For Whom the Bells Tolls is a thrilling novel and one of the most acclaimed books of the 20Th century. It depict very accurately the turmoil of Spain during the civil war alongside the upheavals of the previous century.Only three years after it was first publish and in the heights of WW2 this movie was very relevant upon debut.
Set on the mountains between Madrid and Segovia, Robert Jordan, the reflection of Hemingway himself or shell I say his alter ago, joins a group of insurgents in the Fascists side, together they show us the complicity of war, while everyone need to choose their side whereas opinions and creed sometime prove us that nothing can be black or white, add it the toughness of daily fighting and you get a fabulous story.
Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman enshrined us that this movie will take us all the way to the path of glory, though, Katina Paxinou, as Pilar took the best supporting actress in the academy awards.
As one of my favorite books I was more than looking forward to watch Sam Wood adaptation. The book influence was poignant, showing us the life of the simple soldiers in the Republic and criticise the high rank of the local Communist party and the Soviets in particular, it was banned in the Soviet Union for many years on. Unfortunately the movie doesn't show the political intrigue that eventually causes the Republic to loose the granting Franco decades of reign, instead the movie put it emphasis on the love story between American explosive expert, Robert Jordan (Cooper) and beautiful young comrade, Maria (Bergman). To my opinion, the movie took from the book it main objective, nevertheless the movie is worth watching and can be describe as good American love-drama.
Set on the mountains between Madrid and Segovia, Robert Jordan, the reflection of Hemingway himself or shell I say his alter ago, joins a group of insurgents in the Fascists side, together they show us the complicity of war, while everyone need to choose their side whereas opinions and creed sometime prove us that nothing can be black or white, add it the toughness of daily fighting and you get a fabulous story.
Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman enshrined us that this movie will take us all the way to the path of glory, though, Katina Paxinou, as Pilar took the best supporting actress in the academy awards.
As one of my favorite books I was more than looking forward to watch Sam Wood adaptation. The book influence was poignant, showing us the life of the simple soldiers in the Republic and criticise the high rank of the local Communist party and the Soviets in particular, it was banned in the Soviet Union for many years on. Unfortunately the movie doesn't show the political intrigue that eventually causes the Republic to loose the granting Franco decades of reign, instead the movie put it emphasis on the love story between American explosive expert, Robert Jordan (Cooper) and beautiful young comrade, Maria (Bergman). To my opinion, the movie took from the book it main objective, nevertheless the movie is worth watching and can be describe as good American love-drama.