Is The Sand Pebbles one of a kind?

Barely. Less singular than 85% of well-known films. This describes how the film comes across as a whole, measured against other well-known films; it is not a content list.

Is The Sand Pebbles scary?

Yes. More frightening than 76% of well-known films. This describes how the film comes across as a whole, measured against other well-known films; it is not a content list.

Is The Sand Pebbles sad?

Yes. More sad than 75% of well-known films. This describes how the film comes across as a whole, measured against other well-known films; it is not a content list.

Is The Sand Pebbles violent?

Somewhat. More violent than 71% of well-known films. This describes how the film comes across as a whole, measured against other well-known films; it is not a content list.

Does The Sand Pebbles end with hope?

Not especially. Less hopeful than 64% of well-known films. This describes how the film comes across as a whole, measured against other well-known films; it is not a content list.

Is The Sand Pebbles easy watching?

About average. Almost exactly mid-range for a well-known film. This describes how the film comes across as a whole, measured against other well-known films; it is not a content list.

The Sand Pebbles

Name: The Sand Pebbles
Genre: Drama, War
Released: 1966
Duration: 196 min
Rating: 7.2
Cast: Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, Mako

This is the heroic story of the men on the U.S.S. San Pablo who disturbed the sleeping dragon of savage China as the threatened world watched in breathless terror.

Directed by Robert Wise

Produced by Robert Wise Productions, Solar Productions

1966196 min7.2 / 10

A tense, morally complex war drama about idealism clashing with institutional compromise aboard a gunboat caught between imperial interests and revolutionary upheaval in 1926 China.

Engineer Jake Holman arrives aboard the gunboat USS San Pablo, assigned to patrol a tributary of the Yangtze in the middle of exploited and revolution-torn 1926 China. His iconoclasm and cynical nature soon clash with the 'rice-bowl' system which runs the ship and the uneasy symbiosis between Chinese and foreigner on the river. Hostility towards the gunboat's presence reaches a climax when the boat must crash through a river-boom and rescue missionaries upriver at China Light Mission.

Clusters

Soldiers Facing Wartime Hardship Trapped by Fate, Undone by History Working-Class Loyalty and Betrayal East Asian History & Culture Combat and Battles

Genres

Drama War

Keywords

China Missionary U.s. Navy Chinese Battle Gunboat

Questions people ask

Is The Sand Pebbles one of a kind? Barely. Less singular than 85% of films.
Is The Sand Pebbles scary? Yes. More frightening than 76% of films.
Is The Sand Pebbles sad? Yes. More sad than 75% of films.
Is The Sand Pebbles violent? Somewhat. More violent than 71% of films.
Does The Sand Pebbles end with hope? Not especially. Less hopeful than 64% of films.
Is The Sand Pebbles easy watching? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.