FROM HERE TO ETERNITY-SUPERBIT (DVD/P&S 1.33/DD 5.1/DTS/ENG-FR-SP-PO-CH-SUB DVD

From Here to Eternity
The scene is Schofield Army Barracks in Honolulu, in the languid days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, where James Jones' acclaimed war novel From Here to Eternity brought the aspirations and frustrations of several people sharply into focus. Sergeant Milt Warden (Burt Lancaster) enters into an affair with Karen (Deborah Kerr), the wife of his commanding officer. Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is a loner who lives by his own code of ethics and communicates better with his bugle than he does with words. Prew's best friend is wisecracking Maggio (Frank Sinatra, in an Oscar-winning performance that revived his flagging career), who has been targeted for persecution by sadistic stockade sergeant Fatso Judson (Ernest Borgnine). Rounding out the principals is Alma Lorene (Donna Reed), a "hostess" at the euphemistically named whorehouse The New Congress Club. All these melodramatic joys and sufferings are swept away by the Japanese attack on the morning of December 7. No words could do justice to the film's most famous scene: the nocturnal romantic rendezvous on the beach, with Burt Lancaster's and Deborah Kerr's bodies intertwining as the waves crash over them. If you're able to take your eyes off the principals for a moment or two, keep an eye out for George Reeves; his supporting role was shaved down when, during previews, audiences yelled "There's Superman!" and began to laugh. From Here to Eternity won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and supporting awards to Sinatra and Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Burt Lancaster as Sgt. Milton Warden Montgomery Clift as Robert E. Lee Prewitt Deborah Kerr as Karen Holmes Donna Reed as Alma Lorene Frank Sinatra as Angelo Maggio Ernest Borgnine as Sgt. "Fatso" Judson Philip Ober as Capt. Dana Holmes Mickey Shaughnessy as Sgt.Leva Harry Bellaver as Mazzioli Jack Warden as Cpl. Buckley John Dennis as Sgt. Ike Galovitch Merle Travis as Sal Anderson Tim Ryan as Sgt. Pete Karelsen Arthur Keegan as Treadwell Barbara Morrison as Mrs. Kipfer Jean Willes as Annette Claude Akins as Sgt. Baldy Thom Robert Karnes as Sgt. Turp Thornhill Robert J. Wilke as Sgt. Henderson Douglas Henderson as Cpl. Champ Wilson George Reeves as Sgt. Maylon Stark Don Dubbins as Friday Clark John Cason as Corporal Paluso Kristine Miller as Georgette John Bryant as Capt. Ross

Crew Cary O'Dell - Art Director Brig.Gen. Kendall J. Fielder - Consultant/advisor Mushy Callahan - Consultant/advisor Jean Louis - Costume Designer Earl Bellamy - First Assistant Director Fred Zinnemann - Director William Lyon - Editor George Duning - Composer (Music Score) Morris W. Stoloff - Composer (Music Score) Morris W. Stoloff - Musical Direction/Supervision James Jones - Songwriter Freddy Karger - Songwriter Robert Wells - Songwriter Clay Campbell - Makeup Burnett Guffey - Cinematographer Floyd D.Crosby - Cinematographer Buddy Adler - Producer Frank A. Tuttle - Set Designer Lodge Cunningham - Sound/Sound Designer Daniel Taradash - Screenwriter James Jones - Book Author

From Here to Eternity
There were few movies greeted with more anticipation than Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity when it opened in 1953. Adapted from one of the best-selling novels of the previous ten years, it was a film for which everyone had high expectations. It lived up to all of them and then some, adding a new level of violence and frankness to popular dramatic films just when the public was ready to accept these elements. (However, the movie couldn't even hint at an aspect that James Jones' novel mentioned almost at its outset: the homosexual advances that Pruett parried from his former sergeant, resulting in his transfer to a rifle company.) Burt Lancaster, who'd previously established himself as a hero-victim in a series of films noirs made under the auspices of Universal and as a costume hero in a pair of Warner Bros. period adventure films (The Flame and the Arrow, The Crimson Pirate), transformed himself into the quintessential macho leading man with his performance; Montgomery Clift gave the performance of his life as Robert E. Lee Pruett, unwilling boxer and trumpet player; ex-navy enlisted man Ernest Borgnine dominated every scene he was in as Sgt. Judson, the most vicious enlisted man seen onscreen in a mainstream American movie up to that time; Deborah Kerr, previously known for her plucky, lady-like roles, got to play an unabashedly sexual woman, and a married one at that; Donna Reed, cast against type as the prostitute with delusions of her own, gave the most honest and wrenching performance of her career; and Frank Sinatra, cast against all prevailing wisdom in Hollywood (and beating out Eli Wallach for the choicest supporting role in Hollywood that year), became a great actor overnight as the doomed Maggio. Even Merle Travis, a veritable god among guitar players but an anonymous figure to most filmgoers, got a memorable scene and song ("Re-Enlistment Blues") out of the film. From Here to Eternity raised the bar for realism (and the genuine, jagged, if ugly side of life) in war movies, and in movies in general. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
 

Burnett Guffey: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Cinematography (winner) Burt Lancaster: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actor (nominated) Burt Lancaster: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Actor (winner) Daniel Taradash: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Screenplay (winner) Deborah Kerr: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actress (nominated) Donna Reed: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Faye Emerson: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (winner) Frank Sinatra: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Frank Sinatra: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Fred Zinnemann: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (winner) Fred Zinnemann: Golden Globe, Best Director (winner) Fred Zinnemann: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Director (winner) George Duning: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Drama or Comedy Score (nominated) Jean Louis: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Costume Design (nominated) Montgomery Clift: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actor (nominated) Morris W. Stoloff: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Drama or Comedy Score (nominated) William Lyon: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (nominated)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Picture (winner) American Film Institute, 100 Greatest American Movies (winner) Cannes Film Festival, Out Of Competition (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated) New York Film Critics Circle, Best Picture (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, Por, KO, TH Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono DTS: Digital Theater Systems (akin to 5.1) Additional Features: cc Digitally mastered audio and video Original full-screen presentation Scene selection DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 118 min Part of Series: Superbit Collection   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Start [2:15] 2. Sgt. Warden [6:56] 3. Mrs. Holmes [1:42] 4. Holmes' Sweet Home [1:51] 5. The Company Boxers [3:05] 6. The Treatment [4:08] 7. Rainy Day Woman [10:41] 8. The Princess Lorene [4:51] 9. On the Beach [6:22] 10. Prewitt's Story [3:37] 11. "Re-enlistment Blues" [:37] 12. In the Gym [6:30] 13. "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" [1:59] 14. Gonna cut His Heart Out [6:56] 15. The Kalakaua Inn [3:20] 16. Waiting for a Movie Star [2:57] 17. "Hello, Tough Monkey" [:46] 18. Two Couples With Plans [9:48] 19. Prewitt vs. Galovitch [6:31] 20. Two Bumps in the Road [4:07] 21. "I Escaped" [1:54] 22. "Taps" [2:22] 23. A Word With Fatso [4:18] 24. Holmes Resigns [5:41] 25. December 7, 1941 [4:03] 26. Warden Shoots Back [4:32] 27. Prewitt's Return [3:40] 28. Returning Stateside [2:10]