‎To Be or Not to Be (1942) directed by Ernst Lubitsch • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

To Be or Not to Be

1942 Directed by Ernst Lubitsch

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

Carole Lombard Jack Benny Robert Stack Felix Bressart Lionel Atwill Stanley Ridges Sig Ruman Tom Dugan Charles Halton Henry Victor Maude Eburne George Lynn Halliwell Hobbes Miles Mander

Alternative Titles

Ser o no ser, Быть или не быть

comedy war

99 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Jake Cole ★★★★½ 2

"So they call me Concentration Camp Ehrhardt, eh?"
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 2

87/100

A proud, important joke mixed and matched for an hour and a half, but when its subject is so sinister and its execution so multifaceted in delivery and tone balances, it doesn't really matter that each comedic springboard is built off of the same root feelings of anger and frustration. Ernst Lubitsch is pissed off but entirely confident in his storytelling, never relenting from harsh realities but still sly enough to make a smile and a tear one and the same. If any one moment shifted towards the absurd, Lubitsch would dial it back for a more humane, grounded segment, and in a few sections, he even shook the two flavors and moods together for an unpredictable end result…
Review by Dragonknight ★★★★½ 2

Film #9 of Project 40

”They named a brandy after Napoleon, they made a herring out of Bismarck, and the Fuhrer is going to end up as a piece of cheese!”

This is how it should be done. Every now and then you find a movie that you can watch over and over without getting tired or bored, for me To Be or Not To Be is one of those films. A charming and delightful little comedy from Ernst Lubitsch set in the Nazi occupied Warsaw which makes fun of Nazis better than any other satire, honors actors who are passionately working to bring us lively theaters and like other Lubitsch movies bombards us with polished, highly amusing and elegant…
Review by Monday Seagull

Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
(George Bernard Shaw)
Review by Rembrandt Q Pumpernickel ★★★★

More transgressive and surprising than Inglourious Basterds.
Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 2

87

"Well, Colonel, all I can say is... you can't have your cake and shoot it, too."

Recent reviews

Review by BJ Smith ★★★★½

This is one of the most enjoyable movie viewing experiences I’ve had in a long time. This film was such a joy to watch unfold - genuinely hilarious from the very first frame.

One of the best ways to disempower something, particularly something horrific, is to make fun of it. Comedy is a powerful weapon, and much in the same way that Chaplin took on Hitler in The Great Dictator two years earlier, To Be Or Not To Be fights fascism with razor sharp wit, cunning cut downs, and hilariously unflattering characterizations.

Seek this film out. Not only will it make you laugh, the plot is intricate and incredibly clever!
Review by Grant He ★★★

[FSDO Review Coming Soon]

59/100 - Recommended with Strong Reservations
Review by Claude ★★★★

83/100
A most unusual beast. Starts off as pure comedy, with snappy dialogue, but suddenly turns into a fairly gripping thriller. Later, tendrils of comedy return to infiltrate the film. Somehow, it feels all of a piece. Surprisingly erotically charged at times.
Review by Julian Rhodes ★★★★½

I saw the second half of this a while back but only now after seeing the first half does it make sense. You have no idea what a treat this film is.
Review by antonishere ★★★★½

As funny and entertaining as Dr. Strangelove or Inglorious Basterds.
Review by DrRhymes ★★★★½

Well, that concentration joke didn't age well.
Review by np1048 ★★★★½

Great time. Get clicking
Review by Matt Goldberg ★★★★½

The genius of this movie is in how it shows and understands that authoritarianism and buffoonery are closely tied together. That makes everything a unique balance of hilarity and thrills, a world where everyone is an idiot with a gun. The film is damn funny and clever, but it never cheapens or diminishes the stakes or the setting.
Review by Marco Batelli ★★★★

Vogliamo vivere è riassumibile con un aforisma attribuito a Cechov: "La vita è teatro ma non sono ammesse prove". Allo scoppio della seconda guerra mondiale, un compagnia di attori teatrali polacchi si ritrova coinvolto in un piano della resistenza, volto a eliminare una spia nazista. Finzione e realtà si sovrappongono continuamente, dando vita a una serie di incredibili colpi di scena. Lubitsch firmò un efficace film, satira contro il nazismo e manifesto del pacifismo. Nel cast figura anche Carole Lombard, che scomparirà poco prima delle riprese a causa di un incidente aereo.