A masterpiece satire around the Second World War is more likely to be appreciated now after some distance.
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08/20/08
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
97 %
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Reviews Counted: 34
Fresh: 33
Rotten:1
Average Rating: 8.7/10
Consensus: A complex and timely satire with as much darkness as slapstick, Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be delicately balances humor and ethics.
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: A classic black comedy set in wartime Poland which deals with the members of an acting troupe who inadvertently become involved in the war effort. Academy Award Nominations: Best Scoring of a... [More]
Starring: Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, Lionel Atwill
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
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Reviews for To Be or Not to Be
To Be is a very funny comedy, salted to taste with melodrama and satire.
08/20/08
Top CriticLubitsch's guidance provides a tense dramatic pace with events developed deftly and logically throughout.
08/20/08
Top CriticIt's certainly one of the finest comedies ever to come out of Paramount.
06/24/06
Top CriticRoyalties from Springtime for Hitler in Germany outta be sent to Lubitsch's family.
05/01/06
Like Chaplin before him in The Great Dictator, Lubitsch aimed a wet raspberry in Der Fuhrer's face.
04/04/06
One of film's great farces.
09/22/05
Lubitsch carefully mixes his usual brand of sophisticated humor with a bit of bittersweet.
09/16/05
No review available.
06/20/05
Jack Benny's best, a fun WWII comedy directed by Lubitsch. And it has Lombard.
06/15/05
No review available.
05/18/05
The famed "Lubitsch touch," whatever it really was, was never put to a more formidable test… the last hour is satiric perfection.
05/02/05
It's held up marvelously over the years, hurtling forward with its dizzying blend of laughs and intrigue.
03/18/05
To Be or Not to Be is a delightfully comic take on a dreadfully momentous topic.
03/08/05
simultaneously hilarious and chilling
03/01/05
No review available.
02/24/05
To Be or Not to Be’s wit continues to be overshadowed by its touchy plot.
02/23/05
Jack Benny's best movie.
12/21/04
No review available.
10/27/04
Lubitsch uses a myriad of hilarious situations and entertaining characters to provide the backdrop to his reflective meditation on the horrors of tyranny.
10/24/04
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