For as long as there have been movies, those about war and history have had power over viewers and no difficulty attracting prestige. The silent film considered to have won the very first Academy Award for Best Picture -- 1927's Wings -- dramatized the efforts of American soldiers in World War I. Two ceremonies later, All Quiet on the Western Front was recognized for its portrayal of the same war's tolls on the human spirit. When World War II broke out in the 1940s, movies were there to reflect the moment, initially to celebrate patriotic bravery (Mrs. Miniver) and shortly thereafter to sympathize with veterans' challenging return to civilization (The Best Years of Our Lives).As the world returned to peaceful times, filmmakers went back to less grand, global, unifying topics. Oscars went to behind-the-scenes showbiz dramas and escapist musicals. Still, films about the war continued to emerge, with a little more perspective and a little less timeliness.Released in 1953, From Here to Eternity looked back at the scene of the act that drove the United States into the war. Adapted from the best-selling 1951 novel by James Jones, who loosely based it on his own experiences in the US Army's Hawaiian Division before and after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, this is not your typical war movie. There isn't a shot fired until the final fifteen minutes and nearly the entire film is set before the U.S. declaration of war.Still, the rousing finale and its significant, lingering implications for the world shape this film about military life at Hawaii's Schofield Barracks in 1941. Our point of access to the facility is Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), a young career soldier whose demotion and transfer to Hawaii is questioned by his new commanding officers, Captain "Dynamite" Holmes (Philip Ober) and Sergeant Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster). Initially citing "personal reasons", Prewitt comes to confess he has chosen to leave the comfy Bugle Corps because a less talented soldier was made 1st Bugler over him. That's how the stubborn Prewitt rolls.An accomplished boxer too, Prewitt's not about to budge from his fighting retirement, though Holmes and his men will give him plenty of reason to. Having hung up his gloves after putting a man in a coma and making him go blind, Prewitt is prepared to endure some pressure to help his new infantry in the upcoming boxing championships. What he is given is "The Treatment", which sees him singled out for extra laps and marching, given few opportunities to leave the base, and put in demeaning situations where he is pushed into insubordination.Prewitt has one friend in his fellow private, Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra), a scrawny Italian-American who shows him a good time with an alcohol-fueled payday outing to the New Congress Club. There, Prewitt meets Lorene (Donna Reed), a working girl who attracts much attention from the soldiers. Bound by the production code, the film doesn't say it in as many words, but Lorene is supposed to be a prostitute.Lorene and Prewitt's isn't the only unlikely romance the film explores. Sgt. Warden sets his eyes on the Captain's wife Karen (Deborah Kerr), who's reputedly as much of a serial adulterer as her work-shunning husband is. Warden and Karen meet in secret and fall for each other, in spite of the relationship's many complications. It's the latter couple providing From Here to Eternity with its most iconic image, the sight of a man and a woman making out on the beach while waves gently crash over them. Seeing the clip out of context, as it has frequently been excerpted in everything from "Doogie Howser, M.D." to 13 Going on 30, or the image of it as the film's now go-to cover artwork, you might mistake this for some sudsy fairy tale romance. In fact, the couple's bliss is momentary, soured immediately after as Warden questions his boss' wife about her reputation.This is a mature adult drama whose depictions are unlike the happy ones we associate with the 1950s' old-fashioned entertainment. First and foremost a character study, there's not an innocent soul among the principals. Though inherently good, these individuals have demons and weaknesses. No one gets a happily ever after, only fleeting moments of satisfaction. In the end, some are dead and the rest are alone, bracing for the long war to come. When you think about it, this is quite a bleak story. But it's an enjoyable one full of interesting characters and situations. While it has to conform to the decency standards of the time and speak in coded terms, there's a lot of realism that manages to sneak out, looks at things like peer pressure and mob mentality. The portrayal of rampant abuse within the military is not a topic that would have come up during wartime. War was often idealized or criticized in roundabout fashion, as a traumatic but necessary evil. Here, even if Jones' account is heavily fictionalized, it's a discouraging view of the institution designed to keep us all safe.Though it deals with such issues as infidelity, physical and psychological torment, alcoholism, and prostitution, the film manages to be eminently watchable and surprisingly good-natured. That helped make it a hit with both audiences and critics, status it still enjoys today even at great distance from our edgier filmmaking methods and lax content restrictions. From Here has endured as a polished and relatable drama of far greater human interest than the ones detailing the strategies, tactics, and heroism that followed Pearl Harbor. The subjects of those films have more significance and bearing on our world than the relationships of a few invented men and women, but they do not make for as rewarding a viewing as this.From thirteen nominations, From Here would win eight Oscars, including the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The appealing Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed would win for Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively, the only competitive Oscar win for each longtime entertainer. This is one of the Best Picture winners that hold up, not as a product of its time, but as a film that didn't have to wait for its greatness to be recognized.Twelve years after making its DVD debut amidst the 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing and favorable comparisons to Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor, From Here to Eternity makes the jump to Blu-ray on the film's 60th anniversary in a solid, rare in-house catalog release by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
blu Fatso hd movie 1080p hindi movies
2ff7e9595c
Comments