Product Details

• Actors: Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Ronny Graham, Estelle Reiner, Zale Kessler
• Directors: Alan Johnson
• Writers: Ronny Graham, Edwin Justus Mayer, Ernst Lubitsch, Melchior Lengyel, Thomas Meehan
• Producers: Howard Jeffrey, Irene Walzer
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 1997
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301798643
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,294 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

No filmmaker seems to take such glee at poking fun of the Nazis as Mel Brooks. In To Be or Not to Be, a remake of a 1942 Jack Benny comedy, Brooks and an all-star ensemble cast have a splendid time working as a makeshift Polish underground in World War II, using as their cover their theatrical company. Brooks stars as Frederick Bronski, a legend-in-his-own-mind leading man, and Anne Bancroft, Brooks' real-life wife, is his glamorous--and amorous--spouse. It's a joy to see the two spar, snuggle, and softshoe together. Bancroft, in her early '50s, is so gorgeous and seductive it's perfectly believable that she's beguiling to men of all ages--from a hunky young flier played by Tim Matheson to a wizened Nazi collaborator played by Mel Ferrer. As one would expect in a Brooks film, there's lots of silliness, but the script is leavened with real drama and fleshed out by a superb cast, including Charles Durning as a semi-clueless Nazi official. There are witty blink-and-you'll-miss-them moments, too; early in the film, Bronski is barking orders to his theater staff, including one crew member who's named Sondheim, apparently solely so that later Bronski can bark, "Sondheim, send in the clowns!" Also not to miss is the production number "Naughty Nazis," in which Bronski, as a misunderstood Hitler, sings, "All I vant is peace... a little piece of Poland, a little piece of France...." No wonder he's "world famous in Poland"! Extras include a behind-the-scenes making-of featurette, and interviews with Brooks, Durning, and the lovely Bancroft, all the more bittersweet viewed after her 2005 death. --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice little movie, December 26, 2002

By 

Dom Miliano (Denville, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: To Be Or Not to Be [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When I see the name Mel Brooks on a film title, I think bawdy gags, double-entendres and a bathroom-humor punchline. (But that's me!) This movie was a pleasant change from the usual Brooks offerings with crisp dramatic direction, a good dramatic cast (Ann Bancroft was perfect as the wife with a wandering eye) and a bitter sweet plot. Watching Mel Brooks interact with some accomplished actors, you realize the depth of his talent - he holds his own very well and has a strong screen presence. Although this is a remake of a wonderful 1942 Jack Benny film, Brooks does a great job updating the script for today's audiences. It's not Young Frankenstein or even High Anxiety but it is a nice little movie that any Brooks fan will thoroughly enjoy. As an aside, I think Mel must lay awake at night thinking of ways to poke fun at Nazis in general and Hitler in particular (think Producers, Blazing Saddles...). He does it so well, I hope he never stops.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mel Brooks Best, January 17, 2005

By 

Top Hat (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Be Or Not to Be [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is, for me, the best of the Brooks films. How often does one enjoy a re-make as well as the original? Jack Benny and Carol Lombard are wonderful in the 1942 original, a must-see, but I love this version just as much - José Ferrer steals the show along with a host of great modern character actors. This is a more refined, less raw Mel Brooks comedy, with a wonderful homage to the original. Charles Durning is fabulous as well as the entire well-cast cast. I have been patiently waiting to replace my VHS with a DVD version. Hello? How much longer do I have to wait?

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthwhile Remake, December 7, 1999

By 

Joe Libby - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Be Or Not to Be [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Mel Brooks' remake of TO BE OR NOT TO BE doesn't improve on the Ernst Lubitsch classic, but it's a very enjoyable film in it's own right. Perhaps wisely, the script follows the 1942 original very closely, but the comedy is broader this time and the thriller aspect lessened.Brooks and Anne Bancroft play stars of a Warsaw theatrical troupe in 1939 (A highlight is their duet of "Sweet Georgia Brown," sung in Polish). When Bancroft discovers she is the object of a pilot's affections, it begins a chain of events that has the troupe working to save the underground movement after Hitler invades Poland.Brooks gives one of his very best performances as an actor who uses his skills to outwit the Nazis, while worrying whether or not his wife is having an affair. Bancroft matches him every step of the way, and comes closer than anyone in the cast to achieving "the Lubitsch touch." Charles Durning is also a standout as the notorious "Concentration Camp Ehrhardt."While this film is well worth watching, I also STRONGLY recommend the original Lombard-Benny classic, if you've never seen it. But you won't hear Jack Benny and Carole Lombard sing "Sweet Georgia Brown" in Polish!