L'affiche du film
On the empty beach…
If there is one film that was predestined to be shown in the Cinéma de la plage section, it has to be Fred Zinnemann’s From Here to Eternity, famed for that kiss on a deserted Hawaii beach, one of the longest in the cinema history. Romantics will want to make sure they have a date for tonight at 21h30 on Macé beach.
Newly arrived at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, ex-boxer Robert Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) is swiftly ordered by his superior officers to get back in the ring and defend the honour of the regiment. But Prewitt has hung up his gloves for good and refuses, so becoming the butt of sarcasm and abuse from the other soldiers, while the Japanese prepare to attack Pearl Harbor.
From Here to Eternity was first presented at Cannes in 1954 and won the Special Jury Prize. The film was adapted from the best seller by James Jones. In the teeth of prevailing opinion, director Fred Zinnemann decided to shoot the film in black and white and to do without Cinemascope, which was seen as essential in Hollywood at that time as a way of fighting back against competition from TV. He won his bet in the end since, over and above all the accolades, the film also turned out to be one of the ten most successful films of the fifties.
