This was a shockingly intense film, especially considering its age, anchored by incredible performances.Seriously, people talk about Laurence Olivier as one of the world's greatest acting talents but the man died when I was six-years-old. It's not like I grew up familiar with his work. But seeing him go from Marathon Man to this film beggars belief. It's not just that he's amazing in both roles, it's how different the two performances are. He went from smooth murderer the White Angel to frail Nazi-hunter Ezra Lieberman in two years. Do you know how short that is in movie-world? That's crazy. And then, there's James Mason, one of the best English villains, and Gregory Peck looking like Powers Boothe with the jet black hair and the mustache.
A young Nazi-hunter (Steve Guttenberg with a baby face!) in Paraguay accidentally uncovers an international assassination plot headed by Nazi scientist and straight-up evil motherfucker Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck). He passes some of the information to acclaimed Nazi-hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier) but is killed before he can get all of it. Lieberman is initially reluctant to get involved, but his curiosity eventually gets the better of him. Soon, however, he realizes that the 94 projected murders are just the tip of the iceberg.
This is a slow-burner of a movie, taking the first hour just to set up the central plot point but it's worth it. Even when you know what's coming, you'll still be riveted to your seat, especially during the final confrontation. Knowing that these characters were all based on real war criminals only makes it that much more disturbing.
No comments:
Post a Comment