Editing The Sand Pebbles (film) (section)

==Reception==
The film was acclaimed by a wide array of critics. The film has an 89% rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 18 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sand_pebbles/ |title=The Sand Pebbles|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]]|location=Los Angeles, CA |archive-date=May 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523161909/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sand_pebbles/|url-status=live |access-date=April 1, 2021 }}</ref>

[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''The New York Times'' called it "a beautifully mounted film" with "a curiously turgid and uneven attempt to generate a war romance". Crowther wrote, "It is not as historical romance that it is likely to grab the audience, but as a weird sort of hint of what has happened and is happening in Vietnam."<ref name="crowther">Crowther, Bosley (December 21, 1966). [https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/21/archives/screen-the-sand-pebbles-begins-its-run-at-rivolipicture-offers.html "Screen: 'The Sand Pebbles' Begins Its Run at Rivoli".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418013750/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/21/archives/screen-the-sand-pebbles-begins-its-run-at-rivolipicture-offers.html |date=April 18, 2019 }} ''[[The New York Times]]''. 48.</ref>

Arthur D. Murphy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' declared it "a handsome production, boasting some excellent characterizations. Steve McQueen delivers an outstanding performance."<ref>"Film Reviews: The Sand Pebbles". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. December 21, 1966. 6.</ref>

Philip K. Scheuer of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "adventure on the grand scale, of a kind on which the British have too long enjoyed an exclusive monopoly. ''The Sand Pebbles'' earns a place up there beside ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'', [[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|''Lawrence of Arabia'']], [[Doctor Zhivago (film)|''Doctor Zhivago'']], et al ... Too, the parallel with 1966 and Vietnam could hardly be more timely."<ref>Scheuer, Philip K. (December 25, 1966). "Gold Found in 'Sand Pebbles'". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 1.</ref>

[[Richard L. Coe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the film "a strong story with highly unusual backgrounds, a character perfectly suited to Steve McQueen, and an engrossing drive that falters only because three hours is a bit much."<ref>Coe, Richard L. (January 26, 1967). "'Sand Pebbles' At the Ontario". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. F14.</ref>

''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "History, of course, never really repeats itself in the way script-writers would like it to, and the parallel between China in 1926 and Vietnam today is distinctly dubious. But this striking of attitudes is the film's undoing, since it seriously undermines the narrative by presenting the characters as little more than pawns in a didactic chess game. And in any case, the script never decides which side of the political fence it wants to sit on."<ref>{{cite journal |date=June 1967 |title=The Sand Pebbles |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=34 |issue=401 |page=91 }}</ref>

[[Brendan Gill]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote that McQueen "works hard and well" in his role, but described Robert Wise's direction as "molasses-in-January".<ref>Gill, Brendan (December 31, 1966). "The Current Cinema". ''[[The New Yorker]]''. 62.</ref>