Slant Magazine by Ed 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.

Austin Chronicle by Marc 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.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

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]

New York Daily News by Dave 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.

Variety by Deborah 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.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

It’s a sprawling, rowdy, vital film laced with both outrageous absurdist dark humor and unspeakable pain, suffering and injustice.

The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen

Under director Emir Kusturica's gifted hand, lunacy here takes a poignant and, ultimately, uplifting turn. [28 Oct 1996]

The New York Times by Janet Maslin

Feverish, whimsical allegory elevated by moments of brilliant clarity.

CineVue by Ben Nicholson

Underground is bravura filmmaking at its most entrancing and its labyrinthine political context only serves to heighten its fascinating appeal.

Chicago Reader by Jonathan 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.