Customer Reviews

From Here to Eternity (Superbit(TM))

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"From Here to Eternity" is a Hollywood classic. It may be the finest film ever about the military in peacetime. The background is Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in the Fall of 1941. That was the old "brown boot" Army! This reviewer is a Vietnam era vet, so I can't address the realism of the setting. Judging by the crisp dialog and snappy khaki uniforms, I'm giving the director the benefit of any doubt. I always thought it fascinating that an Austrian born Director could be at the helm of such classics as "High Noon" and FHTE -in consecutive years no less. What did Mr. Zinnemann know of the Old West or the American Army? The male lead is Burt Lancaster as First Sergeant Warden, a tough but fair NCO that any enlisted man would want for his "top". The second male lead is Private Prewitt, played by Montgomery Clift. Prewitt is a top bugler who isn't allowed to bugle and a top boxer who reuses to box for the company team! How that automatic conflict plays out is the heart of the movie. Another conflict is between Frank Sinatra, a happy go lucky but harmless enlisted man who trouble seems to follow and an evil Ernest Borgnine, the top MP at the Schofield stockade. Their "dispute" plays out too, with Clift a surprise key figure in its' "resolution". This reviewer believes that far too much attention has been lavished on the affair between Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, the wife of the Company Commander. I found it hard to swallow that any serious career man would run around openly with an officer's wife. Lancaster was one step away from a bust down to the lowest private and a trip to the stockade. The real female star here was Donna Reed, a bar "hostess' who would be a prostitute in real life. Her sensitivity toward Clift produces some of the best scenes in FHTE. Someone must have agreed because Donna walked off with the Best Supporting Actress Oscar- and promptly fainted after receiving it. The interplay between Lancaster/Kerr and Clift/Reed caused some huge challenges for the Director in making the bawdy best selling novel "clean" for the silver screen in the still conservative, prudish America of 1953. FHTE also contains some of the sharpest dialog and one liners this reviewer can remember. Two favorites: "Never disturb a man when he's drinking" (Lancaster) and "No one lies about being lonely"(Clift). In addition to Reed, Oscars were awarded for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Film Editing, Cinematography and Supporting Actor, (Sinatra). The last two are important: FHTE revived Frank's career. Many believe that "pressure" was applied to Harry Cohn and Columbia Pictures to hire Sinatra. Do we remember the "horses head in the bed" scene from Godfather I? Others claim that his then wife, Ava Gardner, supplied the "influence". Finally FHTE is yet another example of why black and white classics should not be colorized. If there is such a thing as "beautiful black and white", it is this one. ....

This is a case of an outstanding movie being adapted from a great book.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY presents a realistic portrait of army life in Hawaii immediately before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The film features strong performances by Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine and Montgomery Clift. An extremely competent supporting cast includes Jack Warden, Philip Ober and Mickey Shaughnessy.

Burt Lancaster makes a convincing first sergeant. One who is running the show and is full of knowledge about how the army really works. He also has good instincts when it comes time to act as he demonstrates in the showdown with the sadistic "Fatso" played by Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine himself is exceptional in his most famous impersonation of a villain.

Frank Sinatra definitely deserves his Oscar in the role of the defiant Maggio. However, after seeing Lee Marvin play a drunk it is hard to appreciate any other actor's attempt compared with Marvin's portrayal in PAINT YOUR WAGON.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY was a relatively low-budget production but it still managed to receive five Academy Awards and eight nominations.

While the digital transfer is good and I enjoyed the movie for the first time without all the white noise and sound pops, all the special features that it boasts are disappointing.
For people who enjoy classic movies, you really can't do better than this. The movie is able to stand well enough on it's own without really needing these "features" to back it up and I recommend this DVD version only for that reason.
However those who love collectors edition DVD's, especially ones on Oscar flicks may feel slighted. There are two lackluster featurettes. One being a "Making Of" that is more or less a rehash of the production notes found inside of the case. The other focusing on Fred Zinneman, the movie's director, is slighlty more interesting. But both have more footage of the film itself than behind the scenes and both run under ten minutes. What they should have done was combine the two. The Commentary by the son of the director also leaves much to be desired. The only reason why I harp on these is that I know what Columbia is capable of doing better. Take a look at "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge on the River Kwai"

However, I'm glad I got this and recommend it despite my gripes. Just be aware of the its shortcomings. It's a great film that speaks for itself and after having the DVD for a few years now, I still find myself taking this off the shelf from time to time.

