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As nervy as it is hilarious, this screwball masterpiece from Ernst Lubitsch (Trouble in Paradise) stars Jack Benny (The Jack Benny Program) and, in her final screen appearance, Carole Lombard (My Man Godfrey) as husband-and-wife thespians in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who become caught up in a dangerous spy plot. TO BE OR NOT TO BE is a Hollywood film of the boldest black humor, which went into production soon after the U.S. entered World War II. Lubitsch manages to brilliantly balance political satire, romance, slapstick, and urgent wartime suspense in a comic high-wire act that has never been equaled.
Condition:NEW. Brand New Factory Sealed
Product Details
Actors: Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack
Directors: Ernst Lubitsch
Format: Blu-ray, Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Release Date: August 27, 2013
Run Time: 99 minutes
Special Features
New audio commentary featuring film historian David Kalat; Pinkus's Shoe Palace, a 1916 German silent short directed by and starring Ernst Lubitsch, with a new piano score by Donald Sosin; Lubitsch Le Patron, a 2010 French documentary on the director's career; Two episodes of The Screen Guild Theater, a radio anthology series: Variety (1940), starring Jack Benny, Claudette Colbert, and Lubitsch, and To Be Or Not To Be (1942), an adaptation of the film, starring William Powell, Diana Lewis, and Sig Ruman.
Cast & Crew
Carole Lombard Maria Tura
Jack Benny Joseph Tura
Robert Stack Lt. Stanislav Sobinski
Felix Bressart Greenberg
Lionel Atwill Rawitch
Stanley Ridges Prof. Alexander Siletsky
Sig Rumann Col. Ehrhardt
Tom Dugan Bronski
Charles Halton Producer Dobosh
George Lynn Actor-Adjutant
Henry Victor Capt. Schultz
Maude Eburne Anna, the Maid
Armand "Curly" Wright Makeup Man
Erno Verebes Stage Manager
Halliwell Hobbes Gen. Armstrong
Miles Mander Maj. Cunningham
Frank Reicher Polish Officer
Peter Caldwell Wilhelm Kunze
Wolfgang Zilzer Man in Bookstore
Olaf Hytten Polonius in Warsaw
Charles Irwin Reporter
Leyland Hodgson Second Reporter
Alec Craig Scottish Farmer
James Finlayson Scottish Farmer
Edgar Licho Prompter
Robert O. Davis Gestapo Sergeant
Roland Varno Pilot
Helmut Dantine Copilot
Otto Reichow Co-Pilot
Maurice Murphy Polish R.A.F. pilot
Gene Rizzi Polish R.A.F. Flyer
Paul Barrett Polish R.A.F. pilot
John Kellogg Polish R.A.F. Flyer
Sven Hugo Borg German soldier
Leslie Denison Captain
James Gillette Polish R.A.F. pilot
John Meredith English wireless operator
Technical Credits
Ernst Lubitsch Director, Original Story, Producer
Gordon Bau Makeup
Lawrence W. Butler Special Effects
Julia Heron Set Decoration/Design
Werner Richard Heymann Score Composer, Musical Direction/Supervision
Irene Costumes/Costume Designer
J. McMillan Johnson Art Director
Alexander Korda Producer
Vincent Korda Art Director, Production Designer
Melchior Lengyel Original Story
Frank Maher Sound/Sound Designer
Rudolph Maté Cinematographer
Edwin Justus Mayer Screenwriter
Walter Mayo Production Manager
William McGarry Asst. Director
Miklós Rózsa Score Composer
Dorothy Spencer Editor
William Tummel Asst. Director
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