Underground poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Miki Manojlovic, Lazar Ristovski, Slavko Stimac, Bora Todorovic, Srdjan Todorovic ... see more see more... , Hark Bohm , Davor Dujmovic , Mirjana Jokovic , Mirjana Karanovic , Branislav Lecic , Emir Kusturica , Pierre Spengler , Danilo 'Bata' Stojkovic , Dragan Nikolic , Branko Cvejic , Milena Pavlovic , Rick Dano

An unpredictable black comedy with an epic scope, Emir Kusturica's highly acclaimed Underground takes a look at the modern history of Yugoslavia through the often absurd misadventures of two friends o... read more read more...ver several decades. The film begins in Belgrade in 1941, establishing the friendship between the gregarious Blacky and the more intellectual Marko during a drunken, late-night musical procession that establishes the riotous tone to follow. Fellow members of the Communist Party, the friends also share an involvement in shady business activities and an attraction for a beautiful actress. Soon, the chaos of World War II forces them to take refuge in an underground shelter with a variety of other townspeople. Years pass and the war ends, but Marko and the actress trick the others into believing that the war is still going on. Kusturica turns this inherently absurd premise into a vibrant portrait of the contradictory, foolish nature of war. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the film received great acclaim on the festival circuit but had a hard time securing a release in the United States. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Flixster Users

95% liked it

19,870 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

18 critics

Unrated, 3 hr. 12 min.

Directed by: Emir Kusturica

Release Date: June 20, 1995

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: December 23, 2003

Stats: 1,011 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

None yet... Got one?

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (1,011)

  • fb100002359227440
    April 21, 2012
    fb100002359227440
    One of the best films I ever saw. A surreal, poetic, unique and dark comedy about war, pride, friendship and illusion. An controversial epic of Emir Kusturica.
  • bookmunki
    August 20, 2011
    bookmunki
    One of the best black comedies I have ever seen! Comedy typically doesn't do so well with war time settings; but, with such characters, you can't help but laugh.While Yugoslavia as a country may no longer exist, its essence and spirit live strong.
  • RossCollinsUK
    January 25, 2009
    RossCollinsUK
    Totally surreal tale of two brothers' resistance against the German occupation of Yugoslavia. They form an underground society to help the communist effort by producing weapons. This is an epic film that covers 50 years in three hours as the crazy Serbs continue their fight again... read morest the fascist foe right up to the civil war.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    March 23, 2008
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    *On my "best of the 1990s" list.
  • leina1
    June 19, 2007
    leina1
    Amazing!
  • KLFilmmaker
    February 22, 2007
    KLFilmmaker
    A materpiece for true lovers of cinema. Set pieces, characters & scenarios reminded me of a Jeunet film. The synopsis in here pretty much sums it up.
  • vkelman
    February 4, 2010
    vkelman
    It's the best movie by Emir Kusturica I saw so far.
    ( I've seen "Black Cat, White Cat", "When Father Was Away on Business, and "Do You Remember Dolly Bell?"". Have not seen "Time of the Gypsies" yet.)

    Fantastic parable, very much "Kusturica movie" and deeply moving too. Brilli... read moreant and unique actors.
  • MisterMarvelous
    January 1, 2009
    MisterMarvelous
    This movie has "it". That indescribable and undeniable sense of greatness that is found in only a select handful of films. We follow two friends (who have a very odd and interesting relationship) as they live through tumultuous times during World War II. The two friends have an u... read morenderground weapons factory that can be seen almost as a full functioning community. This is all imagined in a very surreal and dream like way. The underground society is focused on much of the film as the war ends; but the people underground continue to live in fear; unaware that it has been over for many years. You will feel like you've experienced the full lives of the two main characters by the films end; and the plot plays out so poetically that after watching it grew on me substantially and has been lingering in my mind ever since. An absolute epic that you shouldn't miss. 4.75/5 stars.
  • jes25924
    June 27, 2008
    jes25924
    Underground is a fable about a country that no longer exists, it's breakdown, and fragmentation literally illustrated in the films final moments when the characters gathered together on a beach find the ground breaking off like a glacier, and sailing out into the ocean. That's ju... read morest one the many amazing images thrown into the flamming bonfire of this movie, a bombing where all the animals escape from the zoo, drunken tank rampages/singalongs, etc. At over three hours long, the film tries to pack about as much information and jubuliation as it can, I lost count of how many parties there are. Theres an insistent zeal and vitality in this film that come out in the first frame, where two men drive a wagon drunkenly through town while a full horn band runs behind them playing in perfect time. "Undergound" covers a huge amount of time in a dense allegorical space, but does without succombing to mellacholly or pretension, or getting to tangled in its own details, though with further views, the details are plentiful. This movie made good on it's hype, and managed to really be one of the best films of the 90's, it's massive scale, and manic performances, probably turned away as many as they might have brought in, as might the allegorical nature of the story. Which is a real shame because this is the most entertaining historical movies, I have ever watched, almost each character monologues, sings, dances, performes phsyical comedy, and all without feeling staged or forced, or rather feeling appropriately staged, the right style at the right moment. It's a long, long, sit, but it's well worth the time, a fun, funny, lyrical, surreal, and boisterous epic of a country existing in the minds of it's people, it's passions and virtues as well as it's trappings.

View All Underground Reviews

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

A sprawling, rowdy, vital film laced with both outrageous absurdist dark humor and unspeakable pain, suffering and injustice. Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Feverish, whimsical allegory elevated by moments of brilliant clarity. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

For anyone who's an aficionado of film, this is pure, unadulterated bliss. Full Review

Jeff Millar
January 1, 2000
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

The film can be both frenetic and strained. But it also has has a great deal of power and can be quite haunting.

Jake Euker
June 29, 2004
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)

Brilliant, outrageous filmmaking. Underground is touching, hilarious, and new.

Ed Gonzalez
December 21, 2003
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

Emir Kusturica's tragic-farce Underground may be the most important film of the last 25 years. Full Review

June 5, 2002
Boxoffice Magazine

A sprawling, imaginative, bold and impressive work. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
March 3, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Offers a zany overview of the treacherous path of politics in Yugoslavia leading to the outbreak of civil war in 1992. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's a snoozer. Full Review

Jim Ridley
January 1, 2000
Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene

One of the great moviegoing experiences of recent years -- a work of staggering sadness, vitality, and comic invention that's as awe-inspiring a spectacle in its own unhinged way as Titanic. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Avalon
    Avalon (100%)
  • Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è bella)
    Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è bella) (60%)
  • Amarcord
    Amarcord (100%)
  • No Man's Land
    No Man's Land (100%)

More Movies like Underground

Facts

Submit a Fact | View All
    • Deda: The monkey has got into the tank. Catastrophe!
Submit a Fact | View All

Underground : Watch Free on TV

Underground Trivia

  • In the movie Resident Evil, what is the underground lab called.  Answer »
  • What well known movie about underground fighting and anarchy did Chuck Palahniuk write?  Answer »
  • In which movie did a bunch of kids follow a treasure map into underground passages?  Answer »
  • Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon was in a movie where "strange underground creatures" killed people in a small isolated town. Which movie was that?  Answer »
More Underground Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Underground. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Underground to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?