Its portrayal of military life was gritty for its time, showing that the struggles and flaws of service members are just as complex as those in civilian society.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 3, 2024

Remembered best for its dreamy and iconic beach scene, From Here to Eternity was ahead of its time in the way it tackled topics of sex and infidelity.

| Jun 14, 2023

... Fred Zinneman’s classy adaptation of James Jones’ novel of soldiers in Hawaii in the days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor [is] an American screen classic.

| Jan 7, 2023

Jones' bulky book does such an honest job of storytelling that it triumphs over its pedestrian prose; the movie succeeds by the smooth efficiency of Fred Zinnemann's lean, intelligent direction, and by the superlative casting.

| Jul 28, 2022

You will ask how closely this follows the events and rugged dialogue of the book. There are omissions, particularly of language, but the story changes have a stunning ring of truth to them.

| Jul 25, 2022

James Jones' book, From Here to Eternity, has been made into Oscar-bait movie, superlatively written for the screen, ingeniously directed, brilliantly cast and acted and dramatically photographed.

| Mar 17, 2022

Unlikely as [the novel] seemed for consumption by a censor-ridden motion picture audience, a film has been evolved that is tough-fibered and compassionate. It has been stunningly acted, superbly directed and skillfully photographed.

| Mar 17, 2022

It represents the screen at its best in every department, including one of the most compulsive musical scores.

| Mar 17, 2022

[From Here to Eternity] accomplishes its punch without any reliance on any extra dimension or other gimmick.

| Mar 17, 2022

Startlingly fine performances throughout are the measure of the film. Clift scores as the sensitive private whose professional life is no more complicated than his personal life.

| Mar 17, 2022

It is the film of the year from its professional production to its smallest characterization. It has authority and style as well as an entertainment value for every filmgoing adult.

| Mar 17, 2022

The surprise of the film is Sinatra, as the likable Private Maggio. The scene you won't forget is Montgomery Clift sounding taps for him.

| Mar 17, 2022

The movie is out to tell a story, not preach a sermon, and it hits this target with commendable frankness and a fine amount of dramatic punch.

| Mar 17, 2022

The power, toughness, pathos and brutality of James Jones' sprawling 858-page novel, From Here to Eternity, emerges triumphantly in Columbia's towering dramatization.

| Mar 17, 2022

The buttering-up of the Army, doubtless so as to obtain permission to use Schofield Barracks and soldiers in the scenes... is entirely too obviously done. Above all, there is in Daniel Taradash's screenplay no connected central idea.

| Mar 17, 2022

From Here to Eternity is more than just an absorbing story. It is essentially a montage of human emotions, intermingling the passions of love, hate, brutality and courage to such an extent that at times they are indistinguishable to the principals.

| Mar 17, 2022

Aristocratically beautiful as ever, Miss Kerr employs a subtlety I've never before noted In her performances.

| Mar 16, 2022

Every single member of the cast emotes just the way you'd want them to emote -- brutal, tender, amusing or tempestuous.

| Mar 16, 2022

Trying to pin down the elements of its impact, I find it resists analysis, perhaps because it is so real and utterly human.

| Mar 16, 2022

Deborah Kerr, whose officer husband is a liar-about-love, is great as the lonely wife who rushes into Burt's arms. And Donna Reed, as the dance-hall girl sick of all soldiers, is a surprise.

| Mar 16, 2022