160 HELL IN THE PACIFIC
cat- and- mouse game. Eventually, the Japa nese officer overpowers the American,
brings him back to his camp, and ties his arms in a yoke- like harness. The Ameri-
can soon escapes, however, captures his lone enemy in turn, and holds him captive.
Unhappy with the idea of taking a prisoner, he lets his enemy go, signaling a
truce. When the Japa nese officer begins building a small raft, his American coun-
terpart gets past his skepticism and offers to help. After the raft is finished, the
two set off for a collection of islands, eventually reaching land. They find the
island empty, but discover a bombed Japa nese camp with supplies. The two sol-
diers get along amiably until the Japa nese soldier sees images in an old Life maga-
zine that depict his people wounded, suffering, and dead. The two men then part
on unhappy terms. The original version of the film’s ending had Mifune’s charac-
ter kill two Japa nese soldiers who stumble upon Marvin’s character and decapitate
him. The idea was eventually scrapped, and Boorman shot an ending in which
Marvin and Mifune drop their truce and return to fighting each other. Executive
producer Henry “Hank” G. Saperstein found Boorman’s ending anti- climactic, so
devised a more decisive finale that practically ruined the picture: an explosion
(borrowed from another film) destroys the building and both soldiers are appar-
ently killed. Both versions survive.Reception
Although it features only two characters, Hell in the Pacific ran up $7.35 million in
production costs due to its highly remote Pacific island shooting location and many
work interruptions due to bad weather and the obstreperous be hav ior of Toshirô
Mifune. Poor timing— released at the height of the Vietnam War— coupled with
the film’s unusual premise, lack of subtitles translating the Japa nese, and equally
unsatisfying alternate endings severely limited its appeal; it earned only $1.33
million in North Amer i ca and $1.9 million abroad for a total of $3.23 million in
worldwide box office receipts: a net loss of $4.1 million, making it one of the big-
gest bombs in the short history of ABC films, which soon went bankrupt.Reel History Versus Real History
Though the one- on- one war scenario Hell in the Pacific depicts is highly improbable,
if not altogether preposterous, the men who enacted it brought authenticity to their
roles. Both co- stars, Toshirô Mifune and Lee Marvin, served in the armed forces
of their respective countries during World War II. Mifune saw no action—he was
a quartermaster in charge of issuing saké to kamikaze pilots— but Marvin was a
much- decorated Marine combat veteran (“I” Com pany, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines,
4th Marine Division). He had not been back to the Pacific since his war days 23 years
earlier and was forced to face some horrific memories; Marvin’s platoon was
ambushed on Saipan on 18 June 1944 and nearly wiped out, and Marvin was badly
wounded.