hyped garbage

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I have now seen Back From Eternity several times and find it an exiting and gripping thriller.A motley collection of passengers including a young boy, a murderer, an elderly couple and a blonde lass board a dodgy aircraft, not knowing further danger lies ahead when a storm forces the plane to crash land in a very remote and unexplored jungle, inhabited by cannibals! After eventually fixing the aircraft, only 5 of the group will be able to escape...This movie has a great cast with Robert Ryan as the pilot, 1950s glamour queen Anita Eckberg, a great performance by Rod Steiger as the murder and Gene Barry (War of the Worlds).Back From Eternity is well worth a look if you haven't seen it. Excellent.

Both of these exotic thrillers from John Farrow (father of Mia, husband of Maureen O'Sullivan) fascinated and intrigued me as a youngster. For the young people of today who might find these old movies not face paced enough, or unrealistic; something to remember - we did not have a laptop that we could open up and learn anything about anywhere in the world at any time. Our only exposure to places outside of our own hometown, USA were the Funk and Wagnal's encyclopedia- if you were fortunate enough to be able to afford it or the local library. The thought of travel to South America was exotic and unknown. Throw in the possibility of jungle cannibals, a murderer, the rugged adventurous pilots who brought people to those far away places in a still unknown to most mode of travel - the airplane - and you've got a great mix for a movie, especially if the story is good, which these are. These movies are unusual and intriguing because they are directed by the same man nearly 20 years apart and have exactly the same script, simply different actors. It's basically impossible to tell them apart. The only difference is the latter being 25 minutes longer and it has Rod Steiger, who always brings in a great performance. Even in my golden years both of these movies still stick with me after I've seen them and I've never grown weary of seeing either one. They do the one thing so many movies of today fail at their core to pull off - TELL A GOOD STORY. Generally shown a couple of times a year on TCM, both are well worth watching and have stood the test of time.

Bound for South America, buxom blonde Anita Ekberg (as Rena) ends her tenure as apparent sex play-mate for a Las Vegas bigwig; not to worry, he has two beautiful women standing sexily by, ready to assume her positions. Also headed down south are retiring professor Cameron Prud'Homme and his exacting wife Beulah Bondi (as Henry and Martha Spangler), gangster affiliated Jesse White (as Pete Boswick) and his quickly orphaned nephew Jon Provost (as Tommy Malone), plus slightly smarmy businessman Gene Barry (as Jud Ellis) and his pretty fiancée Phyllis Kirk (as Louise Melhorn). The co-pilots on our flight are possibly alcoholic Robert Ryan (as Bill Lonagan) and handsome hero-type Keith Andes (as Joe Brooks); the stewardess is Adele Mara (as Maria Alvarez)...Before the long flight, they pick up German-accented Rod Steiger (as Vasquez), on his way to execution, and armed guard Fred Clark (as Crimp). It should be no surprise the plane encounters turbulence, then the passengers are informed only four people, plus young Provost (who has "Lassie" in his future), will be able to make the trip out of an Amazon jungle, which is possibly inhabited with cannibals looking for human heads to shrink. Nasty business. Writer Richard Carroll and adapters do well in foreshadowing the shrunken head threat, as Provost is presented with one early; and later, Mr. Steiger describes the grisly process. This film is director John Farrow's re-make of his own "Five Came Back" (1939); the original film seems to be the most favored, but this one works, too.******* Back from Eternity (9/7/56) John Farrow ~ Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger, Anita Ekberg, Keith Andes

It's hard to imagine what attracted John Farrow into remaking his own "Five Came Back", which was good. By updating the story to 1956, nothing really was improved, although the film is good to watch because of the performances Mr. Farrow was able to get from this cast.The first part of the film brings together all the characters into a small airport where they are preparing to embark for another point in South America. The flight is commandeered by Bill Lonagan, who is a strange man that seems to be going through a rough patch in his life. The co-pilot is Joe Brooks, a young man who doesn't trust the older captain.The passengers are an assortment of characters that have been put together by fate, or so it seems. There is the beautiful Rena, who is going to work in a casino. The Spanglers, a professor and his wife who are on a studying trip. Then there is Jud Ellis and Louise, who are going to Brazil, but have missed their flight and are forced to go on the PAL flight. We also find Pete who is taking a young boy, Tommy, the son of a mobster, to his mother and a prisoner, Vasquel, being taken by his guard.When the flight develops problems, the captain makes the decision to land the plane in a valley in the middle of a jungle. While on the ground, they realize the plane has been greatly damaged and all try to put it back in service. Unfortunately, they are surrounded by an Indian tribe that is not kind to their invasion.The film is interesting to watch because of Robert Ryan and Rod Steiger, who as Lonegan and Vasquel do excellent work for Mr. Farrow. There is an ensemble kind of playing in general by the supporting players making the film better than what it could have been and it holds the viewer's attention.A film to be seen as a curiosity.