The Boys from Brazil (1979)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1979
Running Time	119:39 (Case: 118)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Franklin J. Schaffner
Studio Distributor	Sir Lew Grade Magna Home Entertainment	Starring	Gregory Peck Laurence Olivier James Mason
Case	Click
RPI	$19.95	Music	Jerry Goldsmith

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Based on the best-selling novel by Ira Levin, The Boys From Brazil is a compelling and absorbing thriller that was way ahead of its time.

    Produced in the 1970s, The Boys From Brazil plot revolves around the possibilities of genetic science and cloning; possibilities that would have appeared quite remote at the time of writing, but are now considered to be very real. In the movie, the evil Nazi Dr Mengele (Gregory Peck), has escaped to South America where he continues to carry out his bizarre experiments on children. Mengele, along with other Nazis, such as Eduard Seibert (James Mason), and their supporters, have hatched a plan to usher in their return to power. This plan involves cloning, and murder. Meanwhile, famed Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier) is following the cryptic clues in his attempt to unravel their mysterious plan.

Video

    The transfer is limited by the quality of the source material, which has not aged well.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, non-16x9 enhanced (letterboxed).

    The sharpness of the image is reasonable for its age, but it is often soft and even blurry at times. The shadow detail is poor, for example the image at night at 13:07, or the image in the tunnel at 32:59.

    The colour has suffered with age, and it is a little washed out and murky.

    While occasionally there are slight examples of pixelization and posterization, MPEG artefacts are never a great problem. However, film-to-video artefacts are a problem. Severe and distracting aliasing occurs throughout, for example the startling shimmer on the shirt at 3:43. Telecine wobble also mars the transfer, and it is most noticeable during the opening and closing credits. Film artefacts appear frequently throughout, but they are not too distracting.

    English subtitles are present on this disc and they are accurate.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is poor, and it has a few problems.

    Originally released theatrically with mono sound, the DVD's audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 (mono).

    There are a few problems with the dialogue quality and audio sync, but these appear largely due to the condition of the source material.

    The musical score is credited to Jerry Goldsmith, and it is suitably dramatic and moody.

    There is no surround presence or subwoofer activity.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are no extras.

Menu

    A very simple menu, presented in an aspect ratio 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

    The Boys From Brazil was released on DVD in Region 1 in April 2002. From what information is available, the two versions seem pretty much the same.

    The Boys From Brazil is a great movie, and the limitations of the source material will not prevent you from enjoying it on DVD.

    The video quality is slightly disappointing but still very watchable.

    The audio quality is reasonable for its age.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall