Warner Bros. Releasing To Be Or Not To Be on dvd 3/1/05

[ZEjackbennykid]

hi new member of forum. by request of laura leff after giving her this great news i have the honor of telling you fans that Warner Brothers will be releasing To Be Or Not To Be on March 1, 2005. I will post all upcoming info on the dvd's special features. JACK BENNY RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ZEjackbennykid]

hi folks heres an update on the dvd that i forgot to post in first message.a picture of the dvd cover can be seen on Amazon .com. Please give me replys and feed back to information.

[River Phoenix]

I was just looking for this movie; I know a couple of people that have copies but didn't realize that it was never released on a DVD - It's cool that Warner is still releasing this movie. Who do they expect to buy it besides old people and fans? Maybe Jack will get some press. I'm grabbing the DVD on March 1, for sure.

[BT]

It's a famous movie, by a famous director (Ernst Lubitsch). So "old people and fans" are probably enough of a market to make it worth releasing on DVD. If it hasn't been released on DVD already, I'm surprised--many far more obscure films have been released. It's a good one, and a different character than Benny usually plays.

[ZEjackbennykid]

actually BT, I may one of the few teenagers who wil buy it. for i'am only 13 and have been a benny fan since I was 10 along w/ George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bob Hope, Fred Allen, and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy

[River Phoenix]

actually BT, I may one of the few teenagers who wil buy it. for i'am only 13 and have been a benny fan since I was 10 along w/ George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bob Hope, Fred Allen, and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy

Good for you

[BT]

actually BT, I may one of the few teenagers who wil buy it. for i'am only 13 and have been a benny fan since I was 10 ...

You have good taste! You probably are one of very few 13-year-olds who would be tempted to buy that movie. Just don't expect it to be a "Jack Benny movie"; Jack is the lead actor (and he was very proud of it), but it is an Ernst Lubitisch film, with a different kind of humor (and some very serious undertones) than if Benny were running the show. Lubitsch is known for a subtle, sophisticated and "European" wit. Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot) idolized Lubitsch. If you are interested in these early films, a great one by Lubitsch is called "Trouble in Paradise." But they are an aquired taste--I recommend that you rent these DVD's before buying.

[ZEjackbennykid]

BT, i do understand the type of humor Lubitsch put in the film but I I have not seen Trouble in Paradise. Is it avalible on DVD

[shimp scrampi]

My favorite reference to "To Be or Not to Be" on the Jack Benny Program is an episode where Jack sees it in the TV listings and mentions it to Rochester.

Jack: "Hey, one of my movies, 'To Be or Not to Be' is on tonight. Say, that was a good one."
Rochester: "Boss, that was THE good one!"

[BT]

BT, i do understand the type of humor Lubitsch put in the film but I I have not seen Trouble in Paradise. Is it avalible on DVD

Yes, it is. You'll find reviews and details at amazon.com.

[ZEjackbennykid]

I was just looking for this movie; I know a couple of people that have copies but didn't realize that it was never released on a DVD - It's cool that Warner is still releasing this movie. Who do they expect to buy it besides old people and fans? Maybe Jack will get some press. I'm grabbing the DVD on March 1, for sure.

Actually River Pheonix there is a Benny movie avalible on DVD. The movie The Mediciene Man is avalible through a 5 disc set from Passport Entertainment. Check Amazon for details. As for Benny getting press, it mabey likley to happen, but the part that will get more press would be that it was Carole Lombards last film before her death. If the DVD suceeds then more Benny movies may be released

[ZEjackbennykid]

Great news folks. Amazon just reveled the special features for the DVD:
Subtitles: English Spanish Frenc
Audio Tracks: English ( dolby digital 2.0 mono)
Benny comedy short The Rounder
Archival News reel

[shimp scrampi]

It's out now - here are a couple of reviews of the disc

http://www.dvdtown.com/review/tobeornottobe/15643/2747/

http://www.dvdfile.com/software/review/ ... ttobe.html

Sounds like Warners didn't do a whole lot to clean up and restore the movie, which is odd because they are one of the best studios in that arena. I haven't seen it myself yet.

[Roman]

In listening to Jack's radio shows, I was struck by how little plugging he did for To Be or Not to Be (perhaps two mentions tops). Jack typically plugged his movies extensively (some might say excessively) before they premiered but not with To Be or Not to Be. I suspect that the reason is because of the political/serious themes of the movie. With the heated political divide that existed in pre-Pearl Harbor America between isolationists and interventionists, I'm sure Jack wasn't anxious to step into the debate and risk antagonizing a large part of his audience.

The sad irony, of course, is that just as the attack on Pearl Harbor united America and made it especially receptive to the anti-Nazi satire of To Be or Not to Be, the death of Carol Lombard made it impossible for Jack (or the studio) to promote the movie.

[LLeff]

In listening to Jack's radio shows, I was struck by how little plugging he did for To Be or Not to Be (perhaps two mentions tops). Jack typically plugged his movies extensively (some might say excessively) before they premiered but not with To Be or Not to Be. I suspect that the reason is because of the political/serious themes of the movie.

Hmm, I think Carole Lombard's death is more likely the reason. Jack's plugging generally includes the cast making cracks about the movie being bad or saying something derogatory about it. Not only was TBONTB a very good movie, I'm sure that Jack's upset over Lombard's death would have made him not want to have any cracks about the movie.