Hell in the Pacific
| Hell in the Pacific | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Boorman |
| Produced by | Reuben Bercovitch |
| Written by | Reuben Bercovitch Alexander Jacobs Eric Bercovici |
| Starring | Lee Marvin Toshirō Mifune |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Conrad Hall |
| Edited by | Thomas Stanford |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Cinerama |
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Release dates
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Japanese |
| Budget | $4,150,000[1] |
| Box office | $3,230,000.[1] |
Hell in the Pacific is a 1968 World War II film starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune, the only two actors in the entire film. It was directed by John Boorman.[2]
Contents
Plot
The film is a story of two soldiers, one American and the other Japanese, marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island, who, in order to survive, must accept their differences and work together, despite their two countries being at war.
Cast
- Lee Marvin as American Pilot
- Toshirō Mifune as Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda
Production notes
The film contains little dialogue, and much like its predecessor – the film None but the Brave – is not dubbed or sub-titled, thus authentically portraying the frustration of restricted communication between the Japanese- and English-speaking. The film was entirely shot in the Rock Islands of Palau in the north Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines in the Philippine Sea.
The film was originally released with a rather abrupt ending, one that left many dissatisfied with the outcome of the struggle these men endured. The subsequent DVD release has an alternative ending, which while leaving the eventual destiny of the two ambiguous, was much more in line with the overall direction of the movie.
Both actors served for their respective countries during the Pacific War. Marvin, who was in the US Marines, was wounded and received the Purple Heart during the Battle of Saipan in 1943. Mifune served in the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service.
Reception
Box office
The film earned rentals of $1.33 million in North America and $1.9 million elsewhere. Because of the high costs involved, by 1973 the movie had recorded a loss of $4,115,000, making it one of the biggest money losers in the short history of ABC films.[1]
Critical reception
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Toshiro Mifune also took on foreign assignments, but few did him justice. It was only John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific that captured something of his range, humour and power.
See also
- List of American films of 1968
- None but the Brave (1965), Frank Sinatra's earlier film with a similar premise
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "ABC's 5 Years of Film Production Profits & Losses", Variety, 31 May 1973 p 3
- ↑ Hell in the Pacific at the American Film Institute Catalog.
External links
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- 1968 films
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- 1960s drama films
- 1960s war films
- English-language films
- Japanese-language films
- American films
- American drama films
- American war films
- Anti-war films about World War II
- Films about shot-down aviators
- Pacific War films
- War adventure films
- World War II films
- Films directed by John Boorman
- Films set in Oceania
- Films set on uninhabited islands
- Films shot in Palau
- Film scores by Lalo Schifrin
