Long before Will Smith said "this is our victory dance… this is important" when handing character David a cigar in the blockbuster Independence Day, cigar smoking has been synonymous with Hollywood. Whilst cigarettes have been glamourised by the likes of Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, there's nothing like an intense puff on a cigar - notably Cuban cigars, to help convey a character.
Success, wealth and power
In 1931, Charlie Chaplin created the iconic 'City Lights', a melodramatic silent film which collectively infuses slapstick and comedy in a story about blind love. Chaplin used a cigar to represent both power and the upper-class. The film's famous nightclub scene, shows a 53 second clip of a cigar being lighted.
Another classic, Old Hollywood movie to use a cigar to help display the wealth of a lead protagonist, is 'Gone with the Wind'. Rhett Butler is entirely comfortable with the level of affluence he gains in society. His suits are complete with a surge of smoke stemming from the cigar in his hands.
Between the 80's and 90's, cigars became associated with business men and gangsters, including the 1999 release of The Sopranos. Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Scarface), is shown in almost every scene with a Cuban cigar hanging out his mouth. The further Montana rises up the ranks in the Neon gangster world, the bigger his cigars become.
As a premium, Cuban cigar company, we know that Cuban cigars are in a league of their own. Cohiba cigars are a natural choice for a character like Montana. The most successful Habano brand, Cohiba's are made with the highest quality tobacco and have a distinctive and memorable taste.
Attraction and sex appeal
The exclusivity and luxury of a cigar only adds to its sex-appeal. A cigarette could never captivate a screen as seamlessly. The seconds in between lighting and inhaling, acts a piece of dialogue; a way to add conversation to a non-verbal clip.
Freud may have said "occasionally a cigar is merely a cigar", but this couldn't be further true in Hollywood.
James Bond enjoyed a Romeo y Julieta Churchill; a Cuban cigar we consider a masterpiece. In the 1999 'The world is not enough' Bond movie, a Swiss banker who also smokes a Churchill, grips on to his Cuban Cigar at gunpoint - emphasising a cigar's significance to its smoker.
The vilification of tobacco in society, simply escalates the mischievous and sexy allure of choosing to smoke. It embodies an independence and a subtle confidence to go against the norm. Whether Hollywood is using a cigar to allude to sex, or whether the calming and therapeutic puff of smoke exhales a certain strong attitude, Hollywood's love affair with cigars continues to reign supreme.