To Be or Not to Be
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Movie Reviews of To Be or Not to Be
Movie Review: Great Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
One of Mel Brook's best movies ... a must have for any Eml Brooks fanMovie Review: Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
To Be or Not to Be by Mel Brooks is a classic. Worth the money.Movie Review: It's an old gag, the one about the actor who is always interrupted in the middle of Hamlet's soliloquy by a guy in the third row
Summary: 4 Stars
...who has to go to the john and loudly excuses himself all the way to the end of the row. But I can't think of a better Hamlet for this particular gag than Mel Brooks. "That is the QUESTION!" he bellows, as the guy screws up his timing, his delivery, his concentration. And the punch line is that the guy is actually going backstage to have a quick assignation with the actor's wife.
Mel Brooks loves show business and has worked it into a lot of his movies, most unforgettably in "The Producers." He also loves musicals and has worked musical numbers into the most unlikely moments in his movies. (Remember Frankenstein's monster doing the soft shoe?) In "To Be or Not To Be," Brooks combines a backstage musical with a wartime romance and comes up with an eclectic comedy that races off into several directions, usually successfully.
The movie co-stars Brooks and his wife, Anne Bancroft, working together for the first time on screen as Frederick and (Anna) Bronski, the impresarios of a brave little theatrical troupe in a Warsaw on the brink of war. (Anna) Bronski, whose name is in parentheses because her husband has such a big ego, is a femme fatale with an eye for the handsome young servicemen that worship her nightly in the theater. Bronski is an all-over-the-map guy who does Hamlet's soliloquy and stars in a revue called "Naughty Nazis" in the same night and on the same stage.
Then the Nazis march into Poland. What can a humble troupe of actors do to stop them? "Nothing!" Bronski declares -- but then the troupe gets involved in an elaborate masquerade, pretending to be real Nazis in order to throw Hitler's men off course and prevent the success of the German plans.
When "To Be or Not To Be" was originally made, by Ernst Lubitsch in 1942, the Nazis were in Poland, which gave a certain poignancy to every funny line. Lubitsch's stars were Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, both specialists in underplaying. Brooks and Bancroft go in the opposite direction, cheerfully allowing farce, slapstick, pratfalls and puns into the story, until the whole movie seems strung together like one of the revues in Bronski's theater.
The supporting players, given license to overact, have fun. Charles Durning plays a rigid but peculiarly confused Nazi colonel, and Tim Matheson is the young aviator who excuses himself loudly and sneaks backstage to meet Bancroft. The veteran actor Jose Ferrer plays Professor Siletski, a two-faced collaborator.
It will probably always be impossible for Brooks to remain entirely within the dramatic logic of any story, and here he gives himself a lot of freedom with lines like "Sondheim! Send in the clowns!" But "To Be or Not To "Be" works as well as a story as any Brooks film since "Young Frankenstein," and darned if there isn't a little sentiment involved as the impresario and his wife, after years of marriage, surprise each other by actually falling in love.
Movie Review: Mel the Man
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a slightly more serious side of Mel, which is to say, madly funny; and I found it absolutely hilarious. Taking on a suspenseful WWII drama in Poland, probably the last thing you think of is slapstick. The comedy had its perhaps poignantly cheesy moments, which are the only detractors in the entire film, and I'm sure most viewers will recognize them, and yet also has some classic, mad hilarity.
Having not seen the original, I think I will have to now. Mel is surely one of the greatest American comedians, and I also agree with other reviewers here that he displays his acting skills more strongly than in other films. There is, BTW, no raunchy humor here, and some of the best slapstick I've seen for a while. From the first moment, Mel and the stunning Anne Bancroft as well as all supporting roles are well done and tasteful. Any references to or portrayal of homosexuality are well done and not lewd or offensive.
Because as you may well know, Bronski, played by Brooks, is a director determined to rescue family and friends from his theatre from certain death in the Nazi occupation, and at one point says, "without Jews, gypsies and qu66rs, there would be no theatre. [paraphrased, but very close]" I imagine this film is the inspiration of the 90s synth-pop band choosing the name "Bronski Beat." In this film one of Bronski's gay employees is forced to wear the imfamous pink triangle, and it is remarkable that Mel should portray that historical fact in this film.
But that is just a side-note, as the film is larger than that one issue, and Mel's taking on such a serious drama armed with slapstick, and one absolutely gorgeous co-star, is testimony to the power of humor, (And Anne's beauty) to redeem and enliven, and help us through moments too grim to bear otherwise. And because of that I'd recommend this film strongly. Mel is the man.
Movie Review: Mel Brooks Is Fun and Funny!
Summary: 4 Stars
TO BE OR NOT TO BE is classic Mel Brooks with a few jabs at political commentary as only Mel Brooks can do!
It's fun and magical with even a running Shakespearian joke and a musical duet that cracks a lod laugh when you realize what there singing about.
Hilter, Gays in the Military, Circus Acts, Theatre, Life in the 40's and many more genre's were directly satired.
This was the last performance with his wife Ann Bancroft as his leading lady and their chemistry was amazingly electric. (She did appear with her husband again in a small part in Dracula: Dead and Loving It.) A film not as well received - but it was good to see them together again.
Other cast members who gave tremendous performances included Tim Matheson, Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future) and the always amazing Charles Durning (Mrs. Santa Claus, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas.
Director Alana Johnson was going for a ensemble piece, but with key cast like Mel, Anne, Charles and Timothy it's hard to let everyone shine all the time.
Overall - I found this ovie extremely funny and inventive, however, just a little bit slow in the middle. Id on't know if kids will find the humor as entertaining as the adults - but it is definately Mel Brooks. 3-26-09