During the few months before the attack on Pearl Harbour, Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), a bugler, is transferred to Hawaii to help a particular division win the army boxing championship.
What Capt. Dana Holmes (Philip Ober), the one who requested Prewitt, doesn't know is that Prewitt won't fight anymore. He won't box. Holmes won't hear of it; he just won't box. Thus begins the slow progression of making Prewitt's life miserable... unless he will box.
Meanwhile, Holmes' wife, Karen (Deborah Kerr) begins a tawdry affair with his secretary, 1st Sgt. Milton Warden (Burt Lancaster). Warden can't be without Karen, and so they meet at the beach. This encounter leads to one of the most famous romantic scenes in all of Hollywood motion pictures, Lancaster and Kerr laying on the beach, wrapped in each other's arms kissing as the waves crash over their bodies.
Meanwhile, Prewitt and his good friend Pvt. Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra), head off to a "Gentlemen’s club" where they can enjoy the company of a woman for the evening. they can dance, eat and/or talk with another woman (no tawdry stuff allowed here!) for a low low price. This is where Prewitt meets Alma Burke (Donna Reed) whom he falls in love with.
As these two couples enjoy their time together, separate events manage to keep them apart while the bombing of Pearl Harbour brings everyone closer together.
A career turning point for not only Frank Sinatra, but for Burt Lancaster and the rest of the major cast as well, From Here to Eternity was a smash hit based on the novel of the same name.
A masterpiece of American cinema, Eternity not only won 8 Oscars, but a plethora of other awards as well. William Holden, who won the Oscar for Stalag 17 said that he didn't deserve the Oscar that year; he stated that he thought that Burt Lancaster should have won. He was right, you know.
The film appeals well to both men and women; the film is, essentially, a soap opera set during the war. Maybe we love the film so much because we feel bad for the good guys and/or that we feel good that the bad guys got what they deserved. Maybe it is the great supporting cast that makes the picture come alive.
Without Sinatra's incredible drunken Maggio, or Lacaster's brilliant Milton Warden, the film would haven fallen flat on its face. Can you now see anyone else kissing Deborah Kerr on that beach?
Plot: 
The plot is that of a soapy daytime drama, but it works well intertwining all of the characters to make an interesting, and yet somehow believable army drama.
Visual Effects: 
Cinematography is average; there is nothing special about it, really. There are no special effects to speak of, either; at least, there are no big eye-popping effects that grab you.
The scenes of World War II fighting planes seem to be made from stock footage of the actual war and look even worse, quality wise, than the video quality of the rest of the actual movie. (The DVD version of From Here to Eternity that was viewed was not a restored version, unfortunately.)
Sound:
Character Development: 
From the first time Prewitt meets Alma Burke, we know there is something special between the two of them. This romance develops over the course of the film where as the romance between Walden and Karen Holmes seems forced and develops way too quickly.
Atmosphere:
This is a good film for a rainy day; man and women will enjoy it. It isn't a dirty or bloody film, but it isn't sweet and wholesome, either.
Realism:
Warren’s Rating:
Movies it beat out for Best Picture:
Julius Caesar; The Robe; Roman Holiday; Shane
8.71/10 Is the movie worth your time to watch?
08-05-06
Age at win: 38
Nominated for: Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Angelo Maggio, From Here to Eternity
Nomination: 1/2 (acting), 1/2 (total); Win: only
Before ol' Blue Eyes was Chairman of the Show Business Board, before he was a Rat in a Pack, even before his ol' blue eyes were old, Frank Sinatra was a struggling actor. It is fortuitous, then, that he landed the role of Angelo Maggio in the star studded film of the year, From Here to Eternity.
Frank plays the drunken, Italian Angelo Maggio, a man always looking for a good time but one who is also thumbing his nose at the army every chance gets.
Frank's best scene is his last one, after he escapes from the stockade. He brought out true emotions in Montgomery Clift's Prewitt, not only for that scene but for the rest of the film as well. Frank is a welcome addition to the film but is nothing more than comic relief, to be sure. He plays the part of Maggio so well that anything but an Oscar nomination would have been a miscarriage of justice.
Ol' Blue eyes, we still miss ya.
08-05-06
Age at win: 33
Nominated for: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Alma Burke, From Here to Eternity
Nomination: 1/1 (acting), 1/1 (total); Win: only
Donna reed was cast against type in this picture; here she plays a "hostess," a hooker, if you will, for lack of a better term. Reed's best-known role was It's a Wonderful Life, opposite Jimmy Stewart, where, true to type, she played the loving housewife. Here though, she plays the hostess, only out for money, who eventually falls in love with Prewitt.
Although not as impressive a performance as Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed made the part her own. Her best scene, perhaps, is the very last one where she explains to Karen Holmes about Prewiit and his death. Yes, it is all lies, but it is a touching final tribute to the character, and reed delivers it very well.
Reed's character doesn't get overly emotional in the picture; yes there is a scene at the end where she does a bit, but for the most part Reed plays Alma Burke directly against her type, and it works well.
11-05-06
