Havana [DVD]

So many reviewers did not like this movie,As is usually the case they are w a y off the mark on this one!This bit of work is elegant and opulent in its presentation. This movie takes you there, full stop!In any venture of this sort that after all is the Holy Grail is it not?You will find yourself carried away in your own personal time machine to the time literally days before Castro came in to power in Cuba in one of the most unique times in Central America for better or for worse it accurately portrays the zenith of Americas influence on Cuba at that time. The imagery is opulent and the cinematography is very well done and the actors are most believable in their parts. Like the best version of Blade Runner Redford has some self narrations that just simply makes the picture like you are seeing it in his characters mind's eye.They even got their facts correct where it comes to play in the story line but this is no documentary but still you just might learn something about the time you did not know. There was much about that time that was not known by the public in general. This picture shows those facts accurately and without bias.There are no political statement being made. Just the reality of the situation as a rich background to the storyThe soundtrack could not be better and is an absolutely perfect companion to the feeling they were trying to reach you with. It's is a great transfer in general and except for some subsonic defects in the 5.1 stream is more than acceptable so don't play it too loud the first time home theater owners. Don't be scared away by this as I tend to be over critical of such things. It's not 1080 P but its every bit of 480 P and considering the price it's right on! It stands up very well to upconversion. This film may yet end up on an HD format but I am very glad I purchased this DVD now.If you are in to the old "Sam Spade" type of pictures while not a bit like Casablanca and I find the references to it in other reviews puzzling way off the mark It simply clearly displays their haste in their judgment of this film so again don't believe the reviewers one bit. Bogie and Bacall would have been great in the lead rolls and in this I see the comparison a little but this in no way takes away from the actual actors Robert Redford and Lena Olin, they were perfectly cast. While Raul Julia's role was of more of a supporting actor's role his roll is worth the time alone and along with Alan Arkin was perfectly cast as well. There is a rich cast of supporting actor's. High marks to Pollic for this misunderstood sleeper of a picture meaning much better than advertized or for that matter reviewed.Better than reviewed just does not say enough!Enjoy!

Didn't like yhis movie compared to other ones

First the good. Great cinematography and a decent blu-ray transfer.“Havana” is a noble attempt to reprise the story line of the great and classic film “Casablanca”, with Redford playing the Bogart n’er do well, politically disinterested male lead, Lena Olin playing the Ingrid Bergman role of the wife of the revolutionary leader, who mistakenly thinks she has been widowed, and Raul Julia playing the Paul Henreid role of the thought to be martyred revolutionary leader. This time, though, the story is set in 1958 Cuba instead of 1941 Morocco, and instead of being a heroic figure defying Hitler, the revolutionary leader is an associate of the thug, Fidel Castro.Unfortunately this cast doesn’t gel like the cast of “Casablanca” did, and the film is completely lacking in the charm and intrigue that made “Casablanca” a classic. The dialogue that made so many of the lines in “Casablanca” movie standards falls completely flat in this flick with much of the interaction between Redford and Olin coming off as simply corny.Not a horrible way to spend 2 1/2 hours, but this movie isn’t even in the same league as the 1942 classic it seeks to emulate.

just a great movie

Not the best but goes good on a rainy day

This is really a beautiful movie on several levels. The sets and atmosphere really do seem to capture the feel of pre-revolution Havana. Redford is quite good in the lead, although I was less impressed Lena Olin as a leading lady. She seemed a bit stiff in many scenes and I wasn't as convinced that a hard core gambler and pleasure seeker like Redford's character would be so quick to fall for her. I thought that Raul Julia was great in a relatively small part.The movie really was more about atmospherics for me than anything to do with the love story. I enjoyed the depiction of Havana and the decadence of it's nightlife as well as the growing threat of violence as the rebels approach. The night of the government's fall is very similar to the scene from Godfather II including people smashing parking meters, etc.All in all I would recommend this for those interested in Cuba during that period.

This is a superb love story with an ending that is disturbing for me. I like stories where the boy and girl live together happily ever after. This ain't one of them. The sex scene could have been omitted which would not have detracted from the film at all. If you love this type of story, you will also love "Waterloo Bridge" even more. It always makes me cry and I'm an old geezer. It's from the '50's when I was in my 20s.

