10 Obscure Films You Must See

5. The Boys from Brazil (dir. Franklin J. Schaffner, 1978)

Nazis have become a staple of movie villainy, from Amon Goeth in Schindler€™s List to Ron Lacey€™s Gestapo officer in Raiders of the Lost Ark, not to mention the gloriously sleazy works of Tinto Brass. But while those films made it clear as to whether they wanted to be serious or silly, The Boys from Brazil attempts to have its cake and eat it, coming enjoyably unstuck in the process. Based on the novel by Ira Levin (Rosemary€™s Baby) and directed by the man who made Planet of the Apes and Patton, the film follows Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (an Oscar-nominated Laurence Olivier) attempting to track down the sinister Nazi doctor Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck), who has been hiding out in South America attempting to clone Hitler from DNA he obtained during WWII.

For the most part the film is unintentionally silly, and it is entertaining watching two great actors enjoying themselves by going hugely over-the-top. There is also a fun cameo by Bruno Ganz, who would later play Hitler in Downfall (or, as it€™s now known, the mother-of-all-memes). But eventually the darkness of Levin€™s novel comes to the fore and all the ideas about preventing history from repeating itself and the ethics of cloning come through. It€™s not as good as Rosemary€™s Baby or The Stepford Wives, but it€™s still worth a look, if only for a laugh. Three Men on a Blog review - The Movie Hour podcast: #24