Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Richie-67-485852 It is an interesting movie that I have seen 3 or 4 times. The first time, I was enthralled. The second, entertained. The third, wondering what I would do better if I was on the island and the after that, you sort of wonder why two people in bad straights would make things worse. Between the two of them, they could eat, drink and have decent shelter. Think: Robinson Crusoe and how he turned lemons into lemonade. Actors held their own so that worked well. The ending was rushed and someone should have taken a nap, then had a good swim and then had a good BBQ...In other words...some time out to discover a decent ending to a decent movie. Tom Hanks did something similar with Castaway as well which is this movie but only with one guy. One more thing. Try to get you mind around how cruel the war was on both sides which helps you to understand why they were at heavy odds against each other in the beginning. Eat and drink during this move and you will really relate to the pleasures they were denied first hand.

secondtake Hell in the Pacific (1968)A great concept--two men are lost together on an island in the Pacific. The war is over, but prejudices remain, and one man is Japanese, one American. They don't share a language, so there is basically no dialog. There is only survival.How do you make a feature length movie about this without stretching the idea thin, without boring the viewer, without resorting to clichés of makeshift boats and coconut to eat? You don't. The movie is ambitious over very little, and if it seems impressive in some isolated, focused way, it is still a slow go.And you kind of know what the progression of events is going to be, as common human needs rise above nationalist myopia. What keeps it afloat at all is the odd combination of the quirky boorish stereotype American thug, Lee Marvin, who is not his best in this situation (but who has his own following--I like him in his crime films a lot) and the most famous Japanese actor of the period, the Kurosawa standard bearer Toshiro Mifune (who is an archetype of the vigorous, smart Japanese male).I have to admit I didn't really like the most recent parallel production, "Castaway," at least not the island parts (which everyone I know loved). In all these cases you depend on the acting, the actors themselves, to make it special. And for some that might be enough. It's a unique movie, for sure, a kind of old Hollywood hanger-on in the new Hollywood era. John Boorman had just finished the remarkable "Point Blank" with Marvin, and would soon work on "Deliverance," and all three have a masculine quality of rising about a hostile world and making it on your own terms.Finally, if you do get through it all, the last five minutes is important--clumsy and improbable and sensationalist after all that preceded, but important. It tries at last to talk about the difficulty of really understanding someone else, personally and culturally, and about the madness and indifference of war. It's 1968, after all.

ma-cortes Nice and well executed film set during WWII,containing a brief anti-war declaration . It deals with an American pilot (Lee Marvin who sings a song) and a marooned Japanese navy officer (Toshiro Mifune , only speaking in his native language) are deserted on a tiny island in the Pacific , as they confront each other in a violent mini-war . There, they must cease their hostility and unite themselves if they want to survive until a disappointing and unexpected ending .Straightforward and gripping movie with magnificent acting by only two protagonists ,the dynamics Marvin and Mifune , fighting all by themselves , as playing American and Japanese soldiers coming to terms with each other on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, both of them stranded together . However , the movie sometimes lapses into tedium and slowness , though contains striking images with moments of great power and wonderful scenarios . It's one of the sharpest and cleverest war film of the 60s masterfully and stylishly realized. The handsome cinematography by Conrad L. Hall does full justice to the varied settings on the Pacific ocean , bursting into the colour . Imaginative and haunting score by Lalo Schifrin.The motion picture is well directed by John Boorman . He's a real professional filmmaking from the 6os, though sparsely scattered and giving classics as ¨Point Blank¨ . His film are without exception among the most exciting visually in the modern cinema as he proved in ¨Deliverance¨ , ¨Excalibur¨,the best of them, , a rare Sci-Fi titled ¨Zardoz¨ , ¨Emerald forest¨ with a ecologist denounce included and of course ¨Hell in Pacific¨.

Spikeopath Hell in the Pacific is directed by John Boorman and stars Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune. It's written by Reuben Bercovitch, Alexander Jacobs & Eric Bercovici and the music is by Lalo Schifrin. During World War II, two men, one American and one Japanese, are marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island. In order for them to survive they must find away to co-exist and maybe, just maybe, forget the War and find a way off the island.Intriguing premise and two watchable stars not withstanding, Hell In The Pacific is not a particularly great film. Decent? Yes! But the novelty value of a two actor piece, with sparse dialogue, soon wears thin. The central idea of two racially different characters forced to come together, is hardly a new one. It's been done considerably better before this film with the likes of The Defiant Ones in 1958. But Boorman's movie does not lack for invention or trying to veer from the norm. Neither character speaks the other's language, so with no dubbing or subtitles, the viewers are forced to be part of the unique situation; sharing in the frustrations of two people unable to communicate verbally. That both Mifune & Marvin are fine actors physically and with their faces, also benefits the piece and the viewers. With both men ex-servicemen of their respective countries also a notable plus point.The film was entirely shot in the Rock Islands of Palau in the north Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines in the Philippine Sea. Visually it is a treat with the blues and greens offering up a beauty that battles the harsh like atmosphere for supremacy. It's impact being that of throwing up a heaven and hell comparison. Yet this pleasing aspect of the film is almost ruined by Schifrin's score. In a piece awash with loneliness, suspicion and borderline hatred, we really don't need evocative and perky, we want threatening and sedate. Which brings us to Boorman's direction, which is choppy and unsure what tones work best within the story. It's no surprise to find that the producers wanted to fire him off the project; his bacon saved by Mifune's insistence that Boorman stayed on. There is also some consternation with the ending(s) of the film, where both available endings have actually caused disapproval in equal measure. In truth neither ending fully rewards the viewer for having spent over 100 minutes with these two men. But for the record I personally like the "abrupt" one better.Its intentions are honourable, and for trying something different it deserves a pat on the back. But too many itches exist within; and thus the film is scratchy and never able to achieve allegorical greatness. 6/10