From Here to Eternity (1953)

Director:

Fred Zinnemann

Writers:

Daniel Taradash (screenplay)
James Jones (novel)

Release Date:

15 October 1953 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Pouring out of impassioned pages...brawling their way to greatness on the screen!

Plot:

In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Hawaii | Boxing | Love | Stockade

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Sgt. Milton Warden
Montgomery Clift	...	Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt
Deborah Kerr	...	Karen Holmes
Donna Reed	...	Alma 'Lorene' Burke
Frank Sinatra	...	Pvt. Angelo Maggio
Philip Ober	...	Capt. Dana Holmes
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Cpl. Leva
Harry Bellaver	...	Pvt. Mazzioli
Ernest Borgnine	...	Sgt. 'Fatso' Judson
Jack Warden	...	Cpl. Buckley
John Dennis	...	Sgt. Ike Galovitch
Merle Travis	...	Sal Anderson
Tim Ryan	...	Sgt. Pete Karelsen
Arthur Keegan	...	Treadwell
Barbara Morrison	...	Mrs. Kipfer - Owner of New Congress Club

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording) | 3 Channel Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | South Korea:15 | Germany:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #16582)

Filming Locations:

Diamond Head, O`ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The last Academy Award Best Picture winner to receive nominations in all of the four acting categories.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the bar fight scene between Fatso and Maggio, Sgt. Warden breaks a bottle to use as a weapon to threaten "Fatso" and to stop the fight. Eventually he throws the bottle, apparently outside through an off stage, unseen door (he throws the broken bottle across the room). Later, the smashed bottle is visible on the table in a close-up.

Quotes:

Karen Holmes: You certainly chose a lovely spot for our meeting. I've had three chances to be picked up in the last five minutes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Charmed: From Fear to Eternity (#1.13)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)

Masterpiece, a lesson in characterisation and story telling.

James Jone's novel was deemed impossible to put onto the screen {how many times have we heard that one before?}, but nobody told director Fred Zinnerman and the cast of dreams. Troubles with the making of the film were many, the film was thwarted by a censorship requirement that the army not be portrayed as careless and over brutal, and some of the sexual themes from the novel had to be toned down. Zinneman also had to fight a continuous battle with Columbia's head ego tripper Harry Cohn, he interfered with every script that was shown to him, and casting was also a tough thing to achieve with Cohn trying to call the shots, as it turned out we got one of the best composition of actors in one film to ever grace the screen.

From Here To Eternity is a film about the lives and loves of a number of characters at Schofield Barracks-Pearl Harbor, prior to the infamous attack by the Japanese that changed WW2. Illicit affairs, friendship, nobility, bravery, and cruelty come crashing together in one gigantic lavish production that defines the word classic. Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, Deborah Kerr, and Donna Reed all give performances that any other actor would be proud to of gave, and on another day they all could of won awards such was the strength of performance they all gave. Reed & Sinatra won best supporting Oscars, and Fred Zinneman rightly won for best director to cement the film winning outright for best picture, yet the films crowning glory didn't win an award, for to me, Montogomery Clift gives one of the best performances in motion picture history, it's layered to perfection and it's one of those character portrayals that has me involved to the point of exhaustion. There is a scene in which he plays a bugle lament as tears roll down his face, I know how he feels because I cry with him every time, such is my involvement with his turn as Prewitt.

Laced with memorable scenes {the kiss, the bugle lament, Lancaster blasting away at the Japanese planes with machine gun in hand}, and performances to match, From Here To Eternity is essential cinema to be viewed every year and homaged whenever possible, 10/10 in every single respect.