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To Be or Not to Be (1983)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 2/24

ToBeNot
2/24: Mel Brooks is looking better now.

To Be or Not To Be is a fine film that's a remake of the 1942 version by Ernst Lubitch of which I haven't yet seen. While the first half is slow and weird because of the mix of comedy and WWII, it's the second that comes alive, getting my attention. I thought Cabaret and Mephisto had already handled the same theme while being deferential to the looming Holocaust theme, but the direction is different here.

It's not a laugh-out comedy picture, but there are good zany situations that are reflective of Mel Brooks' style. While his acting is great, I have to say Charles Durning steals the show. As a result, he was Oscar-nominated, the second of his career. Not many people know this, but Charles Durning served in WWII and was heavily decorated, being one of the first to land on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Mel Brooks served, too, whose job was to defuse land mines. Everybody else is good, keeping up with the pace.

At first, I thought it was Mel Brooks playing Professor Siletski, but it turned out to be José Ferrer. Then, after Siletski was dead, Brooks took over his character. Most of the presented material is what happened to many for real in a Cabaret/Mephisto way. At the same time, the cinematography is excellent.

All in all, To Be or Not To Be seems, at first, to be done in bad taste, but it works out well in the end.