MovieChat Forums > Hell to Eternity (1960) Discussion > Overlooked classic still packs a punch.

Overlooked classic still packs a punch.

posted 13 years ago by Lonixcap
3 replies | jump to latest

I first saw this on TV years ago, when local stations still showed these kinds of movies. It was always loaded with commercials and cut to fit a time slot. After watching it on TCM the other night, I have a new respect for this film.
It is much better than war flicks of that era, films like The Young Lions, and In Love and War, which also starred Jeffery Hunter. It has all the makings of an epic war film, except on a much lower budget.
It also has something that only the best war films have, which is depth of character. It still holds up today, whereas Audie Murphy's To Hell and Back, also a true story, seems phony, even with the hero playing himself.

[–] fivefids 13 years ago

I remember seeing this on TV (Saturday Night At the Movies?) not long after seeing "To Hell And Back" on TV, probably about 1971. I liked this one much better and it has stayed with me all these years. It wasn't shown much in my area but I did manage to record it off TNT in the early 90s. When TCM ran it Memorial Day weekend I made sure to watch and record again. It's still a powerful story. When I first saw it, I had no idea it was based on a true story and that the real Guy Gabaldon was alive and well till 2006. Had I known that, I might have tried to contact him. Great to see this again.

[–] psdhart 11 years ago

great film, great story

[–] vawlkee_2000 10 years ago

An under appreciated gem!
Long been a fave of mine and I still have a factory VHS copy from over 20 years ago.Before that I caught it on TV any time it was aired.
Location filming on Okinawa adds a lot to the believability factor, that and the large number of actual Japanese military vets used in the film.
$800,000 budget or not, it's still an epic in my opinion.
Hands down some of the best choreographed man to man combat sequences ever put on film. The Saipan banzai attack is the best depiction I've ever seen anywhere on film.
This one's a solid "10" on my scale.