To Be or Not to Be

PG

Released Dec 16, 1983

1h 48m

Comedy

LGBTQ+

List

55%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

75%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

Frederick Bronski (Mel Brooks) and his adulterous wife, Anna (Anne Bancroft), are a pair of hammy actors running a low-rent theater in Warsaw, Poland. When the Nazis invade, the Bronskis find their theater becoming a makeshift refuge for local Jews and a gateway to the Polish underground. Using their limited acting skills, the members of the theater troupe attempt to deceive the Nazis and lead an escape. Meanwhile, a Polish pilot (Tim Matheson) thinks he has found a spy in England.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

A klunky, tacky-looking color reproduction of the original.

Mar 3, 2019

Full Review

Harry Haun

New York Daily News

Frills notwithstanding, the film is faithful in its frenetic fashion.

Jan 18, 2018

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Bancroft's sustained delights are not matched by Brooks, who seems to be trying too hard.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Michael Lasky

Bay Area Reporter

To Be or Not To Be is not an unlikable film. It's just not a particularly good one. It's too self-conscious in its attempts at cheap laughs to be anything memorable.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Bruce R. Miller

Sioux City Journal

The first feature doesn't cry out for a remake. The second doesn't justify it.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

Bad imitations are loathsome. [Full Review in Spanish]

Feb 5, 2020

Full Review

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Stephen C

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

andy f

Probably prefer it to the Jack Benny version (I love Jack Benny but he was just too hammy). Brooks adds a little more gravitas (and that's saying something for Mel Brooks!) but it's Anne Bancroft that steals the show - she's wonderful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

kevin c

Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft star in this comedy about a theatre group in Poland on the verge of being invaded by the Nazis and their madcap way of escaping Poland by using their acting chops to portray themselves as Germans. Amusing for the most part with fun turns from Charles Durning and Tim Matheson.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

s r

It seemed like they were trying too hard. It didn't measure up to the original.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Terry S

Brooks and Bancroft are irresistible in another Mel slapstick extravaganza !

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/10/20

Full Review

steve d

Ok comedy stolen by Charles Durning

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Alan Johnson

Director

Mel Brooks

Dr. Frederick Bronski

Anne Bancroft

Anna Bronski

Charles Durning

Col. Erhardt

Tim Matheson

Lt. Andre Sobinski

José Ferrer

Prof. Siletski

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Synopsis

Frederick Bronski (Mel Brooks) and his adulterous wife, Anna (Anne Bancroft), are a pair of hammy actors running a low-rent theater in Warsaw, Poland. When the Nazis invade, the Bronskis find their theater becoming a makeshift refuge for local Jews and a gateway to the Polish underground. Using their limited acting skills, the members of the theater troupe attempt to deceive the Nazis and lead an escape. Meanwhile, a Polish pilot (Tim Matheson) thinks he has found a spy in England.

Director: Alan Johnson
Producer: Mel Brooks
Screenwriter: Thomas Meehan, Ronny Graham, Edwin Justus Mayer
Distributor: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 1983, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2017
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo