Monday, January 07, 2013
I was looking through my recent entries and noticed I'd missed a classic review! This was published a week or two before Christmas I'm fairly sure. PS: I think Montgomery Clift is amazing.
From Here To Eternity (1953)
WITNESSES of the Pearl Harbor attack that forced the US into defence against the Japanese in World War II have until this day had a lot to say. There has been much written about the events of 1941, and then subsequent adaptations made, but perhaps none as revered on film as this.
The film is loosely based on the real-life experiences of James Jones and his novel of the same name, detailing the transfer of Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) to Hawaii’s Schoefield Barracks. He’s a good boxer, but won’t represent the company in competition and is unfairly treated for it.
Multiple romantic sub-plots involving a triangle between Captain Holmes (Philip Ober), his wife Karen (Deborah Kerr) and Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster), and Prewitt with hostess Lorene (Donna Reed) make for an epic tale as troubles befall all of them in the lead up to the bombing.
Alongside a romantic moment in the sand now as iconic as they come, director Fred Zinneman captures the mood of the time without resorting to melodrama frequently used in films of the era. Its seriousness may not impress some but it makes for a much more dramatic and touching affair; the cast is exemplary in showing the troubles of love, war and friendship, including Frank Sinatra in an Oscar-winning performance.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) in December 2012.
***
You can never get enough of what you don't want.
Why the affirmation?
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