"Eternal" Movie Classic

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2006)

From Here To Eternity (1953): Starring Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Debora Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Phillip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, Jon Dennis, Merle Travis, Tim Ryan, Barbara Morrison....Director Fred Zinnerman, Screenplay Daniel Taradash, Based on the novel by James Jones.
Director Fred Zinnerman's "From Here To Eternity" became an instant classic when it was released in 1953, at the right time. World War II was over and the prosperous 50's was beginning but people recognized the importance of the War and how it had changed the world. This is a war movie and a romance all in one. It made stars out of all its principal actors - Montgomery Clift, Debora Karr and Burt Lancaster, each of who contribute strong and memorable performances. This type of film was actually very innovative and new for its time. Rather than being a straightforward, predictable war drama/love story, there are layers of complex psychological drama as well. This is mainly because it was drawn from a literary novel by James Jones, although the novel was more popular fiction than anything else. At this time, novels concerning World War II was big. Furthermore, the Korean War was raging. War was a big subject in film. For a man's film (and it is a man's film too), there is lots of talking and emotional aspects. Long before "An Officer And A Gentleman" (this film may have inspired that one), this movie deals with the problem of a soldier being romantically involved with his commanding officer's wife. Montgomery Clift woos Debora Karr, though with some difficulty before they fall in love, World War II rages on and for all the characters, the possibility that they won't see each other again looms big. This is a long but worthwhile movie, especially because it's such a classic. The love scene between Burt Lancaster and Donna Reed by the beach as the ocean waves surround them was rather provocative and overly passionate for its time, but it is one of Hollywood's most memorable movie scenes. Donna Reed would later become known for her "Donna Reed Show" in which she plays a sweet, suburban 50's housewife. Frank Sinatra is in the film for fans of the late great singer and this film, to top everything off, won Best Picture that year. This film is still a classic so many years later and a sample of 50's cinema and the direction it was heading toward. Overall, this is a powerful piece of cinema and an eternal classic.