--- title: "From Here to Eternity: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/from-here-to-eternity/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/from-here-to-eternity" critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # From Here to Eternity (1953): what the critics said Critics' score 81 from 9 reviews: 9 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly positive, though the warmth cools a little with the decades. Critics writing in 1953 treat the film as a model of studio craft: Fred Zinnemann’s direction, a tight screenplay and a cast taking roles well outside their usual range, with Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed picked out for reinventing themselves. Later writers agree on the essentials and return to the same two sequences, the surf kiss between Lancaster and Kerr and the Pearl Harbor attack, as the moments that still land. The spread is narrow, from good to excellent, and the reservations are small. Time Out finds the direction anonymous and the tone occasionally hysterical while still being seduced by it. The Guardian thinks Montgomery Clift’s subplot the weakest strand, a view Time Out flatly contradicts by calling him outstanding. Eye for Film and Empire note that the novel has been softened and that some of its attitudes have dated. ## Los Angeles Times — Edwin Schallert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 1953. The picture assumes to delineate peacetime troop conditions in Pearl Harbor before Dec. 7, 1941, and scores a great technical coup through casting, direction by Fred Zinnemann, and treatment of a story once thought too hot to handle. Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, and Donna Reed break completely with their cinema past in new moods and roles. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2022-09-02/from-the-archives-here-to-eternity-blasts-viewers-with-atomic-power) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 1953. The film captures the essential spirit of James Jones's novel about military life in pre-Pearl Harbor Hawaii, emerging as a towering and persuasive drama through expert editing, direction, and performances. It stands as a shining example of professional moviemaking that purifies the book's brutality while retaining its power and scope. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1953/08/06/archives/the-screen-in-review-from-here-to-eternity-bows-at-capitol-with.html) ## Variety — William Brogdon Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 1953. The James Jones bestseller has become an outstanding motion picture in this smash screen adaptation, presenting socko entertainment for big business with exceptionally good cast names and topnotch exploitation values. Fred Zinnemann’s direction solidly builds scenes and develops characters into cohesive, gripping drama spiced with action and humor, backed by an exceptionally fine screenplay. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1953/film/reviews/from-here-to-eternity-2-1200417558/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic praises the film's iconic scenes and strong performances while noting it remains endlessly rewatchable as old-school drama, despite some themes feeling dated. The beach scene and Pearl Harbor recreation stand out as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/eternity-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 September 2010. The critic finds that most of the power, fervency and soapy compulsion of Fred Zinnemann's 1953 Oscar-winner survives in this new restoration. They single out the brilliant and spectacular Pearl Harbor bombing set-piece and the iconic Lancaster-Kerr surf kiss (noting its brevity) for praise, while observing that Montgomery Clift's subplot is less compelling. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/sep/23/from-here-to-eternity-review) ## Time Out — David Jenkins Rating 4/5. 21 September 2010. The critic finds the 1953 film a garish but compelling ode to the lonely lot of the pacifist, with Montgomery Clift outstanding as the blighted boxer-bugler. It is anonymously directed and sometimes hysterical, yet seduces as a hot-blooded spectacle stitching emotional detail onto history. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/from-here-to-eternity) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The piece reappraises the film as a classic about army life, bullying and conformism on a Hawaiian base before Pearl Harbor, beyond its famous surf scene. The cast including Sinatra, Clift and Borgnine is praised in this melodrama. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/from-here-to-eternity-reminds-of-an-oftforgotten-classic-7421805.html) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 1953. The picture makes clear that a military establishment between wars can include complex and difficult people, with a screenplay full of stimulating stuff about army life when no enemy is around. Directed by Fred Zinnemann with an effectively spare quality, it features strong performances, especially from Frank Sinatra as a first-rate actor. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1953/08/08/1953-08-08-051-tny-cards-000046705) ## Eye for Film — Chris Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 2007. The critic finds the film great overall but singles out the famous beach kiss scene as truly awesome and timeless, while noting the story is a watered-down version of the novel and critiquing elements like drunkenness and jingoism. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/from-here-to-eternity-film-review-by-chris) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/from-here-to-eternity.md