Hell in the Pacific (1968)

Hell in the Pacific
Directed by John Boorman
Written by Alexander Jacobs and Eric Bercovici from a novel by Reuben Berkovich
1968/US
IMDb link
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] American Pilot: How come you guys don’t believe in God?[/box]

Two great performances keep this almost dialogue-free WWII story interesting.

An American pilot (Lee Marvin) and a Japanese naval officer (Toshiro Mifune) find themselves stranded on a remote desert island in the South Pacific.  Neither speaks the other’s language.  They share a certain crafty ruthlessness that makes each a formidable opponent.

The men clash both in stealth and in outright confrontation.  Finally, it becomes obvious that cooperation will be the only way to escape their situation.

There is very little conversation in this film.  But the two leads are such excellent physical and expressive actors that they keep our attention throughout.  Other plusses are Conrad Hall’s gorgeous Cinerama cinematography and Lalo Schiffrins’s dramatic score.  The ending is a bit of a let-down.

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