Reclaimed Masculinity
Masculinity for the Modern Man
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Writers: Daniel Taradash (screen play), James Jones (novel)
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra
A private in the army contends with a string of punishments dulled out by his commanding officer to get him in the boxing ring, while his 1st sergeant has an affair with his CO’s wife. Oh, in 1941 Hawaii…
For years I’ve heard people bash the movie Pearl Harbor for taking a real tragedy, stuff a love story in, and replace real heroes for fakes. Also, there’s melodrama and bad lines, and all that. Everything they say about Pearl Harbor can, and should, be said about From Here to Eternity. Except, I like Pearl Harbor. Oh, and the Doolittle raid in Pearl Harbor was an actual thing, and Doolittle was an actual hero. No one is this movie is real.
Yes, it has an iconic beach scene. Yes, it has Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra. None of which means anything unless you’re in film school. On it’s own, the movie does not hold up to the hype. It’s simply a love story, with a tacked on war at the end, that accounts for about 10 minutes of screen time. I’ll be reading the book the film is based on before long, we’ll see how well it holds up.