Underground
CiBy 2000 | Release Date: June 20, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Slant MagazineEd Gonzalez
Underground is a unique blend of lowbrow slapstick and sophisticated war commentary, earning it well-deserved comparisons to Ernst Lubitsch’s brilliant To Be and Not To Be (possibly the funniest movie ever made) and the films of Abbott and Costello. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
At almost three hours, it's a masterwork of brilliant editing and design; not a frame is unwarranted, not a scene excessive, and it holds together over its lengthy running time in a way few films half its length can manage. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsDave Kehr
Delirious in its excess, but never less than ferociously intelligent and operatically emotional, Underground represents one of those rare, exhilarating moments when an outsize artistic vision is fueled by an apparently unlimited budget. Not to be missed. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A feverish pipe dream of a movie, fueled by an unbridled artistic imagination that serves as evidence of mad genius at work. [30 Dec 1996, p.1C]
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
However one chooses to take its jaundiced view of history, it's probably the best film to date by the talented Kusturica (Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream), a triumph of mise en scene mated to a comic vision that keeps topping its own hyperbole. Read full review
80
CineVueBen Nicholson
Underground is bravura filmmaking at its most entrancing and its labyrinthine political context only serves to heighten its fascinating appeal. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Feverish, whimsical allegory elevated by moments of brilliant clarity. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Under director Emir Kusturica's gifted hand, lunacy here takes a poignant and, ultimately, uplifting turn. [28 Oct 1996]
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
It’s a sprawling, rowdy, vital film laced with both outrageous absurdist dark humor and unspeakable pain, suffering and injustice. Read full review
80
VarietyDeborah Young
Emir Kusturica's epic black comedy about Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1992 is a three-hour steamroller circus that leaves the viewer dazed and exhausted, but mightily impressed. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Emir Kusturica's magnificent fresco rips through half a century of the tragic history of his homeland -- the former Yugoslavia -- with all the solemnity of an amusement park ride. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesJohn Hartl
Compelling epic filmmaking. Read full review
70
The Irish TimesMichael Dwyer
To emphasise the absurdity of war, Kusturica shapes Underground as a wild, intense tragic comedy that is as black humoured as it is upsetting. [25 Oct 1996, p.13]
60
EmpireWilliam Thomas
Kusturica is sturdier on style than substance. Read full review
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Played as broad, noisy black farce, the film is about the deception of politics and heroism, dog-eat-dog morals and the propensity for violence, but one can't help thinking that behind the sometimes sensational apocalyptic imagery, there's less here than meets the eye. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJoshua Klein
The same message could have been delivered in half the time, at half the volume. Read full review
38
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
I suppose Kusturica can justify the 167-minute length by the historical breadth of the movie, but it simply doesn't sustain one's interest, significant or not. Read full review
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