The Boys from Brazil

Based on the high-concept potboiler by Ira Levin, this 1978 film is built around a neo-Nazi conspiracy, masterminded by the infamous Auschwitz physician Dr. Josef Mengele and carried out by a group of war criminals meeting secretly in Paraguay. A scenery-chewing Gregory Peck stars as Mengele, while Laurence Olivier hams it up in an Oscar-nominated role as Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman, whose investigation into the mysterious deaths of dozens of aging civil servants in countries around the world leads to troubling discoveries involving surrogate mothers who are being secluded at a clinic in Brazil, where they produce strangely similar offspring. The final big revelation has long been known, and has made the film more notorious than famous. Director Franklin J. Schaffner, who previously helmed Patton and Papillon, here fails to generate excitement or create a credible thriller, and the leading men seem determined to overplay their roles, as if cueing the audience not to take any of it seriously. More curiosity than classic, The Boys from Brazil is a minor cult item with a stellar cast, which also includes James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Uta Hagen, Denholm Elliott, Rosemary Harris, and Bruno Ganz. Debuting on Blu-ray, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)