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Plot

Doc Levy (Roy Scheider) is an American secret agent who has been running interference between the U.S. government and escaped Nazi war criminal Szell (Laurence Olivier). Believing that Doc has stolen a valuable cache of gems, Szell emerges from his South American hiding place and heads for New York. He has Doc killed, then kidnaps Doc's in-the-dark brother, Babe (Dustin Hoffman). Repeating the phrase "Is it safe?" over and over, Szell, a onetime concentration camp dentist, tries to extract information from Babe by performing sadistic "oral surgery" upon him. Babe, who still doesn't know about the gems, escapes, breaking his own self-imposed rule of nonviolence to defend himself against his pursuers and gearing up for sadistic revenge.
MPAA Rating:
R
Genre(s):
Drama,Thriller
Run Time:
125min.
Theatrical Release Date:
08/10/2003
DVD Release Date:
08/28/2001
Director(s):
John Schlesinger
Starring:
Dustin Hoffman , Laurence Olivier , Roy Scheider , William Devane , Marthe Keller
Themes:
Political Corruption,Traitorous Spies/Double Agents,Flight of the Innocent,Sibling Relationships
Tone:
Harsh,Visceral,Chilly,Menacing,Paranoid,Tense
Keywords:
Nazism,agent [representative],brother,chase,concentration-camp,espionage,fugitive,opal,pursuit,reunion,revenge,sports,student,torture,victim
Language:
English