THE HILL
A film review by Chuck Dowling
Copyright 1997 Chuck Dowling
The Hill (1965) ***1/2 out of ***** - Cast:Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ossie Davis. Directed by: Sidney Lumet. Running Time: 122 minutes.
The "hill" refers to a 60 foot high pile of sand and rocks which is used to discipline soldiers in a British military prison during World War II. Soldiers are forced to run up and down the hill at full speed in full combat gear, under a blazing hot Africa sun.
Sean Connery plays Joe Roberts, imprisoned at the camp for disobeying an order that surely would of gotten him killed. The story follows him and his cellmates as they are subjected to brutal punishment for their crimes, punishment that gets one of them killed. The remaining soldiers in the cell then have to fight the system in order to bring the guard responsible for the man's death to justice. But it's not an easy task.
I had two problems with the film. One is that the actor's accents are very thick and at times difficult to understand. The other is that the film builds and builds, getting very tense going into the final scene. Then something odd happens as the words "THE END" appear on screen. The story wasn't over yet! But no, this is one of those 60's films that doesn't have an ending, something which I cannot stand. But, the cast gives great performances, specifically Andrews as the Sergeant Major in charge of the camp. There is some excellent camera work here too, especially the opening shot.
-- Chuck Dowling Visit Chuck's Movie Reviews at http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/ Over 1,600 movies rated and/or reviewed! Movie news, film related links, and reader's reviews.
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