Havana (I) (1990)

Cuba, December 1958: The professional gambler Jack visits Havana to organize a big Poker game. On the ship he meets Roberta and falls in love with her. Shortly after they arrive in Cuba, ... See full summary »

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Judith Rascoe (story), Judith Rascoe (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Alan Arkin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford	...	Jack Weil
Lena Olin	...	Bobby Duran
Alan Arkin	...	Joe Volpi
Tomas Milian	...	Menocal
Daniel Davis	...	Marion Chigwell
Tony Plana	...	Julio Ramos
Betsy Brantley	...	Diane
Lise Cutter	...	Patty
Richard Farnsworth	...	Professor
Mark Rydell	...	Meyer Lansky
Vasek Simek	...	Willy
Fred Asparagus	...	Baby Hernandez
Richard Portnow	...	Mike MacClaney
Dion Anderson	...	Roy Forbes
Carmine Caridi	...	Captain Potts

Storyline

Cuba, December 1958: The professional gambler Jack visits Havana to organize a big Poker game. On the ship he meets Roberta and falls in love with her. Shortly after they arrive in Cuba, Roberta and her Cuban husband, the revolutionary Arturo, are arrested and tortured. Arturo is reported "shot while trying to escape," but Jack manages to get Roberta free again. He can't, however, keep her from continuing to support the revolution. Jack has to make a choice between the beautiful woman who keeps putting herself in harms way and the biggest poker game of his life; between the man he could be and the man he is.

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Plot Keywords:

cuba | revolutionary | love | revolution | ship | 

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Taglines:

A gambler who trusted no one. A woman who risked everything. And a passion that brought them together in the most dangerous city in the world.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sensuality and strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

12 December 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Havanna

Filming Locations:

Dominican Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$9,243,140 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirage, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Raul Julia chose to be uncredited because producers would not agree for him to be billed alongside Robert Redford.

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Goofs

The bullet hole in the windshield of Jack's Cadillac has long cracks radiating from it in all the scenes in the country, but when he returns to Havana, the cracks are gone and only the bullet hole is there.

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Quotes

[Bobby Duran enters a restaurant where Jack Weil is sitting]
Bobby Duran: Were you waiting for me?
Jack Weil: All my life.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Sydney Pollack (2000)

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Soundtracks

"A Los Rumberos de Belen"
Written by Roberto Nunez
Performed by Sierra Maestra (as Grupo Sierra Maestra)
Courtesy of Egrem Records

User Reviews

It's all about the passion

How does a cool professional gambler show passion? He gives up the Big Game to rescue his beloved. How can a passionate woman reconcile the two loves of her life--the noble hero and his cause and the man who makes her feel most like a woman? Yes, it's Casablanca revisited. And Lena Olin portrays her ambivalence as ably as her Swedish compatriot, Ingrid Bergman. Fault the script for not delivering the depth of Casablanca, the humor--Alan Arkin could have been the equal of Claude Rains but didn't get the lines. But the cinematography makes pre-revolutionary Havana palpable, in its glamour and seaminess, its whiff of a bygone era. Who wouldn't want to drive a Cadillac convertible onto the ferry at Key West and debark in Havana?