From Here to Eternity
Dir: Fred Zinnemann
1953
****
I think the reason that From here to Eternity is such a classic is down to the performances rather than the film itself. The story is actually quite wishy-washy and the characters, excluding Burt Lancaster's Private Robert E. Lee, haven't been adapted from the novel as well as they should have been. I feel a lot was sacrificed in the adaptation from book into film but that said I never really thought that much of the book anyway. Where the film does improve on the book however, is in the classic scenes - particularly the 'Beach' scene with Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster. Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift are the two shining stars of this film and deliver the two most convincing performances for sure. I don't think Deborah Kerr was given half the screen time she deserved and the film is all the worse for it. Overrated but still great.