The Boys from Brazil (1978)

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Heywood Gould (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 October 1978 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

If they survive...will we?

Plot:

A Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Jungle | Civil Servant | Nudity | Conspiracy

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Dr. Josef Mengele
Laurence Olivier	...	Ezra Lieberman
James Mason	...	Eduard Seibert
Lilli Palmer	...	Esther Lieberman
Uta Hagen	...	Frieda Maloney
Steve Guttenberg	...	Barry Kohler (as Steven Guttenberg)
Denholm Elliott	...	Sidney Beynon
Rosemary Harris	...	Mrs. Doring
John Dehner	...	Henry Wheelock
John Rubinstein	...	David Bennett
Anne Meara	...	Mrs. Curry
Jeremy Black	...	Jack Curry / Simon Harrington / Erich Doring / Bobby Wheelock
Bruno Ganz	...	Professor Bruckner
Walter Gotell	...	Mundt
David Hurst	...	Strasser
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Lofquist
Michael Gough	...	Mr. Harrington
Joachim Hansen	...	Fassler
Sky Dumont	...	Hessen (as Guy Dumont)
Carl Duering	...	Trausteiner
Linda Hayden	...	Nancy
Richard Marner	...	Doring
Georg Marischka	...	Gunther
Günter Meisner	...	Farnbach
Prunella Scales	...	Mrs. Harrington
Raul Faustino Saldanha	...	Ismael
Jürgen Andersen	...	Kleist (as Jurgen Anderson)
Mervyn Nelson	...	Stroop
David Brandon	...	Schmidt
Monica Gearson	...	Gertrud
Wolf Kahler	...	Schwimmer
Gerti Gordon	...	Berthe

Directed by
Franklin J. Schaffner

Writing credits
Ira Levin		(novel)
Heywood Gould		(screenplay)

Produced by
Robert Fryer	....	executive producer
Stanley O'Toole	....	producer
Martin Richards	....	producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Henri Decaë		(director of photography) (as Henri Decae)

Film Editing by
Robert Swink		(as Robert E. Swink)

Casting by
Alixe Gordin

Production Design by
Gil Parrondo

Art Direction by
Peter Lamont

Set Decoration by
Vernon Dixon

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Ronnie Cogan	....	hair stylist
Patrick Grant	....	hair stylist
Bill Lodge	....	makeup artist
Christopher Tucker	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ron Carr	....	production supervisor
Dieter Meyer	....	production manager: Austria

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Terence Churcher	....	second assistant director (as Terry Churcher)
Paul Esposito	....	assistant director: USA
Mike Jordan	....	assistant director: USA
José López Rodero	....	first assistant director (as Jose Lopez Rodero)
João Severino	....	assistant director: Portugal
Marijan David Vajda	....	second assistant director: Austria (as Marijan Vajda)

Art Department
Stephen Hendrickson	....	art director: USA (as Steve Hendrickson)
Michael Murchan	....	construction manager
Thomas Ricabona	....	assistant art director: Austria

Sound Department
Derek Ball	....	sound recordist
Bill Barringer	....	sound assistant
Don J. Bassman	....	supervising sound mixer (as Don Bassman)
William Hartman	....	sound editor
Godfrey Marks	....	dialogue editor
Ken Nightingall	....	boom operator
Richard Overton	....	sound re-recording mixer
Edward Rossi	....	sound editor
Richard Sperber	....	sound editor
Richard Weaver	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Stunts
Del Baker	....	stunts
Dinny Powell	....	stunts
Eddie Powell	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Bert Cann	....	still photographer
Jack Coggins	....	gaffer
Colin Davidson	....	assistant camera
James Devis	....	camera operator (as Jimmy Devis)
Michael Ginsburg	....	still photographer: USA
Ted H. Hauser	....	assistant camera: USA (as Theodore Hauser)
Dewi Humphries	....	assistant camera
Ed Irvins	....	assistant camera: USA
Bob Puglisi	....	camera operator: USA

Casting Department
Renate Arbes	....	casting: Vienna
Maude Spector	....	casting: London

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rebecca Breed	....	wardrobe mistress
Richard Pointing	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Jenny Schaffner	....	apprentice editor
Dennis Wooley	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	music editor (as Len Engel)
Arthur Morton	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Gerhard Rupp	....	transportation manager (uncredited)

Other crew
Arie Bohrer	....	location manager: Austria
Dr. Derek Bromhall	....	technical advisor
Pamela Carlton	....	continuity
Tony Cerbone	....	location manager: USA
Hunt Downs	....	publicist
Ann Ford	....	assistant to producer
Peter Lancaster	....	production accountant
Marcella Markham	....	accent coach
Frederick Muller	....	location manager: Portugal (as Frederico Muller)
Francis Nugent	....	production assistant: USA
Tish Oulman	....	production assistant: Portugal
Cecilia Peck	....	publicity assistant
Fernando Pessa	....	location liaison: Portugal
Fernando Pessa	....	public relations: Portugal
Simone Pessa	....	location liaison: Portugal
Simone Pessa	....	public relations: Portugal
David Quintas	....	production assistant: Portugal
Mary Richards	....	assistant to producer
John Sargent	....	production accountant
Ilse Schwarzwald	....	production secretary: Austria
Jean Walter	....	production secretary
Scott Wodehouse	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Incorporated Television Company (ITC)
• Lew Grade
• Producers Circle

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tuschinski Film Distribution (1978) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Ascot Filmverleih (1985) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Artisan Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (laserdisc)
• Carlton (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Elephant Films (2004) (France) (all media)
• Filmax Home Video (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Fox Video (VHS)
• Fox Video (laserdisc)
• ITV DVD (2008) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Image Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)
• LW Editora (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (video)
• Maple Pictures (2007) (Canada) (DVD)
• Media Transfer International (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Scanbox Entertainment (1996) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Top Tape (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• VCL Video (1986) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Anvil Film and Records Group  music recorded at
• Intrada  score album released by (limited edition)
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Twentieth Century-Fox Studios, Hollywood  re-recording facilities

Also Known As:

Boys from the Brussel (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

125 min | West Germany:100 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2002) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Australia:M | West Germany:16 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | UK:18 | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:16 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Ateliers der Wien-Film G.m.b.H., Sievering, Vienna, Austria

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Gregory Peck felt that his portrayal of Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele was the only completely unsympathetic role he ever performed.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Shortly before the first assassination you see the victim taking a leak. Over him are two signs. On closer look you'll notice that they both list Austrian Addresses. Like the scene moments earlier this was also shot in Austria and not in Gladbeck/Germany.

Quotes:

Ezra Lieberman: Did you kill Wheelock?
Dr. Josef Mengele: [sarcastically] No, he's in the kitchen mixing us some cocktails!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Talking Points (#17.13)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

WE'RE HOME AGAIN

Overlooked

This is such a classic piece of mystery drama, it's inconceivable that it's not better known. A late seventies film starring the cream of cinema from 20 years earlier, this follows a Nazi plot (in the present day) and the efforts of a Nazi hunter to put the pieces together. The elements include a number of apparently unrelated children, a decades-old plot, a series of murders, Josef Mengele, and a short appearance by one `Steven' Guttenberg, in an early film role. When you finally realise what has been going on, it ups the stakes dramatically. Well worth seeking out.