Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

harkins-joe I was an extra in the film when it was shot, mostly in and around Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. That location was chosen for many reasons. Most obviously, with no special effects needed, it is easy to shoot it so it looks Havana on the eve of the revolution. It was also home to the last surviving P51 Mustangs, a gift of the USA to the Dominican Air Force, that were used in a scene. Shooting began on Thanksgiving morning because the 4-day weekend was when a sizable body of blue-eyed Gringos could be assembled from the expatriates working in such places as the Carol Morgan School (almost all American faculty), the US Consulate (largest in the world at the time) and others, such as myself, a NY born journalist with the island's weekly English-language newspaper. There were also a substantial number of child molesters, con men and other criminal fugitives living there openly due to the lack of an extradition treaty (since corrected).At 5am on T-Day some 50/60 of us extras assembled in a stiffing plastic tent set up next to a huge, open span, tin-roofed warehouse in the Haina District. For two hours we were costumed in period clothing, haircuts and coifs. They actually used Brylcream, just as I once did. Inside the warehouse was an amazing reconstruction of a fictional overnight ferry that supposedly ran from Key West to Havana.All the while, as we were being prepared, we were distracted by the powerful smell of turkey roasting next to the tent in a row of ovens made of 55-gallon drums.At 7:30am or so we were assembled inside the "ferry-boat"and greeted by Pollack. He explained we were about to help make an "homage to Casablanca." He then ticked off the similarity in plot points made so often by others since then. Shooting started. I, and a woman from the consulate, were dancing next to Redford and another extra, when Lena Olin cuts into Redford's arms. When lunch break was called, we were marched back into the tents, past the roasting ovens. As we entered the tent, each of us was handed a brown paper bag that contained a sandwich on stale bread, obviously days old, made with mystery meat, plus a bag of locally-made cardboard-flavored, limp (literally) imitations of Doritos and an orange (some got an apple.) The turkey was for the crew and the main cast. There was not even a slice for us extras.After working as an extra off and on over the next month or so (100 pesos a day then worth US$10 - that rate being another attraction of the location), I had formed an opinion of what I was seeing. I also was an extra in scenes shot in the cultural palace on Avenida Maximo Gomez and at the old yacht club. It become obvious to me, that to all involved, from Pollack on down, this was just a paycheck movie, made because it could be financed. I saw no signs of passion or purpose. I wrote a prerelease freelance review that was published in a then popular US film magazine. I referred to Havana as a "A Dominican Turkey." To his dying day, and most notably in a NY Times interview, Pollack denied that he ever said he was remaking Casablanca. He claimed he had no idea why that silly rumor started. I sent him a letter through the NYT with my reminder of those first-day events. He never replied.But, aside from the fact that my review was prescient, it also is a perfect example of the saying, "Revenge is a dish that tastes best cold."

MARIO GAUCI To begin with, I had always stayed away from this one until now (watched in tribute to its recently-deceased director) given the fact that it was a notorious flop on original release. Having caught up with it, it’s strange to think that Hollywood was still trying to recapture the magic of CASABLANCA (1942) fifty years on: the title itself, the backdrop of a country in turmoil, a hero who won’t ‘stick his neck out’ until he meets the beautiful wife of a ‘freedom fighter’ (believed dead at some point), the gambling element as a symbol of the fickle nature of destiny, his antagonistic relationship with the chief villain (whom he dupes in the end), etc.A lot depends on the effortless charm of its protagonist (Robert Redford – still looking great at 54), though his character is so laid-back that it’s hard to swallow him being so swiftly and easily a smooth operator with the authorities when required! Lena Olin and Raul Julia play the couple in peril this time around: reportedly, the latter so wanted co-star billing (though his relatively brief role hardly demanded it) that he opted to appear unbilled if his request was declined (which is exactly what happened)!; an overweight but quite effective Tomas Milian (a native of Cuba, incidentally) is the head of the organization rooting out the rebels; also on hand are Alan Arkin as the put-upon casino owner, Richard Farnswoth as “The Professor” and Mark Rydell as the real-life Meyer Lansky.As expected of Pollack, he gives the film a polished feel all round – from Owen Roizman’s diffused lighting to Terence Marsh’s remarkable production design (depicting both the glamor and the seediness of Havana) and Dave Grusin’s plush Oscar-nominated score. Overlong at nearly 2½ hours, the film’s ultimate failure can be pinned down to its essential dullness (lacking in action and being deliberately-paced to boot) – despite a number of undeniably compelling individual sequences.

lastliberal I just never get tired of seeing the jubilant masses in Havana on January 1st, 1959, as the rats go scurrying to their boats and planes to escape the results of their support and participation in a cruel regime. It doesn't matter whether I am watching The Godfather or Soy Cubba or Havana, the exhilaration is the same.Robert Redford and director Sydney Pollack join together in what is billed as Casblanca in the Caribbean. Redford is great as usual and may be a worthy successor to Bogart. The dialog in the film was also good, as was the score - beautiful music! Of course, I was excited to see Lena Olin (the Ingrid Bergman character). As a big fan of Auturo Perez-Reverte, I enjoyed seeing her in The Ninth Gate and am glad she is here in her first American film. She was magnificent.Raul Julia played her husband. He always adds to any film he appears in.

mfazil34 I watched this movie in 93 because i was working in the casino and of course Robert Redford, one of my favorite actor. i was expecting not very big performance but i noticed that movie was excellent as it run. Actually it's best the movie ever made which describes what a real love is, although the final is drastic. On the other hand it's a good political review of the 50s between Comies & Independent followers. So it is a good movie if you spend your time with your lover after a romantic dinner and then sit and watch that spectacular movie with 2 glasses of wine. Some little action & non-boring movie even if it's 108 minute long.