From Here till Eternity
My initiation into theatre and cinema, like almost everything else, was guided by my father and uncle, two of the most dominant forces in my life. While Baba is all for sensitive, subtle art, Jethu’s choices are dominated by large scale magnum opuses. But both unanimously agree to the principle ‘the older, the better’. While, not completely agreeing with this dictum, by virtue of their forceful presence, I have had the good fortune of seeing some classics that far surpass the barriers of age and time.
Baba was always more of a theatre person and still fondly recollects the memories of watching a Sambhu Mitra or a Ajitesh Bandopaddhyay play at Star or Minerva. Jethu, though equally passionate about the stage, had a softer corner for the big screen, more pertinently Hollywood. Innumerable lazy Sunday afternoons of my childhood has been spent watching Suspicion, Psycho, Pillow Talk, Roman Holiday, The King and I, Come September, Fountainhead, The Heiress……....... Though later I developed a taste for non Hollywood European cinema, the tutoring was done in good old Universal Studio fares.
I can also recollect evenings that were spent walking on Chowringhee, arguing animatedly over the acting prowess of Tripti Mitra and Shaoli Mitra, the discussion veering towards such taboo topics as the element of sexuality in Sakharam Binder. Those were the formative years that have left a tremendous longing for absorbing everything on stage, and on celluloid.
Unfortunately, over the last few years the quality of theatre in Kolkata has come down quite a bit. Though groups like Sayak and Rangakarmi still try to do some good work, with halls closing down, poor acoustics in the existing ones and the multiplex onslaught, theatre is no longer the experience it used to be. Hollywood, too, Jethu insists, has lost its grandeur. They are either pseudo realistic or completely fantastic, there’s no attempt to amalgam the two like it used to be in the good old days of Hitchcocks and William Wylers and Clark Gables and Marlon Brandos. “Where are the stars?” he says, pooh poohing my attempt to put forth the names of Tom Cruise and George Cloony, “you are comparing them with Brando and Tracey, Sinatra and Olivier. Listen even the Al Pacinos and the De Niros, you so fondly eulogise, bear the legacy of that era, beyond them……..they ain’t get made anymore, honey.” I had to accept, they don’t make another Brando anymore.
That argument spawned an intense desire to relive that proverbial Hollywood grandeur once again. However a thorough scan of my local dvd parlour elicited a surprisingly negligible stock. The one that I selected was a 1953 magnum opus, From Here to Eternity by Fred Zinneman, with the awesome star cast of Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Deborah Karr and Donna Reed.
The story centres around Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Montgomery Clift) who had requested army transfer in 1941 and had ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, had heard of his boxing prowess and was keen to get him to represent the company. However, 'Prew' was adamant and refused the offer to box, so his life in the company became a living hell. Meanwhile his second in command, Sargeant Warden (Burt Lancaster) embarked on a relationship with the captain's wife (Deborah Karr), who had a history of seeking external relief from a troubled marriage. Prew's friend, Maggio (Frank Sinatra), and his love Lorene (Donna Reed), a social club employee, were his only source of comfort. Amidst these budding relationships and conflicts, unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbour loomed in the distance.
The film, arguably considered the best wartime movie ever made in Hollywood, succeeds admirably on two levels. Firstly, it gives a credible picture of the nature and life of servicemen in Hawaii, highlighting the positives as well as the negatives; secondly, and more importantly, it is a superb contrast in everybody’s peacetime concerns with the sudden new antipathies brought on by the outbreak of the war. The characters and their situations are riveting, and much of it is presented in a surprisingly unflattering and uncompromisingly light manner. The portrayal of military life is perhaps the most striking aspect of the movie; nothing is glorified, yet it doesn't take pot shots at easy targets, either. The narrative, taut and tense, leaves an indelible impact. Add to this engaging dialogues and superb acting, especially by Montgomery Clift ( whose performance in this genre, I feel, can be superseded only by that of Marlon Brando’s in On the Waterfront), and the shimmering passion between Lancaster and Kerr, and you know why they say it is an unforgettable piece in Hollywood history.
If you have watched Pearl Harbour, go and get a dvd of this one; like they say, “They ain’t get made like this anymore, honey.”
