From Here To Eternity (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

The intertwining subplot is no less absorbing than those of Prewitt and Warden. It involves Pvt. Angelo Maggio (Sinatra), another hard head, in a conflict with "Fatso" Judson (Borgnine), the quietly brutal Sgt. of the Guard at the base stockade. Sinatra had to practically beg for the part at a rock-bottom price because by the early fifties his career was in a slump. After winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, he never had to look back. If you´re familiar with "The Godfather," you remember a similar incident involving a crooner and a film role. I doubt that Sinatra had to resort to horse´s heads in producer´s beds, but he apparently did everything else he could to land the part.

The movie is basically a romance, but the script never lets it get soggy or sentimental (except, perhaps, in the closing scene). It´s a pleasure to watch Warden manipulating the Captain and showing his machismo: "OK, Fatso, if it´s killing you want, come on!" It´s good to see Kerr and Reed playing "bad" girls for a change. It´s reassuring to see Prewitt fighting the "treatment," never giving in, never allowing his opponents the satisfaction of his quitting. It´s even fun to watch Sinatra having a high old time goading the bully Borgnine. What´s more, the supporting cast includes a bevy of fine players: Jack Warden, George Reeves (television´s Superman), Claude Akins, Mickey Shaughnessy, Joan Shawlee, Harry Bellaver. Writing, acting, and direction all make this an absorbing piece of filmmaking.

Video:
Columbia TriStar´s DVD transfer is good but maybe not perfect. There is no indication that this is a restored print, but rather it appears to be a good archival print. The picture quality is a little grainy, with occasional white age flecks in evidence. The black-and-white contrasts are mostly excellent, and definition is adequate.

Audio:
As for audio, well, it´s Dolby Digital monaural, meaning it projects a good, clear, natural midrange, which is about all the soundtrack has to offer.

Extras:
As for special features, there is one that stands out. It´s an audio commentary with Tim Zinnemann, the late director´s son, and Alvin Sargent, who worked with Zinnemann on the movie. They provide a wealth of inside information, making this a commentary you´ll definitely want to listen to. Next, there are two brief featurettes, about nine minutes of excerpts from "Fred Zinnemann: As I See It," a series of Zinnemann´s home movies on the set of "Eternity," as well as interviews, and about a two-minute piece called "The Making of From Here To Eternity." Then, there are filmographies, a booklet insert of production notes, twenty-eight scene selections, and three theatrical trailers, one for "Eternity" and ones for "The Guns of Navarone" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai," besides. These studios are getting pretty savvy about trailers, advertising their other products at home now just as they do in the motion-picture house. English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese are offered as spoken languages; English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai as subtitles.

Parting Thoughts:
The year 1953 saw Hollywood desperately begin trying to lure audiences away from their newfangled television sets by offering up spectacular widescreen color productions. Columbia took a gamble on "From Here To Eternity" by making it the old-fashioned way, in black-and-white and standard screen. The result was that it became one of the highest-grossing films of the decade. What´s more, it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Zinnemann), Best Supporting Actor (Sinatra), Best Supporting Actress (Reed), Best Screenplay (Taradash), Best Black & White Cinematography (Burnett Guffey), Best Film Editing (William Lyon), and Best Sound (John P. Livadary). Furthermore, it was nominated for two Best Actor awards (Clift and Lancaster), plus Best Actress (Kerr), Best Costume Design (Jean Louis), and Best Music (Morris Stoloff and George Duning). It´s still a hard picture to resist.

---

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---