report of what he's uncovered. Lieberman has fallen on hard times and lives in a leaky apartment where he cannot pay the rent. He's spent his life following every lead about Nazi war criminals and is tired of the chase. However, when Kohler's call (and his life) are abruptly cut short, Lieberman knows he must act.

He begins to investigate the bizarre plot. Why should Mengele want to kill these men who seem entirely unconnected to each other or the war? Why 65-year-olds? Why civil servants? Sadly many of the blurbs about this movie give away the solution to this mystery and the meaning of the title, but the mystery is much more engaging if the viewer unravels it along with Lieberman.

Olivier is fantastic in his role! He always put as much effort into his roles in genre films like this one, "Marathon Man," and "Dracula" as he devoted to Shakespeare, and it shows. He is thoroughly convincing as an elderly German Jew. Gregory Peck is also magnificent; he radiates pure evil. The top-notch supporting cast includes James Mason and Denholm Elliott. (So what's Steve Guttenberg doing in this movie?)

The less you know about The Boys From Brazil the better, A quite well known story based upon a Ira Levin novel. Is a good thriller, which allows two of the greatest actors there has ever been a chance to ham it up a bit.

The plot involves Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier) trying to unravel a devious plot by Dr Josef Mangele (Gregory Peck). Directed by Franklin J Schaffner of Planter of the Apes fame. Provides us with a nice slow burning build up in setting the story, and keeping me enthralled with it really quite ludicrous but entertaining story line. It has a great score adding dread to certain moments and heightening the tension. The film at times almost slips in to horror with it's certain plot elements, and also containing a horrific confrontation between the two leads at the end.

It is not perfect by any means though, as some accents are all over the place and can become a little distracting, and some may find the films idea to unbelievable to take seriously, which i can't say i had a problem with.

A good film, with two acting powerhouses, worth a watch just for them. But a smart thriller i highly recommend.

Old veterans Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason team up in this well-constructed and absorbing thriller. The plot sounded so bizarre that I had to check the film out. Although there is some choppy editing and cartoonish acting, "The Boys from Brazil" makes for a good viewing.