Hell in the Pacific (1968)

How to make a movie 101

Anyone who wants to make a film would be served well to watch this movie, repeatedly. Boorman achieves what few filmmakers ever dare: an almost nonverbal story about rivals who learn, somewhat reluctantly, that the humanity they share cannot be abandoned. Yes, it's a product of the 70's, and the visual style embraces that, but the acting is superb. These were two of the best actors of their generation, and the collaboration must have been an actor's dream for both. No more spoilers. If you're a fan of Boorman, Mifune or Marvin, enjoy. July 13, 2008

Pull together or die apart together.

This is both a serious movie and a parable. Toshirô Mifune plays Captain Tsuruhiko
Kuroda, a proud Japanese Naval officer and Lee Marvin plays a downed American Pilot. They both end up on a deserted small island. They are mortal enemies, but somehow when you are both staring death in the face, it is easier to make common cause against it. The story of the movie is how they overcome their hatred for each other (in the generic - wartime sense) to find a way to be found, signal for help, or get off the island somehow, someway. Both actors are superb.

The parable is appropriate for a world ravaged by two-world wars the previous sixty years and now facing nuclear annihilation. We need to pull together or we will die at each other's through for no good reason. While I don't want to reveal what happens, it is instructive how vanishing cooperation and friendship are once the immediate threat seems to be past.

As I watched the movie, I could see how the Cast Away and Enemy Mine both seemed to learn and use things from this film.

I think it is a pretty good film that should be seen yet today.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
July 13, 2008

Lee Marvin at Work

In real life, Lee Marvin is a Marine that received a purple heart after being shot in the buttox during the battle for Saipan. Now here he is afterwards making movies where he is confronting his adversary and being the representative for the American side of the WWII GI psyche. His opposite is a Japanese soldier who equally does a splendid job to bring one up to speed with his culture. Both different and somehow the same. United together by a common goal of survival, yet on a hair trigger to let their warrior spirit flare. Interesting concept for a movie. Well done, appropriately cast. July 7, 2008

Enemy Mine

Mifune Toshiro once said of himself that he was only a great actor when being directed by Kurosawa. It is undeniably true. However, he was always a good actor, and even though only Kurosawa could pull the greatness from him, any Mifune performance is worth checking out. His American-directed attempts are usually even poorer than his quickly-done super-samurai slugfests, but "Hell in the Pacific" is an exception to the rule. This is good stuff.

The story is not exactly innovative. It was done four years earlier in the Frank Sinatra flick, None But the Brave, which was also a Japanese-American collaboration. However, whereas Sinatra had an entire platoon to back him up when making a tentative truce with the stranded Japanese castaways, in "Hell in the Pacific" there are only two, Lee Marvin and Mifune Toshiro. Lost on an unpopulated island, the two enemies must first fight, then carve out a grudging respect as they realize the desperateness of their plight, and how little wars mean when there are only two people in existence.

This is a brave and innovative film. Marvin and Mifune are the only two actors, and everything was filmed on location. There are no mourning wives waiting for a hopeful return, no platoon of buddies still out looking, no volleyball sidekick. We aren't even entirely sure how they both arrived there. None of Mifune's lines are subtitled, so the frustration of communication is powerful, both for the viewer and for Marvin's character. However, for such a sparse movie, director John Boorman is innovative in his use of location and props to suggestive a broader world.

The ending of "Hell in the Pacific" is a story in and of itself. There are two versions. One, demanded by US audiences, is a "happy ending", although ambiguously so. The other ending, released for overseas audiences such as the UK and Japan, is explosive to say the least, and far bleaker. Because of the wonderful nature of DVDs, both endings are included, and you can choose the fate you want for the two characters.
June 18, 2008

Hell in the Pacific

An excellent film with outstanding performances by two great actors. You won't be disappointed. This is not your average war film. It's a conflict of cultures as played out by two desperate men who finally realize that they must cooperate to survive. It takes misunderstanding to a whole new level.
Two thumbs up, three if I had them. June 15, 2008

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