The general lives of sailors, values in the Navy, and the way that ships operate are all explored well in this film. The sets are realistic and detailed, both on shore and in the ship, and in addition to a number of skillfully edited sequences, there is a significant amount to like on the visual side of things. However, despite the good insights that it gives, the politics of the time are ill explained, and some different events are not well explained either. The story is also rather minimal, with two dull romance subplots taking up a substantial amount of the plot. I did not find enough fresh material for the film to grip me for the whole of the epic three-hour length, and towards the end the directing becomes somewhat messy. This is not a bad film though. It is well made for the reasons I mentioned earlier, and Jerry Goldsmith composes a great score too. However, to say the least, I find its Academy Award nomination for Best Picture surprising.
Review of The Sand Pebbles
