Product Details

• Actors: Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Uta Hagen
• Directors: Franklin J. Schaffner
• Writers: Heywood Gould, Ira Levin
• Producers: Martin Richards, Robert Fryer, Stanley O'Toole
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• VHS Release Date: May 25, 1999
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000003NDB
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,865 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thriller with a First-Rate Cast, June 7, 2000

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Boys From Brazil [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When the film was made almost a quarter century ago, the concept of "cloning" was the stuff of science fiction, as far as the general public was concerned. However, with the recent developments in the area making headlines worldwide, the idea is not reserved to the imagination. Therefore, the basic premise of Hitler authorizing his own cloning doesn't seem as farfetched as it may have been. Hey, the Germans have given the world the Volkswagen; thus, their scientists could have possibly been working on the cloning process prior and during World War II.

Regardless, the film features excellent work from stars Peck, Olivier, and Mason. Peck went against type by portraying Josef Mengele as a crafty, calculating, and ultimately evil scientist who would go to any length to preserve the Third Reich. Olivier, as the Nazi hunter Lieberman, displays his versatility with accents by doning a very believable Jewish brogue. Mason shows his usual cool as a Nazi hesitant but forced to support the machinations of Mengele.

But, the film has an outstanding group of supporting players whose on-screen time may be brief but is memorable. Uta Hagen as an imprisoned Nazi nurse is captivating; stage veteran Rosemary Harris stands out as the widow of one of Mengele's victims; A young Steve Guttenburg shines as a Nazi hunter; and comedy team member Anne Meara (sans her husband) is great as another "mother" of a Hitler clone.

But, it is Jeremy Black, a young actor who seems to have drifted into obscurity since the release of this motion picture, who is impressive as four of the "boys."

Oh, yeah, the great Michael Gough is "hanging around" in this one, too! Look fast and you will see Prunella Scales from "Fawlty Towers" as Gough's wife.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Film is Great!!! But, Do Not Buy This "New" Version..., April 10, 2009

By 

Peter (Sioux Falls, SD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boys from Brazil (DVD)

Do not buy this supposedly new, anamorphic version. It is not, and the quality is terrible. I think they slipped the old cruddy DVD version in this "new" case. The region free Bluray looks like it is probably of good quality.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars chilling prospect in light of recent cloning advances, July 17, 2000

By 

Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Boys From Brazil [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When this film was released, science could at best clone a frog's egg, and that was about it... but now that cloning mammals seems to be a piece of cake, it can make you queasy when you see this film. The premise is that surviving Nazi's save some of Hitler's DNA for cloning. Knowing that it's a mixture of nature and nurture that makes a person who he his, they make several copies and distribute them around the world, putting them in family situations that best mimic the childhood that Hitler had as a child.

As the aging Jewish Nazi hunter, Sir Lawrence Olivier travels the world and is stunned to see what on the surface seems to be the same identical young boy in different countries, speaking different languages. Jet black, straight hair, blue eye, smart mouth. The child they got to play this part is nothing short of remarkable.

I'm sad to hear that the DVD version of this film was such a disaster. I was hoping to pick up a copy, but I'll hold out for a collector's edition if they ever come out with one.

Gregory Peck is flawless in his performance of the evil Dr. Mengele bent on raising a race of little Hitlers.

An interesting concept that is even more realistic in light of today's scientific advances in cloning. Definitely worth watching.