Find out where to watch From Here to Eternity, the Oscar-winning romance and war film set months before the Pearl Harbor attack, starring Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift.
Based on a heralded novel by acclaimed author James Jones, From Here to Eternity is often grouped with other World War II films. In reality, it is more of a romantic drama that happens to take place just before the United States s the conflict. Still, most of the film is set on or nearby a U.S. Army base in Hawaii, where Sgt. Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster) and Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) are part of a rifle company stationed in Oahu. At the start of the film, Private Prewitt has just transferred from another Army base in Hawaii to the Schofield Barracks, agreeing to relocate and lose a rank over a dispute with his bugle core. Immediately it is clear to viewers that Prewitt is multi-talented and also so strongly principled that he will endure any punishment to defend what he believes is right. An accomplished boxer in the Army, a determined Captain Dana Holmes (Philip Ober) tries to force Prewitt to fight for his regimental team, but Prewitt refuses, revealing that he quit the sport after injuring a fellow soldier sparring. This sets the stage for the central conflict between Prewitt and the rest of the soldiers in the barracks who ostracize and abuse the Private in order to convince him to lead their boxing team to glory.
Learn what happens when love enters the equation for Private Prewitt and Sgt. Warden, and watch From Here to Eternity now on Amazon Prime, through an HBO Max subscription.
Watch From Here To Eternity On Amazon Prime.
What Makes From Here to Eternity A Unique War Film
War doesn't actually unfold in director Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity until the end of the film and the story instead centers on a group of soldiers who are seemingly in limbo. There are vague hints in newspapers of Japan expanding its influence with Americans left wondering when they would their European allies in World War II. However, the film is about a group of soldiers trying to coexist in one barracks, and most seem more concerned with boxing competitions and what to do with their weekend es, than any potential battles. Unlike other war films of the time, From Here to Eternity portrays the Army in a less-than-glorious light. Captain Holmes, far from the ideal military officer, es off most of his duties and paperwork to Sgt. Warden, while he has affairs with various women that his wife refers to during their arguments.
Meanwhile, the sole objectives of many of the soldiers are on winning the boxing tournament rather than defending their country. Led by Sgt. "Fatso" Judson (Ernest Borgnine), the soldiers embark on a brutal campaign to force Prewitt to put on his boxing gloves again, with Sgt. Warden ignoring their actions until Prewitt earns his respect for his determination to withstand any abuse. One of Private Prewitt's lone allies, Maggio (Frank Sinatra), ridiculed for his Italian heritage, eventually pays the ultimate price for his allegiance to Prewitt. In From Here to Eternity, the majority of the violence takes place between the American soldiers and not with the armies of foreign countries.
Romantic interests also play a significant part in the lives of the soldiers, with the wife of Captain Holmes (Deborah Kerr) soon becoming involved in an affair with Sgt. Warden, and later Alma (Donna Reed) enters the picture as the central love interest of Prewitt. Neither Captain Holmes' wife, Karen, nor Alma embraces the era's traditional role of morally upstanding and obedient companions to the soldiers. Karen, who has been trapped in a loveless marriage since she miscarried a child, is seemingly now in an open relationship with her husband and has a reputation for seeing numerous men in short-lived affairs. Donna Reed, known for her wholesome roles in films like It's a Wonderful Life, plays Alma who is a companion at a men's club, trying to earn enough money to return to the mainland and live a respectable life.
Where To Watch From Here to Eternity
The ending of From Here to Eternity manages to partially restore the corrupt and abusive image of the Army that viewers see for much of the movie. Prewitt who had gone AWOL after seeking revenge for Maggio's brutal torture at the hands of Fatso, rushes to his brothers in arms to defend Hawaii. Before the film concludes, Captain Holmes is investigated and punished for the violence that takes place under his watch. You can discover more ways the film separates itself from other World War II movies, and stream From Here to Eternity now on Amazon Prime, through an HBO Max Subscription.
