MovieChat Forums > The Hill (1965) Discussion > The Greatest Film of All Time? Maybe.

The Greatest Film of All Time? Maybe.


One reviewer annointed "The Hill" with that title and added that we have to "get over" Citizen Kane". A couple of thoughts.

1) Movies are so diverse that you can't really compare them unless they are, well, comperable. I have no idea how to compare "The Hill" to Citizen Kane or 2001 A Space Odyessy" or "Singing in the Rain" or "La Dolce Vita" or "The Adventrues of Robin Hood" or whatever. The title is thus kind of meaningless.

2) Everyone has the right to their own opinion. Nobody's opinion of a film is based on what somebody else thought of it, (unless they've never seen it themselves). What no individual has the right to do is to, by themsleves, declare a film to be the "the greatest film of all timne", as opposed to their favorite. Greatness is the sum total of the decisions of individuals, not the decision of one individual. If it was the decision of one individual, then only that person would have a right to his own opinion. Telling people that a film is your favorite doesn't constitute a demand that anyone agree with you. Telling everyone that a film is "the greatest" does.

By the way, my favorite film is "Cool Hand Luke", a film similar in many ways to "The Hill" but more sentimental, (especially with that harmonica music). "The Hill" is perhaps more brutally direct because of the lack of sentiment but I'm an old softy from way back and when that harmonica starts wailing, I'm a gonner.

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I just finished watching a double feature of "Never So Few" from 1959, and "The Hill," both of which I recorded off of TCM. I wanted to see "Never So Few" because of the cast - Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Paul Henreid, Brian Donlevy. How could it miss? Well - I found that movie to be extremely difficult to sit through, a real chore - can't see myself ever watching it again.

"The Hill," on the other hand, was riveting. Excellent storytelling, fascinating performances. I don't know if it's the greatest movie ever made. I do know that I was spellbound from start to finish, and this movie will definitely will be part of my collection.

Just as a PS, my favorite movie is "Shane."

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I'm also a massive fan of Cool Hand Luke, but IMO The Hill is better.

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I'd say it is certainly one of the best war films ever made, if not THE best.

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In the 1973 edition of Angela & Elkan Allan's "The Sunday Times Guide to Movies on Televison" (or something like that) a review compares The Hill to a similarly themed film called The Brig. As I, and I suspect many others, have not seen The Brig, probably due to it's being made by an "underground" director Jonas Mekas, I'm wondering if this is available either on dvd or even VHS? All I've been able to glean is that it is based on a play by Kenneth Brown and is a filmed record of a performance by the experimental theatre company The Living Theatre. One of my favourite prison movies is The Glasshouse by Tom Gries, co-written by Capote and starring Alan Alda, pretty rough stuff but hardly anyone seems to be aware of it.

Supernatural perhaps, baloney perhaps not

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Without a doubt Sean Connery's and Sidney Lumet's greatest film. Probably in the top 20 greatest ever made. Brilliant depiction of the racism and homophobia inherent in the armed forces. Powerful, sad, funny. Grossly underrated. Where is the region 2 dvd (uk)?

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I remember reading one of the James Bond 60`s annuals and stumbling across a colour picture of Sean Connery from The Hill.It was showcasing other projects he was currently involved with and intrigued me.A war film(more of a drama really)with Sean Connery and I`d never heard of it.The sad thing is if you show that picture to the vast majority of people in the u.k. today you`d probably get the same result.The lack of a prime time showing on BBC(I know it`s on T.C.M. regularly) and the unbelievable lack of a uk dvd probably make this more well-known and appreciated overseas-what a real shame that is. Certainly not a good way to treat a film which I rate as one of the very best.

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Channel 4 (UK) compiled a list of the 100 Greatest War Films,
as voted for by the public & The Hill was nowhere to be seen.

Some films (& tv series) as good as they are, have an audience
but they don't connect with the majority.
They are classified as 'cult' movies & have a loyal following
of diehard fans.

That's a big reason why The Hill isn't on DVD in the UK.
Wouldn't make enough money.

Here's another one from the same year:
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

How often has that been shown on terrestrial tv in the
last 20 years? At least that one finally got a UK DVD release!

Totally agree with the distinction between "The Best" &
"My Personal Favourite". That applies to music too.

My personal favourite film just might be Billion Dollar Brain.
By popular consent the worst of the 'Harry Palmer' trilogy.
But I just happen to find it very entertaining & watchable.
No idea why. And I won't be telling anyone it's the greatest
movie ever. Because it ain't!

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There are plenty more gems like this film waiting to be rediscovered.I`ve just seen "Yesterday`s Enemy"(1959)with Stanley Baker- another tough gritty tale which likewise has been practically forgotten.

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