Hell in the Pacific (1968)

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

Alexander Jacobs (screenplay) and
Eric Bercovici (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 December 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

They hunted each other as enemies...they tormented each other as savages...they faced each other as men!

Plot:

During World War II, an American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain are deserted on a small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. There, they must cease their hostility and cooperate if they want to survive, but will they?

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | Island | Pilot | Raft | Stranded

Cast

Lee Marvin	...	American Pilot
Toshirô Mifune	...	Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda (as Toshiro Mifune)

Directed by
John Boorman

Writing credits
Alexander Jacobs		(screenplay) and
Eric Bercovici		(screenplay)
Reuben Bercovitch		(story)

Produced by
Reuben Bercovitch	....	producer
Henry G. Saperstein	....	executive producer
Selig J. Seligman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
Conrad L. Hall		(director of photography) (as Conrad Hall)

Film Editing by
Thomas Stanford

Art Direction by
Anthony Pratt		(as Anthony D.G. Pratt)
Masao Yamazaki

Set Decoration by
Makoto Kikuchi

Makeup Department
Shigeo Kobayashi	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Lloyd Anderson	....	production manager (as Lloyd E. Anderson)
Harry F. Hogan	....	production manager
Isao Zeniya	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yôichi Matsue	....	assistant director (as Yoichi Matsue)

Art Department
Kesataka Sato	....	property master
Frank Wade	....	property master (as Frank A. Wade)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	re-recording supervisor
Toru Sakata	....	sound recordist (as Tooru Sakata)
Gordon Sawyer	....	recording supervisor (as Gordon E. Sawyer)
Frank E. Warner	....	sound effects
Bert Hallberg	....	location sound engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Kunishige Tanaka	....	special effects
Joe Zomar	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Brooker	....	key grip
Jordan Cronenweth	....	camera operator
Harry Sundby	....	lighting technician
Earl L. Clark	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Michael A. Jones	....	best boy (uncredited)
Michael A. Jones	....	rigging gaffer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Neil Travis	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jim Henrikson	....	music editor (as James Henrikson)

Other crew
Masaaki Asukai	....	technical advisor
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Bert Hallberg	....	communications
Henry G. Saperstein	....	presenter
B.C. Wylie	....	production assistant (as B.C. 'Doc' Wylie)

Production Companies

• Selmur Productions (as Selmur Pictures)
• Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc.

Distributors

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• Parafrance Films (1969) (France) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (1969) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Company (1969) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1969) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1980) (USA) (TV) (pan/scan)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1995) (worldwide) (all media)
• Viljafilmi (1969) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Trissen Enterprise S.A.  technical assistance (as Trissen Enterprise S.A., Tokyo)
• Samuel Goldwyn Studios  sound (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Cehennemde 2 adam" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Die Hölle sind wir" - West Germany
"Duel dans le pacifique" - France
"Duel i Stillehavet" - Denmark (imdb display title)
"Duell i Söderhavet" - Sweden
"Duello nel Pacifico" - Italy
"Dyo liontaria stin Kolasi" - Greece (reissue title)
"Dyo liontaria ston Eiriniko" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Inferno no Pacífico" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Infierno en el Pacífico" - Spain
"Infierno en el pacífico" - Argentina
"Kahden miehen helvetti" - Finland
"Kirottujen saari" - Finland
"Pokol a Csendes-óceánon" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Taiheiyo no jigoku" - Japan
"Två mäns helvete" - Finland (Swedish title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm mag-optical prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:G | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Airai, Babelthuap, Palau

Company:

Selmur Productions

Trivia:

The studio didn't like the original ending, so they used a scene of an explosion from the Peter Sellers film The Party (1968).

Quotes:

American Pilot:Oh, for a second I thought you were a Jap.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers Lee Marvin (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Down in the Cane Brake

Two great actors, a great script, a grand theme.

What I would give to know only Japanese and watch this movie. You don't have to understand what Toshiro Mifune is saying to understand this movie.

Does war extend to the individual? Trained to kill or be killed, two adversaries face off. Each with his own fear that the other will succeed. Why didn't they kill each other when they had the chance? Because man is a social animal and he needs the company of others. To use a cliché - No man is an island.

And in the end conflict erupts. Not because of any innate difference between the two men - but because of how they define themselves in a greater scene. I am Japanese - you are American (and vice versa). Throw in the element of non-communication (neither spoke any of the other's language) and you have it.

Two great actors, a great script, a grand theme.