From Here to Eternity
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Movie Reviews of From Here to Eternity
Movie Review: A classic that lives up to its reputation
Summary: 5 Stars
From the days when doorstop novels (or at least large chunks of them) were turned into films rather than mini-series, From Here to Eternity may be toned down to please both the censors and the US Army, whose co-operation was vital to the film, but it's still a superb piece of film-making that slips in a few powerful punches between the lines.
Set in Pearl Harbor in the months leading up to the Japanese attack, it focuses on two professional soldiers: Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), a hard-headed ex-boxer given 'the treatment' by his commanding officer to force him to fight in the regimental boxing championships, and the company's Top Sergeant (Burt Lancaster), who is having an affair with the officer's frigid wife (Deborah Kerr).
Daniel Taradish's screenplay is a masterpiece of snappy construction, perfectly mirrored by Fred Zinnemann's directorial style that brings out both the toughness and the sentiment with a convincing lack of sensationalism. And what a cast: Lancaster a convincing mixture of toughness and emotional vulnerability, a surprisingly sexy Kerr, Donna Reed playing tough against type, Borgnine at his meanest and a wonderful array of character actors. Clift may make an unlikely boxer, but his performance is one of his best, as is that of Sinatra, always under-rated as an actor on those occasions when he made an effort, as his doomed best friend Maggio.
With a good DVD transfer, this is let down by the extras - only a teaser trailer, a making-of featurette that runs a full two minutes (!!!), a brief extract from a documentary about the director and an audio commentary by Tim Zinnemann and Alvin Sargent. This is still well worth adding to your collection, though. Classic films often don't live up to their reputations. This one does.
Movie Review: "A man don't go his own way, he's nothing."
Summary: 5 Stars
We've all seen the "beach scene" and I have to say that I was disappointed that it was so short in the actual film. Montgomery Clift (who the producers didn't want but the director stubbornly fought for) is the real star here, giving a wonderfully layered performance as a former boxer who will not join the service team, under any circumstances. He is therefore put through all sorts of hell to get him to reconsider. He takes it with quiet grace and confidence, sure that he can take anything other than getting back into the ring. Clift's best friend Maggio (Frank Sinatra) is always taking up for him and definitely pays the price later on. Sinatra is wonderful in this Oscar-winning performance.
Clift's sergeant, Burt Lancaster, is meanwhile having an affair with his commanding officer's wife, Deborah Kerr, playing bad girl against type. I didn't really care much about their relationship because the commanding officer was such a jackass.
The romantic angle that matters here is the one between Clift and Donna Reed (who also won an Oscar) as a dance hall girl (yes, that Donna Reed!). Theirs is a truly sweet love, more so because they are both so damaged and vulnerable.
The Pearl Harbor scenes, once they happen after all this quiet time, are truly shocking (especially when a soldier is gunned down by a plane while running to warn others), although you do get subtle hints at what is coming. In one scene, where Lancaster is on the phone planning to do something the next day, a calendar behind him clearly reads "December 6."
Through all this, I was never bored. This is really an excellent film; very entertaining and gripping. I would definitely recommend it if you are a film fan in general or a fan of WWII films in particular.
Movie Review: Don't Miss This Film...
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't expect much when beginning "From Here to Eternity." Granted, it's considered the 52nd best film of all time by The American Film Institute and won 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture...But it didn't seem like a movie I would like. I was wrong. "From Here to Eternity" truly deserves to be in the top 100. The film stars Montgomery Clift as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, a solider and former boxer who is tranferred to a different military base so he doesn't have to box anymore. Problem is that Captain Holmes, his superior, wants him to box and is willing to do anything to Prewitt to make him box. Meanwhile, Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster) watches this from afar and begins having an affair with Holmes' wife Karen (Deborah Kerr)...After watching him his friend Prewitt endure the abuse he endures, Maggio (Frank Sinatra) tries to step in but winds up in a lot more trouble then Prewitt. The movie takes place entirely in the days leading up to Pearl Harbor and ends right about the time that happens. Even though it takes place almost entirely on a military base, it's almost blasphemy to classify it as a war movie; It's got a lot more depth than that. The film won two Oscars for acting in supporting roles and the Oscars went to Sinatra and Donna Reed as Lorene, the woman Prewitt falls for. I've never previously seen Sinatra act, but I got a little question...Why did he win the Oscar? The answer? Because he deserved it. His performance is probably the best in the film, he adds a lot of emotional depth and humor to the character that was on the page. Lancaster is also fantastic in this powerful, beautiful motion picture. I highly recommend it.
GRADE: A
Movie Review: AFI top 100- Winner of 8 Oscars-Including Best Movie 1953!!
Summary: 5 Stars
"From Here to Eternity" made from Best Seller book of 1951 written by James Jones. Now digitally re-mastered both in video and sound provides us with this classic on DVD with background extras. The cast (Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Cliff, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra)was perfectly chosen and proved by the 13 Oscar nominations and winner of 8 including "Best Picture and Director - Fred Zinneman". Frank Sinatras "Best Supporting Actor" come back role is just the beginning.In Summary: a few days prior to Pearl Harbor we find ourselves involved with these military characters and women struggling to find better lives in the volatile world of 1941. Knowing war is coming they try desparately to make their lives more meanigfully. The main focus is around the Army life style and how their lives were effected by events they had no real control over. Lancaster played a top sergeant having an affair with his Company Commanders wife (Kerr), Cliff and Sinatra were 2 soldiers in the same company who befriend each other and end up both being killed by circumstances in this troubled time of December 7, 1941.
This Black & White classic film broke all kinds of barriers for subject matter and character/star representation. Reed as a saloon gal. Kerr as a steamy temptress (infamous Beach Love scene with Lancaster).
Sit back and take a ride "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY".
Movie Review: RIP, Deborah Kerr
Summary: 5 Stars
Strange. I picked this up because it's one of my favorite WWII movies, though it's little light on the war. Now, only days after receiving it, news that one of its most famous players, Deborah Kerr, has died. I think "the kiss" with Burt Lancaster has probably been done to death by others -- lord knows in this day-and-age it doesn't seem that racy compared what Hollywood routinely portrays. But immerse yourself in the time and place, and it's one of the hottest scenes in a movie of the era.
I think "the kiss" tends to overshadow what is otherwise a very rich and gritty movie. The way everyone goes about playing out their lives, filled with the normal travails, tragedies, and triumphs, while in the background we know what is coming and are desperate to see how these people will react to the events to come. An excellent ensemble cast (Sinatra at his finest as an actor) pulls us in to their world and gets us so engrossed in their lives that I think we tend to forget what's about to happen. The story also highlights the times, the combination of head in the clouds and rough around the edges that was America at the time.
Anyone who wants a good story could do much worse that "From Here to Eternity."