An absolute must-see!

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2017)

Copyright 15 September 1953 by Columbia Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 5 August 1953. U.S. release: September 1953. U.K. release: 25 January 1954. Australian release: 15 October 1953. Sydney opening at the State. Full-length 118-120 minutes version shown in North America and Australia. Censored to 114 minutes in the U.K.
Best Film of 1953 — annual Film Daily poll of over 500 American film critics. Best Film of 1953 — annual Photoplay Gold Medal Award, as voted by over three million North American picture-goers. Best Motion Picture of 1953 — New York Film Critics. Best Male Performance of 1953, Burt Lancaster — New York Film Critics. Best Direction of 1953, Fred Zinnemann — New York Film Critics.
The National Board of Review cast a dissenting note by voting "From Here To Eternity" into 3rd position behind "Julius Caesar" and "Shane". With a domestic rentals gross of $12.2 million, 3rd at the U.S./Canadian box-office to "The Robe" and "This Is Cinerama". One of the top twenty movies at U.K. ticket windows for 1954. A colossal money-spinner in Australia, the film came in 3rd to "The Greatest Show On Earth" and "Shane". Most Outstanding Directorial Achievement of 1953, Fred Zinnemann — Screen Directors Guild Award. Best Film of 1953 — Golden Globe Award.
COMMENT: Zinnemann himself persuaded Montgomery Clift to undertake the pivotal role of Prewitt, ex-bugler, ex-boxer and professional soldier. He has been transferred to Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, where he refuses to join his company's boxing team despite Captain Philip Ober's determination to win the regimental championship. Ober orders Sergeant Burt Lancaster to give Clift "the treatment".
Prewitt's spirit is sustained partly by his buddy, Frank Sinatra, who is beaten to death by a sadistic sergeant, Ernest Borgnine. Even this does not break Prewitt, whose girl, a prostitute from the New Congress Club (played by Donna Reed), cannot understand his loyalty. "What'd the army ever do for you, except treat you like dirt?" she asks bitterly, as he prepares to return to his company after the Pearl Harbor attack. To which Prewitt replies very simply: "What do I want to go back to the army for? I'm a soldier."
The screenplay retains all the violence and pace of the novel, whilst eliminating much of its vulgarity and a little of its sex. Taradash has enormously improved the narrative structure, giving it a compactness and a polish that is lacking in James Jones's sprawling original. To it, Zinnemann has added his own refined craftsmanship. He has drawn superlative portrayals from his cast (Deborah Kerr's performance is possibly the best of her career), taut images from his wide-screen camera, and has effectively re- employed the editing devices of "High Noon". — John Howard Reid in "A Man for All Movies: The Films of Fred Zinnemann".
AVAILABLE on an excellent Sony DVD.