SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

joekwiatkowski Whereas the film is fun to watch on its own merits, it begs going back and reading the book if it can be got hold of nowadays. (December 2016 is when I type this review.) I have a number of questions, not the least of which is, where are the other officers in captain Holmes' company? A company was (and still is) composed of a number of platoons (three in those days; I thin that still holds true today) each led by a second lieutenant. Whether or not a fourth, 'heavy weapons' platoon (with mortars and machine guns) was also included, I don't know. I have it on good information that by July 1943 an infantry rifle company n the U.S. Army had six officers and one hundred and eighty-seven enlisted men; I'm not sure about the order-of-battle strength as of the 1941 Table of Organization. I also know that the 1943 company did in fact have a heavy weapons platoon, but that's really neither here nor there; the point is, there should have been a number of lieutenants in the company, one or more of which might not have approved of what the non-coms were doing in order to get Prewitt to box. That might have generated more conflict between Holmes, these officers, and the non-coms in question. It would become a conflict of the captain and the non-coms against Prewitt and the Lieutenants, with Warden caught in the middle. How's that sound? Other than that, the movies is always a good watch, but like I said above, it makes yo want to go back and read the book. The same holds true for the Harry Potter films and any other film based on a book. That way, you're never in the dark about what characters might be thinking. You also get to see what was left out of the film and, in this case, what all the fuss was about.Every character has his 'character merits', but Warden, the consummate professional staff enlisted man, is my favorite. It's guys like that who make the army run smoothly from day to day. I also like the way he takes charge as the Japanese air strike unfolds. Prewitt was right; he would have made a good officer.

tavm After so many years of only knowing this film by reputation, I finally watched this on a Korean Air flight. It's a very compelling drama but after reading the differences from the novel on Wikipedia, it probably would have even been a better one had it been made after the Production Code era. I mean, I'm glad Donna Reed-who I always first think of as Mary Bailey in my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life-won the Oscar for her performance but if it had been revealed she was a prostitute and not just a dance hall girl, her performance would have been so much more powerful. And Frank Sinatra was very compelling in his first straight role but if he didn't have a death scene-and his character actually survived in the book-he probably wouldn't have been nominated, not to mention eventually won, his Oscar for this. Still, this was a fine showcase for such actors like Montgomery Clift, Bert Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Ernest Borgnine of which this was his first major film role. So, overall, From Here to Eternity was mostly a very well made film. P.S. Another of the players was one Philip Ober, who was married to Vivian Vance at the time. She was in the No. 1 show on TV during this period-"I Love Lucy"-and her hubby had appeared on the show twice, the second time as then M-G-M head Dore Schary. They'd eventually divorce in 1959.

Syxiepoo I watched this movie again today (maybe 5th time over the years) and it still stands up as an excellent character-driven movie. All of the actors, including those with small parts, perform so well, but the leads are just superb. Sinatra made a number of great movies, but I think Maggio was one of his best characters. It's how you think Sinatra might have been had he actually been in the Army back then for real. The final scene on the boat with Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed is very poignant. Both have major regrets, but for such different reasons. Even in her grief, Lorene talks up Prewitt's military role and the cause of his death, demonstrating her real feelings for the man. Very moving.

gilligan1965 I never saw this movie until just a few years ago, and, again, over the 2015 Memorial Day Weekend, because I thought it was just another love story...but, it's much deeper and much more complicated than that.It 'is' a love story of new, dangerous, and, impractical love, but, it's also about personal problems; playing favorites and manipulation in the military; people finding themselves in places and situations they hadn't intended on and don't like; and, all at a time when the world was about to change forever.The star-studded cast is superb, although, ironically, 'many of them' were not first choice by the studio head. The characters are solid and each has just the right type of personality to make the story believable when they interact and create intriguing situations.I feel kind of silly for having missed out on this terrific movie for all these years (as I also did with "The Bridges of Madison County" - another I thought was 'just another love story.'). From now on, I'll watch a movie when advised to.This is a great classic movie that 'everyone' should see at least once.