From Here to Eternity

Released Aug 5, 1953

1 hr. 58 min.

Drama

Romance

War

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List

88%

100 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

At an Army barracks in Hawaii in the days preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor, lone-wolf soldier and boxing champion "Prew" Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) refuses to box, preferring to play the bugle instead. Hard-hearted Capt. Holmes (Philip Ober) subjects Prew to a grueling series of punishments while, unknown to Holmes, the gruff but fair Sgt. Warden (Burt Lancaster) engages in a clandestine affair with the captain's mistreated wife (Deborah Kerr).

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Critics Consensus

It has perhaps aged poorly, but this languidly paced WWII romance remains an iconic, well-acted film, featuring particularly strong performances from Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift.

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Alec B

Iconic beach make-out sequences and good performances aside, the movie has so many noticeable compromises and cop outs in adapting its source material that it lessens the film's potential emotional impact.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

Full Review

A R

The casting in this movie is excellent and the actors do an excellent job with what they're given, but there wasn't enough for me to invest in these characters relationships or characters. I can tell there is depth to these characters, no doubt form the book, but the movie didn't delve into it and I had trouble believing in their short-lived, fairly under-developed relationships - particularly the romances. I think the iconic beach scene is incredibly well-done and obviously pushing the envelope for it's time, but I have trouble stomaching the sense that Kerr's character has to excuse her affairs, much less that they can only be excused by serious trauma - not a lesson I can get behind.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/12/23

Full Review

Red T

A Classic Drama. Pretty much everything about this is fundamentally really well made. The only issues are the music is good when used but like most Zimmerman pictures it is very seldom used here but it never really feels dry here compared to other movies he's made mainly because it's very well paced with good drama and romance in between that never feels like it's dragged out or a slow burn. The setting is very memorable, there is excellent camerawork, and the attack is very well done also with a great mixture of stock footage and practical effects that blends in perfectly. It's very hard to tell what stock actually is. The editing is very good also but it can jump between Clift & Lancasters story a bit in the first half and it can feel a little jumpy but it really isn't that big a deal mainly because of how well acted and shot everything is. It's very impressive how not much happens here but it never feels like stuff just happens.It does a great job building charming, likable, complex characters that you care about male & female. The ending was a surprise also. Anyone who is a fan of any actors in this, the director, or drama/war hybrid films (As this really isn't a war movie or a straight drama) will like this a lot.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/11/23

Full Review

James B

This is one of those movies that I find difficult to change the channel every time it's on. It's a little shy in depicting the brothel scenes, otherwise the ensemble cast is irresistible.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/13/23

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Glenn G

I completely agree with ed m. I am a huge fan of Fred Zinnemann, but unlike High Noon, From Here to Eternity does not hold up well. The plot's soap opera elements drag it down despite some good performances...and some not as good as we'd like to pretend they are. I'm talking to you, Frank. If you still think that this is a classic, invite some friends under 65 to come watch it. When "The End" flashes on the screen, you will be alone.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

ed m

Fun, but too many soap opera elements. Has not aged well.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/09/23

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Fred Zinnemann

Director

Burt Lancaster

1st Sgt. Milton Warden

Montgomery Clift

Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt

Deborah Kerr

Karen Holmes

Frank Sinatra

Pvt. Angelo Maggio

Donna Reed

Alma Burke (Lorene)

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From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - Back Alley Knife Fight

2:36

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - The End of the Affair

1:49

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - Married to the Army

2:42

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - The Attack on Pearl Harbor

2:13

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - My Name Is Alma

1:56

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - Bar Fight

2:01

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - Love on the Beach

3:57

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - A Beautiful Woman Going to Waste

3:28

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - Beaten to Death

2:22

From Here to Eternity: Official Clip - Bare-Knuckle Boxing

3:47

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From Here to Eternity: Trailer 1

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

Jones' bulky book does such an honest job of storytelling that it triumphs over its pedestrian prose; the movie succeeds by the smooth efficiency of Fred Zinnemann's lean, intelligent direction, and by the superlative casting.

Jul 28, 2022

Full Review

Richard L. Coe

Washington Post

You will ask how closely this follows the events and rugged dialogue of the book. There are omissions, particularly of language, but the story changes have a stunning ring of truth to them.

Jul 25, 2022

Full Review

Marjory Adams

Boston Globe

It is the film of the year from its professional production to its smallest characterization. It has authority and style as well as an entertainment value for every filmgoing adult.

Mar 17, 2022

Full Review

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

Remembered best for its dreamy and iconic beach scene, From Here to Eternity was ahead of its time in the way it tackled topics of sex and infidelity.

Jun 14, 2023

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... Fred Zinneman’s classy adaptation of James Jones’ novel of soldiers in Hawaii in the days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor [is] an American screen classic.

Jan 7, 2023

Full Review

Jane Corby

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

James Jones' book, From Here to Eternity, has been made into Oscar-bait movie, superlatively written for the screen, ingeniously directed, brilliantly cast and acted and dramatically photographed.

Mar 17, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

At an Army barracks in Hawaii in the days preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor, lone-wolf soldier and boxing champion "Prew" Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) refuses to box, preferring to play the bugle instead. Hard-hearted Capt. Holmes (Philip Ober) subjects Prew to a grueling series of punishments while, unknown to Holmes, the gruff but fair Sgt. Warden (Burt Lancaster) engages in a clandestine affair with the captain's mistreated wife (Deborah Kerr).

Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenwriter: James Jones, Daniel Taradash
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 1953, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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