To Be or Not to Be (1983)

A film review by Christopher Null - Copyright © 2004 Filmcritic.com

Over a decade after Mel Brooks envisioned a Nazi musical in The Producers, he got his chance to make one for real, in the remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 film To Be or Not to Be. The movie itself is kind of a dud (Polish actor makes do during the Nazi invasion, impersonates the Germans to get out of trouble), but listen for the dirge theme, which was stolen e-x-a-c-t-l-y from the ominous tune periodically underlying Raiders of the Lost Ark. Listen for yourself!

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Rating

3.0 out of 5 Stars

Cast and Crew

  • Director: Alan Johnson
  • Producer: Mel Brooks
  • Screenwriter: Ronny Graham, Thomas Meehan
  • Stars: Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Tim Matheson, Charles Durning, Christopher Lloyd, José Ferrer
  • MPAA Rating: PG