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The Boys From Brazil

1978, Movie, R, 123 mins

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This fast-moving picture features a battle of wits between the "Angel of Death," Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck), and fictional Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier, his character seemingly based on real-life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal), in a farfetched plot having to do with the cloning of Hitler. Mengele's plan is to harvest hundreds of young men (all of whom have been raised in environments nearly identical to the one that Hitler grew up in) in an attempt to replicate the Fuhrer's upbringing as well as his genetic structure. The picture barrels along for about 115 minutes, but then falls apart in a wildly ludicrous finale. The cast is great--including Peck, Olivier, James Mason, Denholm Elliott, and even Steve Guttenberg (in one of his first roles). The film is compelling, albeit pretty silly in its elaborate "what if?" plot mechanications. leave a comment
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