OK, so the first actor you are likely to recognize as you sit down to
watch this movie is Steve Guttenberg! But don't let that throw you. The
real stars are none other than Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck --
doesn't get much better than that. There have been many movies based on the idea of cloning, but as far as I know this was
the first, probably the most accurate and the scariest.
Summary:
Guttenberg's character has decided to go Nazi hunting in South America
on his own. He happens upon a huge meeting of former Nazi's set up to
welcome former Nazi Doctor, Joseph Mengele played by Gregory
Peck. Mengele has arrived to oversee the next step in an unspecified plan
he's been working on for years. A plan that will require the murder of
some 64 men over the next few months. Guttenberg tapes part of this
meeting before his bug is discovered. He rushes back to his hotel to
contact Nazi- Hunter Laurence Olivier (clearly based on Simon
Weisenthal). While he's on the phone with Olivier, Peck and company
track him down and kill him. Having heard this murder over the phone,
Olivier's character, who had not been taking Guttenberg's claims
seriously, decides he needs to investigate. What he discovers is, as I
said, the worst possible implication of cloning human beings.
Even if you didn't have the ultimate movie bad guys (Nazi's) and a
subject matter that only becomes more relevant with each scientific
advancement, the mere presence of Olivier and Peck in one movie would
make this worth seeing. The combination of all of these factors means it
belongs on my must see list. The movie is chilling without being either bloody or overly suspenseful. The script is taut and the direction is fine, though nothing to write home about. It's mainly the script and the concept that drive the movie, and the acting, which cannot be beaten. Olivier and Peck only have one scene together, but seeing them play opposite each other is wonderful. In lesser roles there are such great actors as James Mason, Rosemary Harris and the great teacher Uta Hagen. It is a must see both as a film and as a cultural icon.
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