In all honesty this is the late Saturday night/early Sunday morning movie, as I watched with a couple of friends during that period. Sunday night rolled around and I found myself, after an early rise and a busy day, far too tired for a feature film.

Hailing from 1976, this is a wonderful film that if you have not seen it, you really should. It stars Dustin Hoffmann, Lawrence Olivier, and  Roy Scheider. Scheider and Hoffman are brothers, though they are polar opposites. Scheider is a successful business man, with refined tastes and works in the global oil business, while Hoffmann is a graduate student pursuing his doctorate in history, wikth a side quest of proving his father innocent of charges thrown against him during the McCarthy era.

Everything I’ve told you about Scheider is what Hoffman’s character believes to be true and none of it is. This is really a story about family, about haunted pasts, and Nazi dentistry. It has one of the most chilling and terrifying torture scenes ever put to the screen, and it is done without blood and gore. After seeing this film the phrase ‘Is it safe’ will never have the same meaning for you again.

The Screenplay was written by William Goldman, based on his book, and it is stellar. Goldman is responsible for a number of truly terrific screenplays, including Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, and The Princess Bride to name just two.

I can’t praise this film enough and I can’t talk too much if you have not seen it. The film has twists and turns, and I will not be one to spoil them for you.