From Here to Eternity, based on the novel by
James Jones
A different
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
From Here
to Eternity might stay in the history of cinema for…eternity.
Or it might
not.
The film
benefits from a wonderful cast, a great director and an acclaimed original
material in the novel by James Jones.
But in
spite or because of all that, in my opinion the moving picture does not quite
manage to be a chef d’oeuvre.
Fred Zinnemann
is the director and he has been at the helm of at least two masterpieces, if
not more likely more:
-
High Noon, A Man of All Seasons to
which we need to add Julia and maybe The Search
About Montgomery
Clift, his partner in the film, Burt Lancaster said that he has such a force
that he made him scared.
Montgomery Clift
is also behind the rise of three of the best actors: Paul Newman, Marlon Brando
and James Dean.
He did not
take up the roles in Somebody Up There Likes Me, On the Waterfront and East of
Eden and hence gave a chance to the aforementioned trio.
Alongside the
two demigods of cinema, we have a series of other great professionals in key
roles in the film:
-
Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Ernest
Borgnine, Jack Warden
In his book
The Kid Stays in the Picture, the producer, head of Paramount and the man
behind The Godfather, Chinatown, Love Story and other significant or paramount
productions, roger Evans mentions an incident with Sinatra.
The great
singer was infamous for his relationship with the Mafia and some other bad behaviors
in his private life.
Robert
Evans was the producer of Rosemary’s Baby, directed by Roman Polanski and with
Mia Farrow, for a short while the wife of Frank Sinatra who would not let her
participate at the film, after a moment.
To take
revenge, the actress wanted to take an add in major newspapers that would just
highlight the box office of her film, a success story and then that of Sinatra’s
movie, which was pretty much a financial disaster…
Burt Lancaster
is Sgt. Milton Warden, in love with the wife of his superior officer, Karen
Holmes as portrayed by Deborah Kerr.
Montgomery Clift
has the role of Robert Prewitt, in love with another girl, Alma aka Lorene and
is a famous boxer.
Because he
injured severely a friend, while they practiced, sending him into a coma from
which he recovered only to lose his eyesight, Robert Prewitt does not want to
get in the ring and fight ever again.
But his
unit wants to gain the championships and they want him to participate, or if
not, he will face severe consequences.
When he
maintains his refusal, he is abused, assigned to all the most difficult and
obscene tasks and made to suffer, without a pass and throughout all this time
he is made to crawl through mud and dirt in order to lose his determination.
In the
meantime, Milton Warden has an affair with the wife of his captain, but this is
somehow virtuous nearly, for it is the husband who had been philandering for a
long time and furthermore, he is the cause of the death of their baby and a
long, terrible suffering on the part of Karen Holmes.
Robert Prewitt
falls in love with Lorene, who is actually called Alma, but has a stage name,
in the club where she works.
Both relationships
are difficult to “maintain” and in the case of the sergeant, it is even
dangerous for it could land him in the stockade.
This is
where Angelo Maggio aka Frank Sinatra lands and is abused by an enemy he made
in a club, played by Ernest Borgnine.
The fate of
Angelo Maggio becomes dramatic and it actually marks the fate of his friend, Robert
Prewitt.
The latter
is mad at the suffering inflicted upon his friend, basically tortured while in
prison and tries to revenge it.
There is so
much going on that I am thinking that this may be part of the reason why I was
not overwhelmed by this film
From Here
to Eternity has been included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever
Made list:
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