Hill , The (Pahorek)

The classic of all classics...Sean Connery in his second (after James Bond, of course) unforgettable creation of the "tanker" - now a military prisoner somewhere in the Libyan desert - Roberts... convicted of alleged cowardice and facing the unprecedented terror of a British penitentiary in the form of an artificially piled hill that the prisoners are forced to run across in full field under the scorching sun - to complete exhaustion...
First break - then straighten ...that's the motto of the almost sadistic (real) disciplinary camp commander - "Staff" Bert Wilson - brilliantly played by Harry Andrews. Only he overdoes it - or rather his new subordinate, the even more sadistic "Staff" Williams... and we've got a dead man on our hands, also in a memorable performance by Alfred Lynch as G. Stevens... followed by the prisoners' retaliation - or rather self-defence...
That's roughly the plot of this 1965 film directed by Sidney Lumet, from a screenplay by the bestselling author himself (Ray Rigby) - which you'll see once and remember forever...
The hill - as a symbol of suffering for some (the prisoners) and a symbol of mission for others (the prisoners) - tread or fall!
Out of the mud, baby!
How the inmates of one cell deal with terror - the two mentioned above and the "iron" McGrath, the black man Jacko King, who repents of all British traditions, the London snitch Barnett and finally the prisoner-loyal guard "Staff" Harris.
A thriller from a (military) prison environment, still unsurpassed to this day.
Seen only by complete film ignoramuses.... top-notch acting performances.