the audience applauded

Must See Movie...

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Certainly the best film that I've ever seen. Have watched it a few times and never get tired of it. Superb performances from all with Sean Connery the busted NCO, Harry Andrews - a throw back to greater army times, Ian Bannen - the good guy, Ian Hendry as the sadistic RSM and Roy Kinnear as the wimp are simply brilliant. Stark effect amplified by cracking black and white cinematography. They don't make films like this anymore, sadly.

THE HILL is a war drama film about the torture in a British army prison in North Africa for soldiers who have been condemned to punishment by their own officers during Second World War. The brutality and sadism are not connected with the enemy, as well as discipline in military ranks. This is a kind of shameful punishment which slowly takes every last bit of humanity.Five soldiers, of various affiliations, were brought in a British Army military prison in the Libyan Desert. They are convicted of service offenses and subjected to repetitive drill in the blazing desert heat. However, new prisoners come into conflict with the camp authorities. One new NCO guard who has also just arrived employs excessive punishments which further enhances their mutual conflicts...Mr. Lumet has tried to introduce the audience in this film, through a special kind of torture. The highlight of the film comes together with a boiling point because, the torture takes one life. An ironic and somewhat irritating fight for bare life, which is salted with anything and everything comes after that. The structure of the story and direction are not different than most prison movies, but a realistic picture reinforces impressions. Characterization is not bad and is subordinate to the uncertainty and prison conditions.Sean Connery as Joe Roberts is a former Squadron Sergeant Major convicted of assaulting his commanding officer. His obstinate look and a strong sense of justice have contributed to his good performance. Harry Andrews as Regimental Sergeant Major Bert Wilson is a cruel warden and irritating loudmouth who slowly loses control of the camp. Ian Hendry as Staff Sergeant Williams a sinister sergeant, who has a very strange attitude to the causes and consequences of his actions. Ossie Davis as Jacko King is perhaps the strongest character in this film, however, his behavior goes beyond issues.This is certainly a realistic film, but with so much screaming and yelling is far from convincing.

Sent to a North African military British prison for the slightest infraction, a group of men find that the enemy outside the prison is preferable to the brutish British men "rehabilitating" them. This expose of hypocritical behavior during a time when freedom was worth dying for shows the monsters weren't all fighting for Hitler, Mussolini or Hirohito. It's an expose of corruption occurring when the wrong people are put in charge, turning everyone who works for them into animals. That is an interesting take on the genre of movies set during World War II, warning of the dangers of power corrupting, making me wonder how prisoners of war would be treated under such corruption by so-called allies. With a cast lead by Sean Connery and Harry Andrews, this is war drama in a different kind of disturbing way, showing the worst kind of mistreatment possible, and with the glee of those barking orders. Those orders have all of the prisoners running up and down a steep hill covered in sand under the blazing desert heat. The black and white photography makes the hill even more sinister looking, and closeups of the men as they face their first encounter with the hill confirms the difficult task they perform over and over, not only running up and down, but slinging heavy sandbags as well. It's like a slow occurring death, not only excruciatingly exhausting, but emotionally and mentally torturous as well. Director Sidney Lumet strikes a cord as do Andrews as the evil warden and Ossie Davis as a British subject from the West Indies who is treated with even more disdain because of his skin color.

I had all but forgotten just how good this movie really is..I just got the chance to see it again.. Wow... It's gritty, well written and directed and, particularly, well acted. Those tight camera angles, that put you on edge and dialog that is, at times, mind numbing. While it is sometimes hard to sympathize with the prisoners plight, it is not too difficult to despise the way the prison officers carry out their "duties". I doubt this film would have had the same impact if it had been shot in color. The stark black and white strengthens the movie no end. The Hill is by no means a family movie, but if dramatic movies like.. "12 Angry Men", "To kill a Mockingbird" or "Inherit the Wind" are your kind of movies, then this is a must see... lot's of thought provoking dialog and well developed characters. It is not a war movie,as such, but it is definitely is a battle of wills.