World War II films from different eras

From Here to Eternity

A scene fromFrom Here to Eternity. [Photo/Mtime]

From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann based on the namesake novel by James Joyce, an American author known for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath. The picture deals with the aspirations and tribulations of three soldiers stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

It is 1941. Robert E. Lee Prewitt requests Army transfer and ends up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes, hears of his boxing prowess and is keen to get him to represent the company. However, Prewitt is adamant that he does not box anymore, for which Captain Holmes gets his subordinates to make his life a living hell. Meanwhile, Sergeant Warden starts seeing the captain's wife, who has a history of seeking external relief from her troubled marriage. Prewitt's friend Maggio has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, and Prewitt begins to fall in love with social club employee Lorene. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance.

The title of the film comes originally from the poem "Gentleman-Rankers" by Rudyard Kipling, an English poet, about soldiers of the British Empire who had "lost way" and were "damned from here to eternity".

The film won 8 Academy Awards in 1953, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Adapted Screenplay.