{"id":6275,"date":"2009-12-02T10:58:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-02T15:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=6275"},"modified":"2022-10-11T11:10:41","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T15:10:41","slug":"laurence-olivier-wrestles-gregory-peck-in-the-boys-from-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/laurence-olivier-wrestles-gregory-peck-in-the-boys-from-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"Laurence Olivier wrestles Gregory Peck in The Boys From Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Franklin J. Schaffner’s The Boys From Brazil<\/em> is one of those they-don’t-make-them-that-way-anymore that I miss: the paranoid thriller that blends sci-fi with politics. I’m thinking Coma<\/a><\/em>, The Manchurian Candidate<\/em>, and Jacob’s Ladder<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s often a fool’s errand to complain about plausibility in genre flicks, but I think internal consistency is a reasonable baseline. So I’m not quite sure I buy Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman’s (Laurence Olivier) rapid leaps of reason. Solely on the evidence of pair of identical twins on separate continents (with a colleague’s unverified assertion he may have seen a third, making it triplets), he leaps a little too quickly to a very fantastical conclusion: cloning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proceedings are interrupted for a film-within-film walking us through the pseudoscience. It’s an odd creative choice to present human cloning as something so matter-of-fact, making me wonder when Dolly the sheep was cloned in this alternate reality, if not in 1996. what other wild scientific advances exist in this world: jet packs, teleportation, iPods?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Take your time, old men don’t go back to sleep once they’ve been awakened.”<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the movie to suddenly jump into the extraordinary realm of science-fiction, equally extraordinary evidence is required to convince a skeptical character to believe. If the fantastic is mundane to the characters of the film, it’s not very impressive to the audience either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also common to the genre is its fatalism; the Nazi cloning masterplan is not something that needs to be prevented. In fact, it already happened, years before. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen<\/em> pulls a similar narrative trick, but the reveal lands with a heavier dramatic weight; it’s too late for the heroes to do anything about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Laurence
Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck in The Boys From Brazil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gregory Peck is mostly reserved in his portrayal of “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele, save for a ferocious scene in which he exhorts a Hitler tot to seize what he believes is his destiny. Bruno Ganz appears, and would later play Hitler himself in Downfall<\/em> (2004). As for Olivier, his jewish accent is really something to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all comes down to two old men clumsily biting and scratching each other on the living room floor of a Lancaster farmhouse. It’s one of the more realistic fights ever seen on screen — the closest comparison I can think of is Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones in The Rules of Engagement<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Franklin J. Schaffner’s The Boys From Brazil is one of those they-don’t-make-them-that-way-anymore that I miss: the paranoid thriller that blends sci-fi with politics. I’m thinking Coma, The Manchurian Candidate, and Jacob’s Ladder. It’s often a fool’s errand to complain about plausibility in genre flicks, but I think internal consistency is a reasonable baseline. So I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[1869,340,2043,2046,2045,2044,44],"class_list":["post-6275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","tag-1869","tag-bruno-ganz","tag-franklin-j-schaffner","tag-gregory-peck","tag-james-mason","tag-laurence-olivier","tag-thriller"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/boys-from-brazil-poster.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1Dd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8631,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/famously-chill-dude-keanu-reeves-goes-on-a-killing-spree-in-john-wick-chapter-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":0},"title":"Famously chill dude Keanu Reeves goes on a killing spree in John Wick: Chapter 2","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I want to enjoy action movies like the popular John Wick franchise, but the gun worship spoils everything.","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John Wick: Chapter 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/john-wick-chapter-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/john-wick-chapter-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/john-wick-chapter-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/john-wick-chapter-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/john-wick-chapter-2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":865,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":1},"title":"They don’t make PG movies anymore like Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"In order to catch up on the overwhelming backlog of movies I intend to cover here on this blog, this blogger is forced to cover Raiders of the Lost Ark with only a few disconnected observations: The 2008 DVD reissues of the classic Indiana Jones trilogy have terribly designed menus;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Raiders of the Lost Ark","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5801,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-matrix-reloaded-is-the-best-matrix-movie\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":2},"title":"The Matrix Reloaded is the best Matrix movie","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Conventional wisdom will tell you there is only one good Matrix movie, and it's called The Matrix. Conventional wisdom is wrong. The Wachowski's The Matrix Reloaded does everything movie lovers claim they want from sequels, and complain that Hollywood so rarely gives them: it expands the cast of characters while\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carrie-Anne Moss, Keanu Reeves, and Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix Reloaded","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/matrix-reloaded.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/matrix-reloaded.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/matrix-reloaded.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/matrix-reloaded.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/matrix-reloaded.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1854,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/transporter\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":3},"title":"Lean, Tailored, and Ferociously Fit: Jason Statham in Transporter 3","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Transporter 3, produced by Luc Besson and directed by Olivier Megaton, is an international product tailored for the American market. Despite its French locales, German cars, and adorably freckled Ukrainian hottie, the hero and villain are both quite American. The titular Transporter is Frank Martin (Jason Statham), a fighter and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Transporter 3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/transporter-3-featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/transporter-3-featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/transporter-3-featured.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/transporter-3-featured.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/transporter-3-featured.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":902,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/john-adams\/","url_meta":{"origin":6275,"position":4},"title":"Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney are the second first couple in Tom Hooper’s John Adams","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog celebrates Independence Day 2008 in a New York City Starbucks, tapping out a review of the HBO miniseries John Adams. Believe it or not, the timing is accidental, but July 4th has proven to be an auspicious date in American History. 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Mike Keegan (Tom Berenger) is a salt-of-the-earth Queens detective assigned to protect material witness Claire (Mimi Rogers) from assassination. 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