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"From Here To Eternity"... The Novel / The Movie

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Joe Strummer, Feb 4, 2016.

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  1. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    The movie just ran on TCM.
    I believe, it was THEE FIRST time in my life, I saw the whole movie !
    Damn, thing premiered in '53.........and I swear, this might have been the first time ? = all thru.
    8 Oscar Awards.......14 nominations !....incredible numbers !
    .......and Sinatra + Donna Reed win ?.........Donna Reed ? = The Hostess ? ( HOOKER ! )
    *
    I guess, the "night time lens" they used for the famous beach scene - was "cutting edge" ?
    It was silly looking --- special effects, in those days.
    I've actually seen it used in several Cowboy/Western movies - to simulate night time. --
    around the same time.
    Looked silly there, too.
    *
    I thought Burt Lancaster did a decent job ( though, not a particular fan of his ).
    M. Cliff was ?.....well.....Monte.
    What is a tiny guy like that doing in a fist fight ?......okay, I'll suspend belief....briefly.....
    and the bugle playing ? ( with Trumpet notes ).
    *
    Anyway,
    I know THE NOVEL was quite different...
    I get fascinated by a novel or movie -- and then, I have this need to research it for a while....or read it.
    I don't know if I've got the time for an 800 paged novel ?
    Should I bother ?......I probably will....because of the stuff left out of making the movie.
    *
    I've read about Honolulu and it being a Red Light district - because the US service looked the other way.
    The Last Port before Japan...and all.
    I like how,in one scene, Burt Lancaster, says his lines, while leaning against a calendar w/
    Dec.6 as the date........pretty cool shot.
    Also, a 1953 movie premier was NOT that long from 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.
    *
    Pearl Harbor -- they must have felt there was to be a full out invasion/landing coming ?
    Not just bomb dropping.
    *
    Any thoughts ?.....or discussion ?....novel....movie....
     
  2. gguerra

    gguerra High-Roller

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    All I can say is it's a great movie and I've seen it at least 3 times. I have never read the book. I know Sinatra tried very hard to get the part and finally did and won the Oscar.
     
  3. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    I saw it the other night as well, had forgot frank sinatra was in it, as far it not being that great a movie, look at the oscar winners the last decade or so(slumdog/crash/the artist/argo, etc) and consider which will be remembered more?
     
  4. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    Good point.
     
  5. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    While I watched it I was struck by how good Lancaster was and what a great actor he was(not just in that movie, but overall), I thought that we dont have anyone nowadays even capable of real acting, It's mostly just over the top theatrics, or actors like Deniro playing the same role again and again.
     
  6. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    Lancaster's gut was so flat --
    I noticed other actors ( in GI uniforms ) suckin' in their gut during some scenes.
    *
    I looked up web trivia - to this movie -
    It said, Sinatra said Monty was VERY helpful and they became friends.
    And then, I read later, Sinatra didn't speak to Monty - years later - after an club incident
    where Cliff "hit on" someone in Sinatra's entourage.
    Monty was a mess ( drunk + pills ) by then.
    I was wondering "Was it a guy ?"
     
  7. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    The book is long, but I think its worth it. Read it 20 years ago and it was one of two favorite WWII novels
     
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  8. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    okay...thanks !
    anybody else ?
     
  9. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

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    he was a switch hitter
     
  10. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

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    Some will diss me on this, but you have to look at these things through a 1953 pair of eyes. As mentioned, Pearl Harbor was still very much in the minds of all Americans. I can remember my aunts crying their eyes out watching the attack on the old Victory At Sea series. My mother told of people screaming and being led out of theaters while watching news reels of the Bataan Death March.

    People were not about forgiving the Japanese in 1953, or the Germans, either, it was still too fresh in every adult's mind. From Here To Eternity was epic film making to the technology of 1953. Making love on the beach while waves crashed around was cinematic genius at the time. And the stars!!?? The best and most popular in the business in 1953.

    A very good movie on Pearl Harbor is Tora!Tora!Tora!. It shows how the old and wise Admiral Yamamoto wanted nothing to do with the attack. He knew it would ultimately lead to Japan's destruction. But the younger, more reckless officers eventually won over Premier Tojo, who manipulated the Emperor into signing off on it. Once ordered to attack, Yamamoto committed himself to doing the best he could.

    The American Pacific Fleet thought it was invincible and that no one, particularly Japan, not an enemy at the time, would dare attack them. That, and some incredibly naïve mistakes on the part of the Americans, made the attack a total success.

    As a footnote, every Japanese aircraft carrier that took part in the raid was on the bottom of the ocean within a year.
     
  11. Bo333

    Bo333 VIP Whale

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    Tora!Tora!Tora! is one of my favs! I have to admit as to never sitting down and watching all of 'From Here to Eternity' - now I'm thinking that I need to go do that.
     
  12. queuetee

    queuetee VIP Whale

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    Sinatra had Ava Gardner to thank for being given that part in FHTE. She was up and he was down at that time so she used her pull to get it for him

    As Frank is known for, he continued to help her financially for many years after he recovered his power/fame and she was down.
     
  13. mafig

    mafig Low-Roller

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    That's supposedly the true story.
    The myth (or maybe not the myth) is the scene from The Godfather, where Frank used his Mafia friends to encourage whoever was in charge of casting to give Frank the role.
     
  14. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

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    I have read that story many times from many different sources.
     
  15. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

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    there's a story Frank had JFK call the studio to make The Manchurian Candidate....
     
  16. LolaDoggie

    LolaDoggie VIP Whale

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    Burt Lancaster was built like a brick shit house in those days.
     
  17. shokhead

    shokhead No big spender unless eating drinking having fun!

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    Deborah Kerr was hot. Great actress. If you have never seen it, make a point to watch Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.
     
  18. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    Ava Gardner became a recluse in NYC.
    Somebody got an interview with her in her very senior years -
    and she was living life as if she was a Hollywood star from many years ago.
    Some say she was the "creepy" main character from "Sunset Blvd." ( about a fading actress ).
    *
    I believe, Ava did get Frank that role in FHTH.
    *
    Frank's screen test scene was the one where he arrives at the bar, drunk and AWOL from Guard Duty.
    He improvised rolling the olives, down the bar, and and coming up "craps" ( "Boxcars" to be exact ? ) --- director loved it -
    and it was inserted in the movie.
     
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