MovieChat Forums > Hell in the Pacific (1968) Discussion > Very funny film

Very funny film

posted 15 years ago by mike_cable
4 replies | jump to latest

I liked this film and the ending was a surprise, but I thought it was some kind of anti-war message until I read it was a studio decision (it still could be a message thought up by some smart studio exec).

Since it had very little dialog, a lot of which was Japanese, I ran the film at 2x speed. It made the characters look very amusing throughout most of the film, as they try to build things to survive and Marvin continually tries to steal things and cause the other guy problems.

The rip sequence when they are heading out to sea reminded me a lot of Castaway all of a sudden.

Now I just need to see Enemy Mine again, which I have not seen for about fifteen years and is like a sci-fi version of this with a lot more added.

[–] DM-DAAN 15 years ago

Both the endings can be seen as a anti-war message. I never heard of people watching movies on double speed if they actually like the movie though. :-)

I unfortunately read about the "disappointing" ending in a review some time ago and while watching it tonight for the first time near the ending I suddenly remembered that review. It didn't ruin the movie for me or anything, but I just wish I hadn't rememembered it while I was still in the middle of the story. Thankfully the alternate ending was on the DVD and that one was much better. Not that the regular ending was bad, but it kind of broke the spell. The alternate one just fitted more into the feel of the film.

And indeed, it was surprising to see how much Castaway owes to this movie. But then again, the "stranded castaway" genre is probably one of the more rigid of filmgenres, with not much room for innovation. ;-)

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] madmike_v40 14 years ago

My Favorite line was by lee Marvin "Oh, for a second I thought you were a Jap."

[–] nutsberryfarm 12 years ago

2x speed. nice.

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.