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The Hill (1965) was made by Sidney Lumet in that period when his name was synonymous with powerhouse drama guaranteed to leave audiences wrung out and limp (Fail-Safe, The Pawnbroker). Still, there was a bigger name involved: Sean Connery breaking with his James Bond image to portray a volcanically outraged inmate at a British Army prison camp in Libya. The titular Hill is a steep mound erected on the desert floor for him and other British soldiers who have violated the (often absurd) rules of the military game to buck sacks of sand up one side and down the other, like so many sons of Sisyphus. Ian Hendry is unforgettably loathsome as the sadistic noncom Williams; other captors include Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, and Michael Redgrave, while Connery's fellow prisoners are played by Ossie Davis, Roy Kinnear, Jack Watson, and Alfred Lynch. In Oswald Morris's black-and-white cinematography, you can almost feel the desert sun like a hot brick. --Richard T. Jameson
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This film is the best I have ever seen. Always has me on the edge of my seat every time I watch it. In 1965, thirty-nine years ago I went to the Pictures as it was called then, to watch the first showing in my local town of ST Helens.
The setting is a British Military prison out in the desert in North Africa, A typical army setting with white painted stones marking the parade square, the flagpoles flying the Union Jack and unit flags. The attention to military detail is absolutely correct (a failing in many modern day made war films)
Sean Connery portrays a Sergeant major (Warrant Officer) who had been court marshalled for disobeying orders during a conflict. He was the only returning survivor which has given him the reputation of being a coward (Is he or isn't he a coward?) now a trooper he is sent to this extremely hard prison. On arrival together with four other prisoners, just inside the camp gates Sean Conney is met by prison staff and the Regimental Sergeant Major and receives a tough welcome indeed.
The Hill is a pile of sand about forty or fifty feet high and is situated in the middle of the camp. With full webbing and wearing backpack prisoners run backwards & forwards over the hill as a punishment for stepping out of line. Of course the newcomers are introduced to the hill straight away.
The film is exciting, sad, funny, is full of revenge, hate, mutiny, and questionable murder, plus many other nail biting aspects. The acting is beyond reproach, and the whole thing in glorious Black and white. If you want to see a good film watch this one, I promise you a treat.
May I suggest a remake of this classic? Nope, Perhaps not, after all there's only one Sean Connery
Howard Donoghue (Berlin.)
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
I am currently browsing around Amazon looking for suitable Christmas presents for friends and family. And I thought of this great old flick for my Dad. This is one of the finest British films of its period and very possibly one of the finest performances ever given by Sean Connery - certainly better than his recent efforts in Hollywood.
WHY IS THIS NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD?
Surely someone at the BFI or elsewhere could do something about this, Please......
WHY IS THIS NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD?
Surely someone at the BFI or elsewhere could do something about this, Please......
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The Hill probably represents the finest work of one of the lesser known but none the less great collaborative actor/director teams, that of Sean Connery and Sidney Lumet. Along side these notables, the film boasts a truly outstanding supportive cast, where the likes of Ozzi Davis, Michael Redgrave and Roy Kinner provide classic performances. Set in a Military prison in North Africa the film retains a peerless quality in black and white. It's photography is paired with highly aggressive editing that is stunning. The overall effect provides a time and reality of place little seen in contempery cinema. It is very much a film of it's time yet speaks very much to the present of the past, and so understanding of an attitude that was the British army, as to defy belief. The story centres around a busted Sgt one Joe Roberts played by Connery, sent to account for striking an officer, having faced combat he is all to aware of the system that will once again come to bare on him. His all too knowledgeable attitude provides all the excuse for his prison guard tormentor Ian Hendry to exact ludicrous and murderous punishment on Joe and his fellow cell mates. However, Joe Roberts proves once again that he is exactly the kind of man that defines the real meaning of the term "war hero" inspite of the record he has been wrongly accorded. There are simply not enough stars to mark out this peace of cinema, and if there were they would pale against the performances that are The Hill
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Superb Story, Superb Acting, Superb Film
No colour, No CGI, No special effects, No multimillion pound budgets, just superb acting and a ripping good yarn. Read more
Published 2 months ago by A. McGrath
The hill
"The hill" is the story of the lives of a small group of British soldiers in a military prison in the North African desert during the second world war and how they face up to the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. D. Rowland
Sean Connery's exceptional performance in a top British film!
Prompt dispatch of DVD and excellent packaging.
No complaints - Happy Customer!
And, of course, the film is superb!
No complaints - Happy Customer!
And, of course, the film is superb!
Published 15 months ago by MrsGossamer
What no Dvd yet
The Hill, a British classic yet not on UK Dvd, how long must we wait?
Published on 25 Nov 2009 by Pune
FILM- THE HILL
THERE'S NO MUSICAL SCORE,WHATSOEVER,IT'S IN BLACK AND WHITE,AND SEAN CONNERY,STILL HAS MORE HAIR ON HIS HEAD,THAN ON HIS CHEST,BUT WHAT A QUITE BRILLIANT FILM! Read more
Published on 13 May 2009 by Mr. M. Ashburn
The Hill DVD
A very under-rated film which, due in part to the racism is these days not shown on British TV. Excellent performances all round this is one of Connery's best films.
Published on 4 May 2009 by JB
Bung it in yer trolley
This is a film that works on many levels. Psychologists and philosopher's could talk about those while others might just like the sturdy plot and witty script. Read more
Published on 19 April 2008 by J. I. De Beresford
Excellent film
This is a great British film but it isnt available on DVD release in Britain , only America !
Published on 13 Mar 2008 by Mr Frank Lee Bland
Stunning performance
Alfred Lynch is the greatest reason of all for watching this film. It is a superb film, pulls no punches, and is very effectively shot in unflinching black and white. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2008 by Weird Sister
Why is there still no uk reg 2 DVD?
Probably one of the best war-dramas ever made and easily one of Sean Connery`s finest ever performances.Never on mainstream uk tv and no sign of a dvd either. Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2007 by Mr. A. D. Amuro
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