X
- 1978
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 2 h 5 m
- 1978
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 2 h 5 m
Summary A Nazi hunter in Paraguay (Laurence Olivier) discovers a bizarrely sinister plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
Directed By: Franklin J. Schaffner
Written By: Ira Levin, Heywood Gould
- 1978
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 2 h 5 m
- 1978
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 2 h 5 m
The Boys from Brazil
40
6.9
Summary A Nazi hunter in Paraguay (Laurence Olivier) discovers a bizarrely sinister plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
Directed By: Franklin J. Schaffner
Written By: Ira Levin, Heywood Gould
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
40
14% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
40
14% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
71% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The film is compelling, albeit pretty silly in its elaborate "what if?" plot.
For much of its slowburn build there is a classy, intelligent thriller at work, something closer in tone to The Odessa File. Still, you must remain guarded to how over the top and quasi-horror events will finally turn.
With two excellent antagonists in Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier, The Boys from Brazil presents a gripping, suspenseful drama for nearly all of its two hours - then lets go at the end and falls into a heap.
Jerry Goldmsith’s ominous score is reminiscent of his Oscar-winning work for The Omen but The Boys From Brazil is pure pomp and circumstance.
Yet in the end the self-conscious importance of the film produces a rather queasy feeling, for really this story is no more than a crude exploitation — decked out with our latest scientific finery — of what amounts to a penny dreadful fantasy. If you stop and think about it, even if there were a nest of Nazis hiding out in South America, most of them would be pushing 80 by now, and quite incapable of the exertions required by this farflung, not to mention farfetched plot.
The film is sunk by a series of preposterous performances. There are more phony German accents than in a prep school version of Colditz, and Levin's expert plotting is buried beneath an avalanche of lines like 'Vat are we goink to do?'.
Franklin J. Shaffner's deadpan adaptation of Ira Levin's silly story about Hitler clones. The plot is less suspenseful than the overacting contest between the two leads, Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck, who spend most of their screen time one-upping each other in affectations.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.9
62% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.9
62% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 6 Nominations
