Cuba (1979)

Director:

Richard Lester

Writer:

Charles Wood (writer)

Release Date:

21 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Part Heaven... Part Hell... Pure Havana.

Plot:

A British mercenary arrives in pre-Revolution Cuba to help train the corrupt General Batista's army against Castro's guerrillas while he also romances a former lover now married to an unscrupulous plantation owner.

Plot Keywords:

Cuba | Revolution | Mercenary | Infidelity | 1950s

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Maj. Robert Dapes
Brooke Adams	...	Alexandra Lopez de Pulido
Jack Weston	...	Larry Gutman
Hector Elizondo	...	Capt. Raphael Ramirez
Denholm Elliott	...	Donald Skinner
Martin Balsam	...	Gen. Bello
Chris Sarandon	...	Juan Pulido
Danny De La Paz	...	Julio Mederos
Lonette McKee	...	Therese Mederos
Alejandro Rey	...	Faustino
Louisa Moritz	...	Miss Wonderly
Dave King	...	Miss Wonderly's Press Agent
Walter Gotell	...	Don Jose Pulido
David Rappaport	...	Jesus
Wolfe Morris	...	Gen. Fulgencio Batista

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | UK:12 (cut) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Holmby Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Alexandra was offered to Diana Ross who turned it down.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The story is supposed to take place in 1959 but the limousine is a 1961 Chrysler.

Quotes:

Maj. Robert Dapes: [confronting a woman guerilla] It's a girl! I want to question her.
Capt. Raphael Ramirez: Yes. First you, then she is 'questioned' by the sergeant and each of the men as many times as possible, and then two or three days later she is taken and shot. It would be much kinder to shoot her now.

Movie Connections:

Features Dracula (1958)

Workmanlike thriller with a touch of individual Lester charm

An enjoyable thriller, which although filmed in Spain, manages to capture the atmosphere and lunacy of the last days of Batista's dictatorship perfectly. Probably a contractual purposes project on the behalf of director Lester, he manages to inject just enough of his own idiosyncratic style to lift this adventure flick out of the run of the mill. Connery is totally convincing in his role as Brit counter-insurgency advisor/mercenary. Brook Adams is stunning. Good anglo-american supporting cast. Plot begins to lose its impetus about a reel before the end, and at a running time of nearly two hours, is overlong. But well worth renting the video. Socialists will not find its political interpetation of events offensive, but may be puzzled or angered by the soundtrack over the final titles - as a victorious Fidel approaches the podium, chants of 'Fidel! Fidel!' are over dubbed with a Nuremberg chorus of 'Sieg Heil!'. Discuss.