Yes, it's a good film but why release it in a Superbit version? It is filmed in full sceen (4x3), in black & white, and with a mono (DTS yet) soundtrack. This film certainly rates a dvd release with extras and all but to do a Superbit version? It's a total waste of the technology.

This movie is mostly about soldiers stationed at an army base in Honolulu before World War II. Above all the film features superb acting performances and an absorbing screenplay.

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director (Fred Zimmerman), Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra) and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed). In addition Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr all received Oscar nominations for their acting in the movie.

Fred Zimmerman is known for his direction of many other fine films including A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, THE DAY OF THE JACKAL and OKLAHOMA.

First of all let me say that Montgomery Clift was phenominal in the role of Robert Prewitt, he was so good that it earned him an academy award nomination.
And this film is also superb for this time, as it seems that today some people don't even know how to make movies, I hear all this corny dialogue in films these days, but I can't find anything corny with the dialogue said in "From here to Eternity". There are so many classic moments such as Burt Lancasters and Debera Currs run through the beach (that's an obvious one), Montgomery Clifts bowing moment and his musical number in playing "Reenlistment Blues," as well as his knife fight with Fatso
You can see that the film is about walking the line or pay the price, and drama before Pearl Harbor. If you like love drama and action then don't miss the top 100 movies flick. (#52)

It is so tiring to keep hearing about a movie, not on its merits, but on how it fits the "political correctness," of today, and worse yet that the sexual portrayal isn't explicit enough. This is a real sickness as we move closer to pure pornography in the name of "realism." Of course Lancaster is "macho" as were men for centuries as a necessity. ANY movie should be judged on TWO BASIC THINGS. Was the acting good in the setting, and was it true to its time in story and presentation (given dramatic license). If these are true than it is somewhere from excellent to great. This film is both, most especially in the action between Sinatra and Borgnine. If you find this film "unacceptable" then you are doomed to miss many of the greatest films, and deserve pity for your ignorance and shallow understanding. Why four stars--it is VERY fine, but not quite great (watch 12 Angry Men and others). Of course, fantasy (Wizard of OZ, Disney cartoons, etc.) have a different standard--but that is another story.

OK, this is a fine film and by 1953 standards probably deserving of all the honors. But unfortunately this Peyton Place version of Pearl Harbor doesn't quite make it these days.

Montgomery Clift is severely miscast as Prewitt-way too much introspection in my opinion. The producer's original choice was Aldo Ray, who would have been phenomenal in this role and I suspect his career would have been well established as a result. Oh well. And Burt Lancaster's performance was standout, thus renewing my respect for his work. But I suppose I'll never forgive Hollywood for casting the saintly Deborah Kerr in the role of the ..... loose moraled wife of the Company Commander. Talk about casting against type!

The DVD has a few extras that fans will enjoy and the 2 channel Dolby is more than adequate. If you're working your way through the list of Best Pictures then you dont want to miss this one, especially if you're a fan of daytime soap operas.

Fred Zinnemann's "From Here to Eternity" simply has not aged well. It's place in cinematic history remains secure: Frank Sinatra's Oscar, Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr embracing in the surf, and the Oscar for Best Picture. Yet, what was considered an adult film back in 1953 plays like a run-of-the-mill soap opera in the present day.

As Sergeant Warden (Lancaster) and Karen Holmes (Kerr), the wife of his superior, start to fall in love, Private Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is trying to find a way to avoid participating in his unit's boxing championship. Prewitt finds support from his friend Maggio (Sinatra) who tries to protect him from the pressures around him and finds love with Lorene (Donna Reed), a "working girl" who has temporarily relocated to Hawaii. Into the mix is thrown a sadistic warden played by Ernest Borgnine and the bombing of Pearl Harbor which plunges all involved straight into World War II.

"From Here to Eternity" is filled with one character after another who is desperate. All of them are either desperate for power, desperate for love, desperate for acceptance, or desperate to escape their past. Yet, the plotlines in the film do not produce the same emotional jolt it did five decades ago. Extramarital affairs, bullying authority figures, and fallen women are all topics on trivial daytime television shows today. These mature themes just do not hold your interest anymore when looked at through the veil of time. When this aspect of the film is removed, what is left is just a routine "day-in-the-lives" story.

