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Movies / On DVD / To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be

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To Be or Not to Be (1942)

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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... 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 Dramatic or Comedic Picture. [More]

Starring: Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, Lionel Atwill

Starring: Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, Lionel Atwill, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Stanley Ridges, Tom Dugan, Charles Halton

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Producer: Ernst Lubitsch
Screenwriter: Edwin Justus Mayer
Composer: Miklos Rozsa

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Release:

Mar 1, 2005

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • The world is on the brink of war but the show must go on. So Joseph Tura, the Polish actor who put the ham in Hamlet, stares beyond the footlights and says: "To Be or Not to Be."
  • That is the question, as well as the classic in which director Ernst Lubitsch, whose witty "Lubitsch touch" had stylishly lampooned sex and wealth, now took on a new target: Nazism. The story centers on a Warsaw theatrical troupe that outwits Nazi occupiers by playing the roles of (and for) their lives. Jack Benny stars as Tura, underplaying hilariously. In her final role, Carole Lombard is zany and radiant as his alluring wife. Typical of Lubitsch, a gem-sprinkled ensemble has opportunities to shine. No question: watching this To Be is to be gloriously entertained!
  • Source: Warner Home Video
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