{"id":9403,"date":"2009-08-29T13:48:11","date_gmt":"2009-08-29T20:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9403"},"modified":"2021-09-21T23:10:51","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T06:10:51","slug":"hill-the-1965","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9403","title":{"rendered":"Hill, The (1965)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Roberts, the court martial broke you, but I&#8217;m going to finish the job. I&#8217;m gonna bust you wide open.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following review is of a non-Peary title; click <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=4388\">here<\/a> to read more.]<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Poster-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Poster-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Poster-176x270.jpg 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Poster.jpg 493w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring World War II, a sadistic military prison warden (Harry Andrews) in North Africa makes life miserable for a group of detainees &#8212; particularly &#8220;busted&#8221; Sergeant-Major Roberts (Sean Connery).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Harry Andrews Films<\/li>\n<li>Michael Redgrave Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Prisoners of War<\/li>\n<li>Ruthless Leaders<\/li>\n<li>Sean Connery Films<\/li>\n<li>Sidney Lumet Films<\/li>\n<li>World War Two<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on a T.V. play by Ray Rigby, Sidney Lumet&#8217;s film about a ruthless military warden making life miserable for his minions in the heat and dust of North Africa is brutal, uncompromising fare, and often difficult to stomach &#8212; but ultimately so powerful in both its message and its delivery that it&#8217;s worth viewing. Sean Connery &#8212; hoping to shift away from his suave James Bond persona &#8212; took a break between <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44940\"><em>Goldfinger<\/em> (1964)<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=51957\"><em>Thunderball<\/em> (1965)<\/a> to play Joe Roberts, a sergeant-major censured for hitting his superior and refusing to send his men into a suicidal battle mission. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66893\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-1536x862.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3-481x270.png 481w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery3.png 1809w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Because he and his cellmates (Ossie Davis, Alfred Lynch, Roy Kinnear, and Jack Watson) are presumed to be cowards hoping to get out of active military service, Andrews and his equally sadistic chief officer (Ian Hendry) do whatever they can to break the men&#8217;s spirits and bodies &#8212; including sending them pointlessly up and down the film&#8217;s titular manmade dirt &#8220;hill&#8221;. The increasingly grim situation finally comes to a head when one of the new inmates dies from heat stroke, and Hendry is accused by the prisoners of murder. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-1536x863.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry-481x270.png 481w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Hendry.png 1821w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The subject matter is harsh, but the performances are superb &#8212; particularly Connery and Andrews, as well as Ossie Davis in a supporting role as a soldier from the West Indies who must put up with merciless racism on top of other indignities. Meanwhile, Oswald Morris&#8217;s crisp black-and-white cinematography is the perfect choice for such a bleak historical setting, and Rigby&#8217;s scathing dialogue is smartly conceived. (Note, however, that even native English speakers will want to have the subtitles on, since it&#8217;s often difficult to make out what the actors are saying.) Ultimately, while <em>The Hill<\/em> isn&#8217;t a film for the light of heart, those interested in exploring military power dynamics taken to a fatal extreme will surely be interested to check it out. It&#8217;s a surprising omission from Peary&#8217;s book &#8212; especially given that he awards Connery an Alternate Oscar as best actor of the year in his <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/AlternateOscars.html\"><em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Watch for Michael Redgrave in a small but effective supporting role as a sympathetic military doctor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sean Connery as Roberts<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-1024x574.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-1536x861.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2-482x270.png 482w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Connery2.png 1825w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Harry Andrews as RSM Wilson<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-1024x558.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"349\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-1024x558.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-768x419.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-1536x837.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews-495x270.png 495w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Andrews.png 1847w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ossie Davis as Jocko<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-1024x572.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-1536x858.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2-483x270.png 483w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Davis2.png 1831w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Oswald Morris&#8217;s b&#038;w cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-1024x568.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"355\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-1536x851.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-487x270.png 487w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Cinematography2.png 1817w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-1024x570.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"356\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-66891\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-1024x570.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-1536x856.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-485x270.png 485w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8-1038x576.png 1038w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Hill-Still8.png 1833w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Connery&#8217;s noteworthy performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0059274\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/allmovie.com\/work\/the-hill-95217\">All Movie Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2321war.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down to last review)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/72055\/the_hill.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Roberts, the court martial broke you, but I&#8217;m going to finish the job. I&#8217;m gonna bust you wide open.&#8221; [Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.] Synopsis: During World War II, a sadistic military prison warden (Harry Andrews) in North Africa makes life miserable for a group of detainees &#8212; particularly &#8220;busted&#8221; Sergeant-Major Roberts (Sean Connery). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Harry Andrews Films Michael Redgrave Films Play Adaptation Prisoners of War Ruthless&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9403\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missing-title-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9403"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76360,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9403\/revisions\/76360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}