The premise to this movie about a high-stake gambler travelling to fascist Batista Cuba to play poker with high-rollers in American gangster controlled casinos during a communist revolution led by Castro is a top-notch idea. The film has lavish production design and slick cinematography. This lasts for about 90 minutes where the film bogs down in tedious emotional scenes between Redford and Lena Olin. The film runs for 145 minutes where Pollack fails to pump up the excitement and interests as it wants to take itself extremely seriously. The template to this film was inspired by CASABLANCA but also fails to have the wit and fun of that film. There's one brief scene in the back of a car where Redford mimicks Bogart. Pollack after HAVANA would go on to direct his second best film in THE FIRM which moves at an entertaining pace and great performances. HAVANA needed that pace and excitement as THE FIRM. Still HAVANA is an interesting film with grand production design. My top 5 Sydney Pollack films would be 5:THE WAY WE WERE 4:THE YAKUZA 3:JERMEHIAH JOHNSON 2: THE FIRM 1: THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR Good mention THE INTERPRETER, OUT OF AFRICA, TOOTSIE and THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?

My brother and I watched this film, which neither of us could remember seeing before. This is the same Pollack/ Redford pairing who made Out of Africa. Havana is set in the week around New Year 1958, leading up to the successful communist takeover. The rebel activity provides a nervous backdrop to the events of the story, which focus on Redford's pro gambler, and Lena Olin, wife of a supporter of the revolution. We found that the film is paced well--unhurried, just right. And the music is fantastic.

This is a classic Robert Redford performance alongside the beautiful Lena Olin. Great older films like this are rarely shown on mainstream film channels like Sky Cinema which tend to have a small catalogue and just repeat them. It was available to rent on Amazon Prime, by far the best film channel, but the DVD wasn’t significantly more to buy from Amazon.

Robert Redford is perfectly cast,Lena Olin is superb and an early performance by Raul Julia shows what a talent was lost when he died young.Alan Arkin,for once,doesn't overact,and Pollack's direction is spot onRecreates 1958 Havana sublimely with an excellent eye for detail and makes the case for both Batista and Castro,even-handedly,being less than complimentary to both.Not sure about the postctript with Redford wandering on a beach many years later.The torture scenes and The Mob are both treated without drifting into parody or becoming gratuitously nasty.

I'm a Robert Redford fan but for me this is not one of his best films. I don't find the relationship between him and the leading actress believable and it seems to lack chemistry. I would prefer to see more of the history linked to this precise period. Nevertheless it is entertaining.

The setting is late December 1958. In the decadent, brash, glitzy ‘sin city’ that is downtown Havana the casinos are awash with American gamblers and revellers, partying with carefree abandon, and seemingly oblivious to the harsh reality that Batista’s regime is about to collapse, and the Cuban revolutionaries under Castro and Guevara are only days away from entering the capital.Into this impending maelstrom comes Jack Weil (Robert Redford), a carefree , middle-aged professional poker player, intent on making a killing in a high stakes game. A chance meeting however with the beautiful, idealistic (and much younger) Bobby Duran ( Lena Olin), wife of a Cuban aristocrat (Raul Julia) sympathetic to the revolution, on the ferry boat over from Miami, and a casual offer to help her smuggle some military radio equipment through immigration, will change his life forever. “Were you waiting for me?” she asks at one point. “All of my life”, he replies.And so the scene is set for a perhaps unlikely love story played out against the events surrounding the fall of Havana. There are shades of ‘Casablanca’, and had the picture actually been made back in the 1950s, rather than 1990, it would have been a natural vehicle for William Holden, or even Frank Sinatra.Certainly the film seems to have been under development for a number of years, with Jack Nicholson and Jane Fonda originally intended for the lead roles. Sonia Braga and Sharon Stone were also considered for the part of Bobby, and Nick Nolte turned down Jack Weil’s role. Ultimately it would become Redford’s 7th and last collaboration with Director Sydney Pollack.Pollack had wanted to film in Cuba, but the US Government would not allow any money to be spent there, so the estimated $40 million budget went to Santo Domingo instead, where a lavish re-creation of a Havana street was built on an air force base.But despite the big budget, a strong cast and a good story the film was not a success at the box office, something Pollack found difficult to explain. Some critics have argued that the ‘chemistry’ was not right between Redford and Olin, others that it just wasn’t in the same league as Bogart and Bergman’.Whatever. It is still well worth watching, and stands comparison with the other Pollack/Redford joint projects.And for film buffs, there is one small scene between Redford and Richard Farnsworth, who had spent most of his film career in stunts or as a bit player, before delivering an Oscar nominated performance at age 79 years in ‘The Straight Story’ (1999).