Movie Review: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

The Movie Geek

A film by David Lean

The Bridge on the River Kwai is based on the fantastic novel by Pierre Boulle. The movie won 7 out of the 8 Academy Awards it was nominated for, including: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Alec Guinness). Watching the movie for the first time 45 years later, I’m happy to say that the film still holds up well over time.

It is a simple story. Set during World War II, the Japanese have a prison camp in Southeast Asia. They have an entire command of British prisoners of war, as well as a couple of Americans. The commander of the prison, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa, in an Oscar nominated performance) needs to have a bridge built across the River Kwai. The prisoners are to build it. This sets up a clash of will between Saito and Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), the officer in charge of the British. Nicholson still wants to lead his command, despite being in prison. He allows that the soldiers should work (to build morale, discipline, and to keep in shape), but absolutely forbids his officers to do manual labor. Saito demands that everyone works. Both men hold to their own personal code of honor and it is an intense emotional stand off between the two. While this is happening, the British soldiers are building Saito’s bridge. Nicholson requires that take pride in their work and build the best possible bridge that they can.

That is half of the movie. The other half involves an American POW named Shears (William Holden). Shears seems to be fairly opportunistic and only out for himself. He manages to escape from the POW camp and eventually makes his way to freedom. While free and living at a British military base (waiting until he can return home), he is recruited into a mission to destroy the bridge that Nicholson is building. The bridge is strategically important and reluctantly Shears agrees. The storylines are separate for a while, but they do all come together near the end when the bridge is being completed and Shears (with British forces) are arriving to destroy the bridge.

This movie is a classic, and there is a very good reason for that. 45 years later (or so), The Bridge on the River Kwai is still a very good movie. This isn’t your typical action movie with explosions every 10 minutes, but David Lean does a good job of building the tension throughout the movie. It may have some deliberate pacing at times, but if you’re a fan of the classic movies, this is one you have to watch.

I give this movie 5 out of 5 pugs

Adjunct

I concur with the pugs

AZhat

The Movie Geek

Forthcoming Reviews this week:
Master and Commander
Unchained Memories
The Human Stain
The Italian Job

Assuming i can get these done before friday, they'll be up this week.

my boys could swim

This was an awesome movie.

Member

Yep.....this was a great movie and I don't remember any swearing to come back and "haunt" me for letting my son watch Smile

Excelent

One of the best WWII movies out. Well deserved oscar for Sir Alec Guiness.

Master of Prissface

We saw that in 7th grade history class. Pretty good for a war flick.

Movie Review: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

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