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That was an excellent one.

hyped garbage

disgusting, overrated, pointless

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's a British Army prison in WWII North Africa. Insubordinate British soldiers are sent there to be drilled ruthlessly. One of the tasks is to run up and down a man made hill. Joe Roberts (Sean Connery) is one of five new prisoners. He had punched his commanding officer for ordering a suicidal attack.There are some great performances. The most powerful coming from Harry Andrews. Everybody is delivering top level stuff. It's a contained movie in that it's contained by the base. In that way, it's more like a play. Sidney Lumet allows his actors to chew up the screen. It's great.

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.

First of all, this film simply isn't for everyone (my friend once told me that he felt claustrophobic watching it, and so turned it off). For me, however, it grabs me somewhere where most other films simply don't. It penetrates me deeper and draws me in further than most other films could ever dream of.Other reviewers have touched on the plot, which is quite subtle compared to many films really, but I think the genius of this film lies in the very-much 3D characters, the intensity of the camera work, the razor sharp dialogue (which is often cruel, hateful and witty), but perhaps most of all, the acting. There are essentially 8 main characters and every single one of them plays his part flawlessly. Anyone of the main characters' acting would be worthy of a lead role in almost any film I can think of.Even the peripheral characters give a 3D feeling to their performances (the camp commandant, the medical officer, for instance).To help understand how good the characters, the acting and the cameras work together, consider how many films you can think of which don't have a musical score but still generate an atmosphere which grips you - The Hill's 'musical score' is the background shouting from other prisoners in the prison camp as well as the sheer air of intensity throughout the entire film.Additonal hats of to Lumet for really allowing the British regional dialects free rein throughout the entire cast, although many viewers, including Brits, will have to pay close attention to what is being said, especially when military phrases, acronyms and slang are thrown in.Watch it, it's up there with the best of them!