This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

hyped garbage

disgusting, overrated, pointless

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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.

Hot and sweaty, bold and brutal, Sidney Lumet's The Hill is a tour de force of incarceration based cinema. Story has five new inmates sent to a North African based British Army Prison, the centre piece of which is a manufactured hill that is used as a punishment tool. The new recruits, headed by Joe Roberts (Sean Connery), quickly fall foul of the superiors, especially the venomous Staff Sergeant Williams (Ian Hendry), but these boys wont take it lying down...With no music and Oswald Morris' monochrome photography ensuring atmosphere is perpetually claustrophobic, the harsh edges of the story strike hard. Be it overt bullying by those in charge - pushing men evidently too far - or racism, Lumet melds everything together superbly for harsh viewing experience, tightening the screws every quarter of film. Come the shattering conclusion it's a merciful release for the viewers, a chance to start breathing properly again, even if your mind is ablaze with a number of thoughts.This is very much an actors picture, which seems a given since it's adapted by Ray Rigby from his own play, but a mightily strong cast do sterling work with the tinderbox screenplay. Ossie Davis, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Roy Kinnear, Alfred Lynch and Michael Redgrave fill out the other key roles, each giving their characters vivid depth without resorting to histrionics and scenery chewing. Which of course is a testament to Lumet's skills as a director of actors.Slow burning intensity bristles with the corrosive nature of machismo fuelled authority, an unforgettable film and highly recommended to those who have not sampled it yet. 9/10

The Hill is a brutal film to watch. It stars a (relatively) young Sean Connery as he attempts to avoid being typecast as James Bond and features recognizable British actors in support. It's a psychological thriller set in a prison camp for court-martialed British soldiers, a rugged, terrifying camp run by a ruthless sergeant-major, played by Harry Andrews.Connery is Joe Roberts, in the klink for slugging a superior officer after refusing to (re)enter the field of battle (his squad was hopelessly outnumbered and outflanked; see also Paths of Glory). Roberts is tossed in a cell with fellow cons George Stevens (Alfred Lynch), Jacko King (Ossie Davis), Monty Bartlett (Roy Kinnear), and Jock McGrath (Jack Watson), who alternately resent and respect Roberts' actions.The hill of the title is a steep, sandy incline in the middle of the Sahara, where the camp's located. Convicts are tasked with double-timing it up one side and down the other, carrying a loaded backpack and their kit, or duffel bag. And then back again. The hill is used as a way for RSM Wilson (Andrews) to break them, to make them into real soldiers again.Trouble arises when Wilson's second in command, Staff Sergeant Williams (Ian Hendry) badgers one of the convicts so relentlessly that the man dies, thus kicking the battle of wits between prisoner and gatekeeper to an entirely new level. And this is where we really begin to see the unvarnished war of man versus man, as Wilson and Williams strain to break not only Roberts but also his cellmates.Connery is really fantastic as the strong-willed Roberts, and Wilson – who played plenty of authoritarian, stiff-backed British characters, is his equal. It's good to see Connery in a movie that transcends his sex appeal and his association with a certain superspy. Filmed in stark black and white (as black and white tends to be), The Hill is near the apex of psychological war films.

Sidney Lumet directed this stark military drama set in a North African military prison, where five new prisoners arrive to face the harsh conditions imposed on them by the authorities(played with varying sympathy by Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, & Ian Hendry) Sean Connery plays Trooper Joe Roberts,the leader of this group of prisoners, whose crimes run the range from theft to insubordination. All prisoners are forced to repeatedly climb an artificial hill in the middle of camp under the fierce desert sun, which of course will lead to some heatstroke and death. Joe does what can to retain his self-respect, and fight back against any abuse... Powerful film isn't that easy to sit through at times, and its quick editing style is certainly different, leading to an abrupt and bleak ending. Still, the performances are superb, and film memorable, if little-known.