Two-character dramas are fairly uncommon in cinema but they usually work well as long as the actors chosen are charismatic.  For Hell in the Pacific (1968), director John Boorman could not have chosen more charismatic actors than Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune.

During World War II an American soldier (Marvin) in a lifeboat lands on a South Pacific island and finds a Japanese soldier (Mifune) already there.  They chase each other around the island and eventually capture each other, but neither man can bring himself to kill his opposite.  After a time they begin to work together to survive.

Hell in the Pacific is an existential allegory about the nature of war and hate.  Because of their differences, the men are unable to communicate except by the most primitive means.  Yet at the most basic level, they share much, including the desire to survive… and the desire for some sort of companionship.

Conrad Hall’s stunning cinematography aids Boorman in his task to create a starkly beautiful, desolate paradise.  The tiniest details regarding survival are vividly brought to life by the actors who, for the sake of verisimilitude, toiled in the broiling sun doing everything themselves.

Viewers may not be satisfied by the nihilistic ending of the piece (which was insisted upon by the studio), but Boorman’s original (now alternate) ending is also included on the laserdisc and DVD recordings.  It’s far more fitting, appropriate conclusion to this powerful allegory.

My rating:  ☆ ☆ ☆.  (9:3).