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Posted : 12 years, 10 months ago on 17 July 2011 10:52
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a really nice cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I thought it was actually pretty good. I mean, on one hand, the story was completely preposterous and, to be honest, it didn't make much sense but, on the other hand, during WWII, the Nazis did many things which didn't much make sense at all with the terrible consequences that we all know. Thus, what happened in the movie somehow actually followed their neurotic and psychotic way of thinking. However, even with this analysis, there were still a few annoying scenes (like, for example, the scene involving confrontation between Mengele and Lieberman really didn’t work in my opinion). Anyway, all in all, it was a good flick thanks to some competent directing, some awesome actors who delivered some really decent performances (Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and James Mason) and the story was maybe horrifying but also rather fascinating. To conclude, even though the whole thing never reached the level of a masterpiece, it was still a decent historical thriller and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
The Boys from Brazil Reviews
The Boys from Brazil review
Posted : 12 years, 11 months ago on 30 May 2011 05:44
A deeply disturbing but brilliant work. This had been on my want-to-watch list for ages, mainly for the ensemble made up of Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Denholm Elliott, Bruno Ganz, Walter Gotell, Rosemary Harris, Michael Gough and Steve Guttenberg. What a cast! And I wasn't disappointed; Peck and Olivier are phenomenal in this film. Olivier plays a Nazi-hunter, tracking down war criminals all over the world including Peck’s Josef Mengele who has organised the mysterious assassinations of 94 civil servants in Europe and North America and to resurrect Hitler himself through cloning. Naturally, it's up to Olivier and his associates to stop him. It's all a bit over the top and occasionally becomes more silly than sinister, particularly the Nazi convention ballroom scene ("Shut up you ugly bitch!") and throughout the film I couldn't understand why the film had an 18 certificate in the UK - until all was revealed in the finale with one of the most realistic, bloody and brutal fight-scenes I've ever seen. Oh, and there's vicious dogs. Peck and Olivier's performances carry the film (Mason's role is comparatively small but he does a good job and Gotell is a laugh as a burnt-out SS commander (or somesuch) who couldn't really care less about Mengele's plan). The film also continues my recent run of movies that contain annoying kids (after Bigger Than Life and 1980's The Island). Furthermore, the scientific explanations are a tad patronising to a modern audience but to a 70's audience the idea of cloning was mind-blowing I guess (and confusing). Peck utterly owns the film (I'm not fond of that expression but that's the only way I can put it). He's brilliant. Have I said that already?
4/5
4/5
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