High Quality Drama Despite a Few Flaws!

Rating: Null/10 (3 November 2003)

While "From Here to Eternity" is not a perfect film, it still rings true as an accurate portrayal of pre WW2 military life. Burt Lancaster is Stellar as the tough as nails first sergeant who under it all loves life and his troops but maligns his commanding officer. Montgomery Clift doesn't quite fit the physical image of a boxer who once nearly killed his opponent, yet he brings realism to his character's stubborn willed refusal to fight again and profound genuineness to his romance with the sultry Donna Reed. Take all these elements and add Sinatra as a boisterous alcoholic with Ernest Borgnine as his tormentor and we have the perfect formula for a complex mix of emotional involvement and decent (if not dated) action scenes. There is a bonus here. At times in this film, I didn't know which character's side I should take. In short who was really right or who was wrong? I think if a film can stimulate a person's emotions in this way, then it has achieved success as an art form.