For Whom the Bell Tolls

1943

Action / Adventure / Drama / History / Romance / War

18
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 59% · 16 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 59% · 50 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 10999 11K

spanish civil war spain civil war fascism spanish civil war (1936-39) 1930s

Plot summary

Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going on and Jordan—who has joined up on the side that appeals most to idealists of that era—has been given a high-risk assignment up in the mountains. He awaits the right time to blow up a crucial bridge in order to halt the enemy's progress.

Director

Sam Wood Photo
Sam Wood

Top cast

Martin Garralaga Photo
Martin Garralaga as Captain Mora
Jean Del Val Photo
Jean Del Val as The Sniper
Fortunio Bonanova Photo
Fortunio Bonanova as Fernando
Alberto Morin Photo
Alberto Morin as Soldier #2
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
998.40 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 50 min
Seeds 5
2.27 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 50 min
Seeds 8

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by shanie25350 7 / 10

Hemingway wrote the novel with Cooper in mind

When I first saw For Whom the Bell Tolls, I thought it was overlong and overrated. Since then, I've decided to re-evaluate the film and have decided that the film can be summed up as follows.PROS:(1) Hemingway and Cooper were friends, and Hemingway wrote the Robert Jordan character with Cooper in mind and handpicked Cooper for the role. Sure, it would have been nicer if this film had gotten made when he was younger, but it's hard to imagine anyone other than Cooper playing Jordan.(2) This was only Cooper's second color film in a long and illustrious film career that began in the silent era, and Bergman's first color film. It's a treat to see both stars in Technicolor, and both of them are utterly luminous in their close-ups (I'd say Cooper actually has a slight edge here since, unlike Bergman, he didn't benefit from a soft focus effect, and it's hard to imagine another leading man of this era who was better suited for close-ups than Cooper was, even though he was in his 40s here and a little past his prime).(3) Some reviewers felt that Cooper and Bergman had no chemistry, but I strongly disagree. The two were having an affair while working on this film. If Bergman seems like she's gushing over Cooper, she probably wasn't merely acting.(4) If Cooper seems wooden to some people, he's supposed to be playing a stoic character who exemplifies grace under pressure, but is also sensitive, idealistic, and quietly romantic at the same time.(5) It's hard not to notice that Cooper's look in the film must have been the inspiration for Indiana Jones, which makes me think that this film was much more influential than I had previously thought it was.CONS:(1) This didn't need to be a nearly 3-hour movie, and I wish it were 30 minutes shorter.(2) I appreciated the supporting actors and initially liked their performances, but when I re-evaluated the film, I felt that they were over-acting and seemed like caricatures (and no, I'm not referring to their make-up; I'm referring to their acting).(3) I wish there would be a properly restored version of this film.For Whom the Bell Tolls is not without its faults, but I give credit to Old Hollywood and Sam Wood for even making a film that is this faithful to a novel--so faithful that it moves at a glacial pace at times, but I also think that people had longer attention spans back then and did not need instant gratification like people do now.
Reviewed by classicsoncall 7 / 10

"Our time is now,... and it will never end."

I rarely use the word 'dated' to describe a film, but this one seems to fall under that category. Not so much for the story itself, but for the development and motivation of the characters. The 'love at first sight' aspect of the relationship between Robert Jordan (Gary Cooper) and Maria (Ingrid Bergman) just didn't work for me. The age disparity was one thing, but it was Cooper's unemotional demeanor throughout that sort of nixed the idea that they would ever be a viable couple. Mission oriented as he was to blow up the bridge left little room for romance amid the revolutionary cause of the Republican rebels.There's also the pacing to consider for what's nominally a war time drama. Things move quite slowly, and while tactics and procedures do take time, there seemed to be an inordinate amount of time before anything of consequence would occur. And a character like Pablo (Akim Tamiroff), who's loyalty always seemed to be in question, probably should have been dealt with after the first vote taken to put an end to his unreliability. That he pulled through at the end certainly wasn't a given with the inconsistent behavior he showed throughout.There was an ironic statement made by Roberto early in the picture when questioned by Fernando (Fortunio Bonanova), one of the revolutionaries. When asked how he could survive in a country with the kind of anti-authoritarianism he showed as a mercenary, he stated, "...they don't shoot you for being a Republican in America". Of course, that was then and this is now, and someone like Steve Scalise would certainly beg to differ today.
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