Yet the film still has many things going for it. All of the performances are fine: Sinatra reminds viewers just how talented an actor he was in years past, the chemistry between Lancaster and Kerr is still electric, and Clift turns in another low-key but effective performance. And even though it's legacy may be slightly diminished, "From Here to Eternity" will always be fondly remembered as the film that more than any other made making out at the beach fashionable.

Undoubtedly considered a classic, this movie won 8 Oscars in 1953, including best film. I enjoyed it, but it isn't a movie that I think I would want to own.

Summary:
This movie is actually a little difficult to summarize because it follows two stories. Though the focus is on Private Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), it also follows stories in the lives of his friend Maggio (Frank Sinatra) and Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster), one of his commanding officers.

The movie takes place in Hawaii just prior to and including the attack at Pearl Harbor. The basic idea is that Private Prewitt has an iron will and refuses to be broken by his captain, Captain Holmes (Philip Ober), who wants him to box for his company even though Prewitt has given it up after having blinded a sparring partner. I never really understood why Prewitt switched into G Company from the bugle corps, but he does and that is where the movie starts. Prewitt makes friends with Maggio, another private, but is constantly ridden by the other boxers in the company who are all sergeants because they box and want him to help their team win a tournament. Though he never really cracks from their 'Treatment', he does break down at one point and box with one of the other boxers in the company, showing that he can hold his own.

Prewitt's contribution to the movie is his love affair with an escort, Lorene (Donna Reed). Being the hard-nosed soldier he is, we explore his relationship as he falls in love but eventually leaves Lorene - against her wishes - to return to his company on the night of December 7, 1941. On his way he is mistaken for an intruder and shot (he had been AWOL for several days after being wounded in a knife fight in which one of the movie's antagonists was killed to avenge the death of his friend Maggio).

The other love story plays out between Sergeant Warden and Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr) who is the wife of Sergeant Warden's company commander, Captain Holmes. Captain Holmes has been cheating on his wife since almost the beginning of their marriage and his cheating and drunkenness eventually led her to lose her child and her ability to have more children. She never forgave him (not that I blame her) and has since had numerous affairs with other men. Sergeant Warden falls for her and they have an affair, but in the end he is unwilling to try for a promotion to an officer which is what she wants (symbolic of his love for the military I guess), so their love affair ends. Also, Captain Holmes is eventually forced to resign for his poor command of his company and it seems implied that Captain Holmes and Karen get a divorce, but we are unsure.

The final scene is Karen Holmes and Lorene sailing away from Hawaii. They just happen to be next to each other on the boat and the strike up a conversation. But of them are leaving their loves in Hawaii, likely never to return.

My Comments:
I'm not sure I like the format of the movie in that it doesn't really follow one character but instead follows two love stories. But, that is kind of a minor point. I did like the fact that the 'good guys', Maggio and Prewitt, both end up dying and the love affairs don't work out. You don't usually find that in movies. It is an interesting twist to a love story that makes the story more believable because it isn't a fairy tale.

The storyline isn't entirely perfect. Maggio's drunken rage seems to come from nowhere and, at best, is poorly set up. Then, when he escapes and dies afterward you are left thinking how bizarre the whole situation is. Sinatra was good in the role, he just didn't have much help from the story line.

Also, Burt Lancaster seemed like a carryover from an earlier era when men were supposed to be 'men'. Everything he did he did as though he were a hero poised to fight or come save the day (this is especially apparent in the 'famous' beach love scene). I liked that we explored his relationship and that he didn't always have the answers, but there is just something about his portrayal of the role that makes you think he is an actor trying to act rather than a soldier.

And then there's Donna Reed. I wasn't convinced by her role. Maybe the intent was to show that she was kind of a good girl that just wanted money, but when she breaks out into her spiel about being 'proper', I can't help but think that someone was trying to make a point. She was my least favorite of all of the characters.

Overall, the movie was entertaining, though slow at times. The story didn't make perfect sense, but life rarely does, so why should the story be any different. Some of the acting was forced, but overall it was pretty good. Montgomery Clift was particularly good in his role. If you enjoy classic films, you would probably enjoy this one.