To Be or Not to Be (1983)

At the onset of WW2, a Polish actor's family and the Polish Resistance help the troupe of a theatre escape Poland and the invading Nazis.

Director:

Alan Johnson

Writers:

Thomas Meehan (screenplay), Ronny Graham (screenplay)

Stars:

Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Ronny Graham

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronny Graham	...	Sondheim
Estelle Reiner	...	Gruba
Zale Kessler	...	Bieler
Jack Riley	...	Dobish
Lewis J. Stadlen	...	Lupinsky
George Gaynes	...	Ravitch
George Wyner	...	Ratkowski
James 'Gypsy' Haake	...	Sasha (as James Haake)
Scamp	...	Mutki
Christopher Lloyd	...	Capt. Schultz
José Ferrer	...	Prof. Siletski (as Jose Ferrer)
Charles Durning	...	Col. Erhardt
Tim Matheson	...	Lt. Andre Sobinski
Mel Brooks	...	Dr. Frederick Bronski
Anne Bancroft	...	Anna Bronski

Storyline

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when what should intrude but World War II in the form of an invasion. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

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Plot Keywords:

neo screwball comedy | curtain call | six word title | gay | repetition in title | 

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Taglines:

That is the movie!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Polish

Release Date:

16 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Soy o no soy

Filming Locations:

Mayfield Senior School - 500 Bellefontaine Street, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,020,958, 18 December 1983, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$13,030,214

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,428,181

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brooksfilms, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie's title, as with the earlier version To Be or Not to Be (1942), is taken from a line in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", written around the year 1600. The "To be or not to be" line is one of the most famous quotations in literature, taken from Hamlet's soliloquy. As both versions of this film involve a Polish theatrical troupe, this is therefore explains the relevance of the line as a film title. The speech it appears in: "To be or not to be - that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. And by opposing end them. To die--to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream--ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause--there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action."

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Goofs

Obvious stunt double for Mel Brooks during the first musical when he and Anne Bancroft are flipping one another over each other's backs.

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Quotes

Anna Bronski: He's world-famous in Poland!

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Crazy Credits

In the credits at the end, Anne Bancroft's name first appears in parenthesis, until Mel Brooks "waves" them off. This is a reference to a poster in the movie that has Anna Bronski's name in parenthesis.

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Connections

Spoofs A Little Night Music (1977)

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Soundtracks

Ladies
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks and Ronny Graham
Performed by Mel Brooks (uncredited)

User Reviews

The Mel Brooks way!

This is the great Mel Brooks at his best!.

He revisits this classic film and makes it even crazier than the original, adding a lot of new stuff... (there are 3 numbers where Mel dances and sings, there are clowns, jews and a homosexual hairdresser pursued by the evil and stupid nazis.)

All the actors in this movie, and I mean ALL, are just terrific.

I´d like to state that this is not a remake of the Ernst Lubistch classic, (at least that´s my opinion), to me this is a tribute to the great director and his masterpiece.

I´ve watched the Lubistch "To be or not to be" a lot of times for it´s one of my favorite films, and the Mel Brooks version is completely different from the original. It was made the Brooks way, which I really adore.

So watch this film, you´ll have a lot of fun and won´t stop laughing.

Oh, just one more thing...

This is an asking to 20th Century Fox: When you decide to release this movie in DVD, include the absolutely amazing video-clip: "To be or not to be - Hitler Rap" performed by Mel Brooks please!!. I can assure you that a lot of people will buy it just for that.

(9 out of 10)