An American pilot (Lee Marvin) is stranded on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean in 1944 with a lone Japanese soldier (Toshirô Mifune). The two sworn enemies battle each other in a lethal cat and mouse game but must eventually reach an accord in order to survive
The Japanese officer overpowers the American, brings him back to his camp, and ties his arms in a harness. The American soon escapes, however, and captures his lone enemy in turn.
Unhappy with the idea of taking a prisoner, he lets his enemy go, signalling a truce.
When the Japanese officer begins building a small raft, his American counterpart gets past his scepticism 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 Japanese camp with supplies. The two soldiers get along amiably until the Japanese soldier sees images in an old Life magazine that depict his people wounded, suffering, and dead. The two men then part on unhappy terms
The movie was shot on location on Koror and other Palau islands in the isolated Caroline Islands of Micronesia, 950 miles due east of the Philippines, in spring of 1968. Cast and film crew lived aboard a ship and went to work on a Palau beach every day in a tank landing craft. Palau is near the equator, and the four-month-long shoot in 90-degree heat and high humidity was a trying experience for all involved.
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 behaviour of Toshirô Mifune.
American Pilot
Lee Marvin
Captain Tsuruhiko Kuroda
Toshirô Mifune
Director
John Boorman
