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This film stars Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune, respectively, as an American and a Japanese soldier, who are both stranded on the same uninhabited island in the Pacific during World War Two. As expected, their initial interactions are hostile but in time, they realize they need to co-operate in order to survive the harsh conditions and eventually, attempt to get away from the island. Marvin and Mifune both are terrific in their portrayal. It's interesting to see how different they both were as actors. Mifune was more theatrical in his approach. He had a very fluid face and body language, capable of conveying a vast range of emotions without speaking. Marvin was more from the "talk low, talk slow and don't say too much" school of acting but he was also capable of conveying a variety of emotions to the viewer. Despite the seriousness of the protagonists' predicament, the film has an undertone of black comedy throughout, particularly the scenes where the protagonists torment each other in various ways and later, when they attempt to work together but the language barrier between them makes progress very slow. However, I must say I found the ending to be abrupt and rushed – and I don't mean the super abrupt ending that the studio tacked on without director John Boorman's approval. I saw the original ending and the buildup to it felt rushed to me. I suppose it was a logical culmination to the plot – but it still did not satisfy me. submitted by /u/Hurdy_Gurdy_Man_84 |
