Hell in the Pacific

Hell in the Pacific
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Boorman
Produced by	Reuben Bercovitch
Written by	Reuben Bercovitch Alexander Jacobs Eric Bercovici
Starring	Lee Marvin Toshirō Mifune
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography	Conrad Hall
Edited by	Thomas Stanford
Production company	Selmur Pictures
Distributed by	Cinerama
Release dates	December 18, 1968 (1968-12-18) (United States)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Japanese
Budget	$4,150,000
Box office	$3,230,000.

Hell in the Pacific is a 1968 World War II film starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune, the only two actors in the entire film. It was directed by John Boorman.

Plot

The film is a story of two soldiers, one American and the other Japanese, marooned on an uninhabited Pacific island, who, in order to survive, must accept their differences and work together, despite their two countries being at war.

Cast

• Lee Marvin as American Pilot
• Toshirō Mifune as Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda

Production notes

The film contains little dialogue, and much like its predecessor – the film None but the Brave – is not dubbed or sub-titled, thus authentically portraying the frustration of restricted communication between the Japanese- and English-speaking. The film was entirely shot in the Rock Islands of Palau in the north Pacific Ocean, near the Philippines in the Philippine Sea.

The film was originally released with a rather abrupt ending, one that left many dissatisfied with the outcome of the struggle these men endured. The subsequent DVD release has an alternative ending, which while leaving the eventual destiny of the two ambiguous, was much more in line with the overall direction of the movie.

Both actors served for their respective countries during the Pacific War. Marvin, who was in the US Marines, was wounded and received the Purple Heart during the Battle of Saipan in 1943. Mifune served in the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service.

Reception

Box office

The film earned rentals of $1.33 million in North America and $1.9 million elsewhere. Because of the high costs involved, by 1973 the movie had recorded a loss of $4,115,000, making it one of the biggest money losers in the short history of ABC films.

Critical reception

Toshiro Mifune also took on foreign assignments, but few did him justice. It was only John Boorman's Hell in the Pacific that captured something of his range, humour and power.

— British Film Institute

See also

• List of American films of 1968
• None but the Brave (1965), Frank Sinatra's earlier film with a similar premise

External links

• Hell in the Pacific at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Hell in the Pacific at IMDb
• Hell in the Pacific at AllMovie
• Hell in the Pacific opening titles and first scene on YouTube