Writer: Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson (Screenplay) Pierre Boulle (Novel)
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne, Andrew Morell
Plot: After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men’s construction of a railway bridge for their captors – while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Historical Classic
Story: The Bridge on the River Kwai starts by taking us to the remote Japanese Prisoner or War camp where a fresh batch of English soldiers are being moved in. Colonel Nicholson (Guinness) runs the unit who have to work under Colonel Saito (Hayakawa) as the men are going to be made to build the Bridge of the River Kwai, the camp has no boundaries but escape would see the soldiers head in the a jungle environment with little chance of surviving. Shears (Holden) has been involved in the camp building the camp and being one of the only survivors of the last member of the camp.
It isn’t long till Saito and Nicholson clash when Nicholson tries to play by the rules where officers don’t work in POW camps leading him to face torture until he complies with Saito’s ways. The Japanese want the Burma-Siam railway bridge built and start questioning why it is taking so long and Nicholson continues to hold his ground. After Shears escape he gets forced to return to help sabotage with the British ruining the plans of the Japanese.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is being watched for the very first time in 2015 that is over 50 after its release. I do think that the idea was amazing and showed three different prospectives of war time. We have the Colonel of the prisoner of war camp who goes strict and clashes with a reasonable man and one of his capture who wants to continue his pride while keeping his men busy. We also have an undercover mission to sabotage. The three stories get balanced perfectly and even after being 50 plus years old the only negative thing I found in this film was the over acting. In the end this tells us the story of an amazing part of the war that showed that even though they were enemies they could work together to build something that is constructed perfectly. (9/10)
Actor Review
William Holden: Shears is the American who is a member of the PoW camp who knows the way the plan will go, he manages to escape thinking he is free of the camp forever, but when Major Warden learns of his true identity he gets forced into return with the British to sabotage the construction. William does bring us a great performance filled with the swag of a typical American. (9/10)
Alec Guinness: Colonel Nicholson is the proud English man who refuses to go with the orders of Saito even if it means being tortured until either one folds. Once he gets the upper hand he takes over the construction of the bridge helping improve the ideas of the construction. Alec got an Oscar for his performance but I do feel the final scene is very much over acting. (9/10)
Jack Hawkins: Major Warden is the man behind the undercover mission who wants to receive updates from anyone who has escaped from the prisoner camp. Warden plans a mission to blow up the bridge and sabotage the railway bridge which includes using Shears to find the location of the PoW. Jack does a good job which is very good showing the true pride in the character. (8/10)
Sessue Hayakawa: Colonel Saito is in charge of the prisoner camp who makes sure the prisoners help build a bridge. He doesn’t believe in the normal war rules and is very much a man of honor. Sessue gives us a great performance that shows how disciplined the character has to be in the situation. (9/10)
Support Cast: The Bridge on the River Kwai has your typical soldier characters in the prisoner of war camp but hardly any that make much impact on the rest of the story.
Director Review: David Lean – David brings us one of the best war films that isn’t about the conflict of war that balances three stories. (9/10)
War: The Bridge on the River Kwai brings us into the war time that really ends up showing the unite between two men that just have to fight for their country whether they really want too kill the people they are fighting against. (10/10)
Settings: The Bridge on the River Kwai brings us into realistic settings that make us see the environment that the characters end up in. (10/10)
Suggestion: The Bridge on the River Kwai is one that everyone should have watched once in their lives really. (Watch)
Best Part: Final sequence that is really an iconic moment in cinema.
Worst Part: It is long.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: Won 7 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director.
Box Office: $27 Million
Budget: $3 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 41 Minutes
Tagline: It spans a whole new world of entertainment!
Overall: Iconic classic that will always be one that gets talked about by film fans in the subject of war films.
Rating