Twilightfa
Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Leofwine_draca
After having spent a couple of weeks solely watching recent movies, I was in the mood to go back and watch something a little older, a little more classic with good, old-fashioned production values. I chose HELL IN THE PACIFIC, and I was blown away. I'd read up on this film before I sat down to watch it, so I knew what to expect, but I had no idea that I would be kept watching, spellbound throughout what is a slow paced film with little to no 'action' so to speak of.Desert island films have always intrigued me, ever since I watched MYSTERIOUS ISLAND as a kid. The most recent one of note was Tom Hanks' CASTAWAY, but even that isn't a patch on this movie, which is so far my favourite desert island movie. The premise is simple but instantly appealing: two arch enemies are trapped together and forced to get along. The plot has subsequently been used in the likes of sci-fi yarn ENEMY MINE, as well as all those films where people are handcuffed together, but it was done first, and best, here.John Boorman was a perfect choice for director. This is a guy who's at home in the wilderness or jungle, whether he's making DELIVERANCE or THE EMERALD JUNGLE. He brings the isolation and the beauty of this tropical island to life in scenes matched only by the haunting backdrop of the film's climax. HELL IN THE PACIFIC is a two-hander, with two actors who can never actually understand each other thanks to their language barrier. This was a genius stroke, as it adds to the realism and the intrigue no end. Both actors give great roles. Lee Marvin is Lee Marvin – tough, weathered, cheeky, and likable. Toshiro Mifune has the edge, stealing scenes as the gruff, dependable Japanese soldier. I absolutely loved his character. Watching these two guys interact is my idea of screen entertainment, and the film never disappoints.The tension builds up as the climax approaches, and although I was hoping for a happy ending, knowing this was an anti-war film I didn't set my expectations too high. The ending is abrupt and unsatisfactory – apparently the result of studio interference – but it doesn't spoil the great little film that has preceded it.
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.
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¨.
poe426
War is Hell, they tell us (but only when you're on the receiving end...). Boorman's minimalist masterpiece, fully realized with the aid of three of the Art's finest (Mifune, Marvin, and Hall), stands the test of Time. Its message is as clear and as valid today as it was then. Even vastly inferior fare, like the SF feature ENEMY MINE, would go on to "re-imagine" HELL IN THE PACIFIC- though I don't recall the filmmakers giving credit where credit was due at the time of that movie's release (shades of THE TERMINATOR!). Mifune and Marvin make for a marvelous mix, and Conrad Hall's eye for detail is (as it always was, throughout his entire career) unmatched. The alternate ending (which I'd heard about, but have never seen) sounds interesting, but I'd always assumed that Boorman's original ending was even darker: I thought it might've been a drunken hand-to-hand struggle to the death between the two men, in which they both die(d). Either way, HELL IN THE PACIFIC is one of the truly Great Ones. Don't miss it.
