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Watch Robert Redford: The Con With Conviction & the End of a Legendary Screen Persona
In 1950s Cuba, a professional gambler falls for a woman heavily involved in the revolution movement.In 1950s Cuba, a professional gambler falls for a woman heavily involved in the revolution movement.In 1950s Cuba, a professional gambler falls for a woman heavily involved in the revolution movement.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 nominations total
Featured reviews
How does a cool professional gambler show passion? He gives up the Big Game to rescue his beloved. How can a passionate woman reconcile the two loves of her life--the noble hero and his cause and the man who makes her feel most like a woman? Yes, it's Casablanca revisited. And Lena Olin portrays her ambivalence as ably as her Swedish compatriot, Ingrid Bergman. Fault the script for not delivering the depth of Casablanca, the humor--Alan Arkin could have been the equal of Claude Rains but didn't get the lines. But the cinematography makes pre-revolutionary Havana palpable, in its glamour and seaminess, its whiff of a bygone era. Who wouldn't want to drive a Cadillac convertible onto the ferry at Key West and debark in Havana?
I love it for its ...flavor. For Lena Olin and Robert Redford. For the clash between romance and politic. For the old image of people in the womb of bad times. And for a Cuba who was so easy lost. And that is all.
Many will claim that Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford were on auto-pilot while making this film. Based on their previous collaborative efforts, the well-received Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were, The Electric Horseman, and Out of Africa, which swept the Academy Awards, people wanted to see their movies. They could make any movie they wanted. They made Havana, and NOBODY wanted to see it.
Maybe Pollack, brilliant in his own right, set his watch according to Redford's schedule at this time, and history shows that, subsequent to Havana, and its box office failure Sydney Pollack basically quit directing. His influence in film is still served, and may be better served as a producer, witness Sliding Doors, Sense and Sensibility, Fabulous Baker Boys, and Searching For Bobby Fischer, all of which he helped bring to the screen.
But, back to the matter at hand-Redford as a gambler, Lena Olin, his distraction (and what a distraction)--the film feels good, looks good, and gives us some perspective on Cuba in the waning hours of Batista.
Olin (pre-Romeo is Bleeding, post Unbearable Lightness of Being) is properly introduced to American audiences, and is not inappropriate as leading lady to one of Hollywood's leading stars, Redford, who, even on auto-pilot, delivers a strong, engaging performance.
I understand this film was heavily maligned at release, and failed dismally at the box office, but I enjoyed it. It is a beautiful film to watch with attractive leads - and that alone stands it well ahead of many of the alternatives out there today.
Maybe Pollack, brilliant in his own right, set his watch according to Redford's schedule at this time, and history shows that, subsequent to Havana, and its box office failure Sydney Pollack basically quit directing. His influence in film is still served, and may be better served as a producer, witness Sliding Doors, Sense and Sensibility, Fabulous Baker Boys, and Searching For Bobby Fischer, all of which he helped bring to the screen.
But, back to the matter at hand-Redford as a gambler, Lena Olin, his distraction (and what a distraction)--the film feels good, looks good, and gives us some perspective on Cuba in the waning hours of Batista.
Olin (pre-Romeo is Bleeding, post Unbearable Lightness of Being) is properly introduced to American audiences, and is not inappropriate as leading lady to one of Hollywood's leading stars, Redford, who, even on auto-pilot, delivers a strong, engaging performance.
I understand this film was heavily maligned at release, and failed dismally at the box office, but I enjoyed it. It is a beautiful film to watch with attractive leads - and that alone stands it well ahead of many of the alternatives out there today.
Jack Weil, played by Robert Redford, feels at home in this corrupt city
He's a professional gambler looking for the game of his life
He played in every Elks Club and Moose Hall in America
He remembers every hand of every game and now he wants a shot, only one shot in Havana
But while he is on the verge of winning everything Bobby Duran (Lena Olin) has lost all she ever knew Olin plays the wife of a Cuban revolutionary, Raul Julia Bobby has nothing to lose or to protect And in a super-natural and strange way Jack reaches her And so, as Cuba crumbles Jack is drawn in Bobby's world of the revolutionaries and, in one crucial moment he sees himself he must choose between the greatest card game of his life and the woman he loves
There's a kind of exotic combination between Redford and Olin's characters Between Redford's very American, blond, golden look and Olin's dark, intense Swedish expression
Sydney Pollack's "Havana" is a love story that takes place during the week of Christmas, 1958 which was the last week Batista was in power before Castro came in It was the last week of this kind of a circus that Havana was An attractive city full of gambling, of burlesque, of every kind of hedonistic pleasure possible
But while he is on the verge of winning everything Bobby Duran (Lena Olin) has lost all she ever knew Olin plays the wife of a Cuban revolutionary, Raul Julia Bobby has nothing to lose or to protect And in a super-natural and strange way Jack reaches her And so, as Cuba crumbles Jack is drawn in Bobby's world of the revolutionaries and, in one crucial moment he sees himself he must choose between the greatest card game of his life and the woman he loves
There's a kind of exotic combination between Redford and Olin's characters Between Redford's very American, blond, golden look and Olin's dark, intense Swedish expression
Sydney Pollack's "Havana" is a love story that takes place during the week of Christmas, 1958 which was the last week Batista was in power before Castro came in It was the last week of this kind of a circus that Havana was An attractive city full of gambling, of burlesque, of every kind of hedonistic pleasure possible
Havana is a favorite of mine. Sure it's a slick Hollywood movie but I thought Redford and Olin were marvelous together and fit their roles perfectly. Doesn't it seem natural to find Redford in exotic Havana playing cards on the eve of the revolution? And doesn't Olin's intelligence , charm, and beauty fit her role ? The supporting cast were flawless and the intriguing plot stood on it's own merit. The sentimental ending was superb and the musical score which received an academy award nomination was brilliant. Better than mediocre.
Did you know
- TriviaActor Raul Julia appeared in a significant supporting role in the film without any credit or billing at all in the film. Julia chose to be uncredited because producers for contractual reasons could not accommodate Julia's request for him to be billed second alongside Robert Redford, as the top two above-the-title star-teaming credits had already been signed over to top first-billed Redford and second-billed actress Lena Olin, with the third billed credit already having been contracted to actor Alan Arkin. According to the "LA Times," Raul Julia's agent Jeff Hunter said: "Our usual above-the-title credit wasn't available. So, we decided not to take any credit at all." Director Sydney Pollack said told the same paper: "The only billing left for Julia was to be stacked with the rest of the names . . . his agent felt that would be a step backward" and there is a dilemma when there is "an actor on the ascendancy, like [Raul] Julia, and you ask the actor to do a role that's somewhat smaller [than their emerging star status]." Julia had found rising-star status since his performance in the Academy Award winning film Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985).
- GoofsAlthough the film is set in 1958, the garage scene uses a 1961 re-recorded version of Rum And Coca Cola by The Andrews Sisters. This version was recorded for Dot Records, two years after the movie's setting.
- How long is Havana?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,243,140
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,175,360
- Dec 16, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $9,645,440
- Runtime2 hours 24 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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