Product description

From Here To Eternity [1953]

Price: £2.96
RRP: £5.99
Average customer rating: 5.0

Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5014756025427
Label : 4 Front Video
Manufacturer : 4 Front Video
Publisher : 4 Front Video
Release date : 2002-07-01
Title : From Here To Eternity [1953]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Parental Guidance
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1953-01-01
Running time : 114
Studio : 4 Front Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 1953
Number of discs : 1

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
From Here to Eternity offers a much more heartfelt interpretation of the event that propelled the United States into World War II than any film made in recent years. Here there are no angst-ridden scenes where "true love" returns from the dead, no costly CGI and definitely no Hallmark happy ending. This is a film about illicit sex, military machismo and tragic loss of love, friendship and ultimately life. The filmmakers did, however, have to make some compromises when adapting James Jones's novel: Alma becomes a "hostess" rather than a prostitute and the very downbeat ending, where Captain Holmes is essentially rewarded for his brutality by the military, was replaced with the morally acceptable punishment of his actions by a more self-aware army. Although Private Robert E Lee Pruitt's story provides the meat of the film, there are other subplots woven into the narrative, including a couple of doomed love affairs, which explore themes of adultery and social acceptance. Sergeant Warden (Burt Lancaster) begins a torrid affair with the commander's wife Karen (Deborah Kerr) leading to one of the most famous moments in movie history--the "clinch in the surf". From then on everything is challenged. Love, honour and eventually whether you should conform or stand up for what you believe in. At the end the couples are left wondering about the future of their relationship, but fate decides for them as the Japanese launch their attack on Pearl Harbor, leaving us with one of the most dramatic and moving endings of any war film.

On the DVD: The black and white film is not anamorphically enhanced but presented full frame in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, although the transfer is well done and the picture is pretty sharp. Sound is 2.0 mono rather than the standard 5.1 reworking of the audio track, and it works. The dialogue is clear without any noticeable hiss. There's a 22-minute "making of" documentary, which doesn't really do justice to the film and contains very little information of interest. Along with this is Fred Zinnemann's As I See It, an extract from the director's home video footage from the shoot. You also get the theatrical trailer, but the best feature is the audio commentary, by Fred Zinnemann's son Tim and screenwriter Alvin Sargent, which has some fantastic detail about the struggle between director and studio-head Harry Cohn over casting, along with the run-ins with the censor and US military over the "inflammatory nature" of the film.--Kristen Bowditch

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-11-29 rating:

A classic that lives up to its reputation
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.

review by: www.TrendyMessiah.com date: 2007-07-07 rating:

A Favourite
Great story, great filming and great acting. One of the best classics from Hollywood. A must own for film freaks. Most of it are already mentioned in reviews under this review. :-D

review by: date: 2003-02-08 rating:

A Very Convincing First Sergeant
This ia 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 of one 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.

review by: kato81 date: 2002-01-20 rating:

Great film, ruined by weak Lancaster/Kerr sub story
Until recently I had always turned a blind eye to the older films. I had the same mis-conceptions as everyone else, but now enjoy watching films from different eras to experience a different way of life (especially the 40s). Refreshing.

This film is exceptional with a wicked cast including the superb Donna Reed (criminally underrated actress and as charming and SEXY as ever) an excellent Montgomery Clift and a very funny guy in Sinatra. When the film concentrates on this trio it is a great example of Hollywood cinema at its best but the thing is Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr also star in this. No offense, Lancaster is a good actor but he pulls off his lines with overwhelming hamminess and woodiness, which doesn't help when the lines he gets (especially in 'romantic' scenes with Kerr) are also pretty cr@p (hah hah). Kerr is a great actress and does her best but her lines are terrible also. Those not used to films from the golden era may find this unintentionally hilarious to put it bluntly, but fortunately their little affair does not take up the majority of the film (and that music is so annoying)

The film is shot in black and white and whilst it is arguable, I think it reinforces the feel and tone of the film to no end. The film starts off in Pearl Harbour with a guy called Prewit(Clift) declining to box for the camp, thus making life difficult for himself in the process. Also, Prewit fancies Reeds character Lorene the 'hostess', has a FUNNY mate called Maggio(Sinatra) and his boss is Warden (played by Lancaster). To make matters more intersting Warden is having an affair withi his captains wife. You can see it gets a little interesting from hereon in. The film concentrates on their lives prior to the japanese attack and culminates with the infamous bombing.

The film is not large scale like the sht poor recent 'Pearl Harbour' (which is not worthy of being in the same sentence) and lacks action and thrills of its recent counterpart, but is EXQUISITE film making and you really feel for the characters (Lancaster and Kerr not included).

See this forgotten gem and get ready for one of THE great films of the 50s.

review by: date: 2001-12-18 rating:
The best Pearl Harbor movie - ever...
This movie rocks, it has got all the ingredients of the best film noir. This is the most intelligent film in terms of its analysis of the human nature and soul and beyond this shows the incredible naivity of the US military just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. And then comes the attack and a whole world collapses with the most cruel of all reality checks. Simply brilliant, this is a must in any DVD collection.

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