When Havana was released in 1990, a lot of reviewers unfavorably compared it to Casablanca, and those comparisons (in addition to audience indifference) turned the film into a box-office disaster. It deserved a better fate, because, while this is certainly no masterpiece, it's an intelligent and lavishly produced film about a chapter of history--the final days of Cuba under the collapsing Batista regime--that remains largely unfamiliar to the American mainstream. It's a compelling political backdrop for the story of a high-stakes gambler (Robert Redford) who comes to Cuba seeking the big score in poker games, following his expectation that high rollers will bet wildly as the Cuban government crashes around their heads. In Havana, Redford meets the wife (Lena Olin) of a Communist revolutionary (Raul Julia) with ties to Fidel Castro, and their attraction becomes powerfully mutual after her husband is presumed killed by Cuban police. What follows, as Cuba falls and Redford's character is forced into a crisis of conscience, is a mini-epic love story with tragic overtones, handled with great skill (albeit lagging pace) by longtime Redford collaborator Sydney Pollack. True, it's not nearly as memorable as Casablanca, but this is a worthwhile film, especially if you're interested in the political upheavals in pre-Castro Cuba. --Jeff Shannon
Robert Redford | Jack Weil |
Lena Olin | Bobby Duran |
Alan Arkin | Joe Volpi |
Tomas Milian | Menocal |
Daniel Davis | Marion Chigwell |
Tony Plana | Julio Ramos |
Betsy Brantley | Diane |
Lise Cutter | Patty |
Richard Farnsworth | Professor |
Mark Rydell | Meyer Lansky |
Vasek Simek | Willy |
Fred Asparagus | Baby Hernandez |
Richard Portnow | Mike MacClaney |
Dion Anderson | Roy Forbes |
Carmine Caridi | Captain Potts |
James Medina | Corporal |
Joe Lala | Cuban Businessman |
Salvador Levy | Menocal's Lieutenant |
Dennis Farina | Joe Volpe's assistant |
Bernie Pollack | Hotel Man |
Victor Rivers | Young Cuban #1 |
Alec Ganster | Young Cuban #2 |
Alex Ganster | Young Cuban #2 |
René Monclova | Sim #1 |
Miguel Ángel Suárez | Sim #2 |
Segundo Tarrau | Ricardo |
Félix Germán | Tomás |
Dominique Bonnelly | Monica (as Giovanna Bonnelly) |
Giovanna Bonnelly | Monica |
David Jose Rodriguez | Bufano |
Terri Henderson | Dancer #1 |
Franklin Rodríguez | Jose |
Hugh Kelly | Carlos |
Karen Russell | Dancer #2 |
David Gibson | Sailor |
Adriano González | Rebel Captain |
Raúl Rosado | Roadblock Sergeant |
Mildred I. Ventura | Woman at Burning Villa |
Pepito Guerra | Floridita Manager |
Anthony Bayarri | Modest Casino Cuban |
Alfredo Vorshirm | Modest Casino Tuxedo |
Bonita Marco | Stripper #1 |
Sharon Velez | Stripper #2 |
Darlene Wynn | Stripper #3 |
Miguel Bucarelly | Gomez |
Carlos Miranda | Inspector #1 |
Enrique Chao Barros | Inspector #2 |
Daniel Vasquez | Kid at Finca |
Enrique Chao | Inspector #2 (as Enrique Chao Barros) |
Carmen De Franco | Monica's Grandmother |
Tera Hendrickson | Policewoman #1 (as Terri Hendrickson) |
Raul Julia | Arturo Duran (uncredited) |
Ronald L. Schwary | Executive Producer |
Owen Roizman | Cinematographer |
Victor Checo | Rebel on the run |
Fredric Steinkamp | Film Editor |
William Steinkamp | Film Editor |
Don Brown | Sound Department |
John Duvall | Sound Department |
Peter Handford | Sound Department |
J. Paul Huntsman | Sound Department |
Brad Sherman | Sound Department |
Mark Smith | Sound Department |
Martin Trevis | Sound Department |
Thomas Whiting | Sound Department |
Josephine Powell | Sound Department |
Dave Grusin | Composer |
Terence Marsh | Production Designer |
George Richardson | Art Director |
Steve George | Set Decorator |
Michael Seirton | Set Decorator |
Susan Carol Schwary | key hair stylist |
Lisa Tomblin | hair stylist |
Mary Ann Valdes | hair stylist |
Mark Wittenberg | Makeup Artist |
Lee Cleary | key second assistant director |
José Luis Escolar | second assistant director |
Cathy A. Roszell | additional assistant director: crowd |
David Tomblin | first assistant director |
Adam Somner | Third Assistant Director |
John Alvin | poster artist |
William A. Cimino | lead person |
Glenn Forbes | assistant property master |
Martin Hitchcock | Draughtsman |
Michael King | construction buyer |
Charles Stewart | set dresser |
Paul Wescott | hod scenic painter |
Jessica Gallavan | adr supervisor |