Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

tavm After so many years of only knowing this film by reputation, I finally watched this on a Korean Air flight. It's a very compelling drama but after reading the differences from the novel on Wikipedia, it probably would have even been a better one had it been made after the Production Code era. I mean, I'm glad Donna Reed-who I always first think of as Mary Bailey in my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life-won the Oscar for her performance but if it had been revealed she was a prostitute and not just a dance hall girl, her performance would have been so much more powerful. And Frank Sinatra was very compelling in his first straight role but if he didn't have a death scene-and his character actually survived in the book-he probably wouldn't have been nominated, not to mention eventually won, his Oscar for this. Still, this was a fine showcase for such actors like Montgomery Clift, Bert Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Ernest Borgnine of which this was his first major film role. So, overall, From Here to Eternity was mostly a very well made film. P.S. Another of the players was one Philip Ober, who was married to Vivian Vance at the time. She was in the No. 1 show on TV during this period-"I Love Lucy"-and her hubby had appeared on the show twice, the second time as then M-G-M head Dore Schary. They'd eventually divorce in 1959.

antcol8 While I was wearing out my first copy of Sarris's American Cinema, checking off his top films for each year, most people I know were calling films like this one a "Great Movie!". I was confused. How can a film like this - acknowledged "Great Movie" - rank so low chez Sarris? Meanwhile, I guess I became a cinema snob. Watched hundreds and hundreds of films, but never saw most of those "AFI Classics". Well, thank you Turner Classic Movies - you're like one big mopping - up operation! Checking 'em off, one by one...This one? A classic Ersatz Masterpiece. If Iconic Acting equals Great Movie, then it's Great Movie. But it doesn't - not really...However, as Auteurism recedes into history, you can love those Suffering Stonefaces for the icons that they are. The Gravitas of Burt Lancaster. It's downright operatic.The Pained Intensity of Montgomery Clift. You know he was in the closet! Did you hear that? And he messed up his face! The photography is yummy, too.This movie isn't about anything. Even people who like it a lot admit that it doesn't really have much directorial POV. And the thing in the surf is really short. But maybe that's actually genius: having a two - second shot that becomes so classic. Maybe that's "restraint". Is it?Was I entertained? Sort of...I guess. I'm actually not so sure what that even means anymore. If I'm engaged I'm entertained. I stuck through it, so...who knows. OK TCM and AFI List, bring on Shane and A Place In The Sun!

mmcglass-90045 From Here to Eternity is one of the finest movies every made. It featured a great cast and wonderful script. I always wondered though, if the movie would have been even better in color, considering the scene was set in Hawaii. I understand they were trying to capture the feeling of the World War II era by filming in black and white, but color preceded WWII, and many blockbuster movies of WWII were filmed in color. In the early 80's they did a remake in the form of a mini-series. The acting wasn't bad, and the story actually included parts of the book that were not included in the 1953 movie. The mini-series also capitalized on the colorful backdrop of Hawaii. Was it as good as the 1953 move...no! But it wasn't bad. Just a thought

brchthethird Its power may have waned a little bit since it first came out over 50 years ago, but FROM HERE TO ETERNITY still remains one of the classic war films as well as an interesting look into military life circa 1941. The story follows a handful of characters whose lives all intersect in Hawaii during the months prior to the bombing at Pearl Harbor. You have Montgomery Clift as Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt: a loner with a troubled past, Burt Lancaster as Sgt. Warden: a tough, but understanding NCO, Deborah Kerr as Karen Holmes: the company commander's wife, and Frank Sinatra as Angelo Maggio: a wiry Italian fellow who befriends Prewitt and loves to drink. As was typical for films of the period, there is a romantic/melodramatic element which forms the basis for the story and informs the way we see the characters. This aspect was kind of dated, but it allows the casual viewer a window into these characters' lives the way a straight military picture couldn't have done. The two main romantic narrative threads are between Montgomery Clift and a girl, Loreen/Alma (Donna Reed) who works at a club he frequents, and Burt Lancaster with Deborah Kerr. Both of these couples lament the situation that life has put them in and desire to get away from it all. Montgomery Clift has become the target of cruel treatment based on his decision not to join the company's boxing team, while Donna Reed's character has grown weary of her employment at a gentleman's club where she has to entertain service members. Parallel to that, Burt Lancaster romances the wife of his CO, a philanderer who has lost interest in her. One common element is the desire to return to the States and get married, which would provide the stability that they all want. However, fate has other plans as the bombing at Pearl Harbor throws their somewhat stable world into chaos and the men of the Army must put aside petty differences to fight the bigger enemy. These are rather heady themes to be tackled in a film that could easily have been a fluff piece for the Armed Forces, yet FROM HERE TO ETERNITY never feels like propaganda. The biggest thing on its mind seems to be portraying what happens when something unexpected throws our best-laid plans into disarray. When that happens, the best we can do is to band together and make the best of a bad situation. In the end, our commitment to each other will outlast any temporary plans that we have. Overall, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY does feel "of its time" but it's also the only Pearl Harbor film worth watching.