The Bridge on the River Kwai

Rating:
Summary: Only some minor flaws mar this otherwise splendid film.
Review: The Bridge on the River Kwai is a fantastic film account of one man's misguided but honorable attempt to rally his men together in the midst of troubling circumstances.

When British Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) and his men willfully surrender to the Japanese army, they are sent to a prison camp where they must work on an enemy railroad bridge. But Nicholson won't stand for it, eventually having his men do it on his terms. Soon he's virtually running the prison camp, but his misplaced duty has him doing his best work for the enemy.

Though at many times it seems ludicrous that a British Colonel would really be so out there that he'd think he was doing a good thing helping the enemy, stranger things have happened. Once you let yourself believe it's possible, the film becomes extremely engrossing, entertaining and splendidly produced. Though it doesn't come close to the masterpiece that director David Lean later created in Lawrence of Arabia, this is still a great film. Guinness as always is wonderful, standing out from the cast as a gifted actor.

However, I can't dismiss certain flaws I felt the film had. The sub plot of an American escapee (William Holden) doesn't begin to mesh well with the colonel's story until the second half when he's sent back in with a team on orders to destroy the bridge. Also, the use of Asian women on that team is almost laughable. In the midst of the hot, humid jungle, they're always smiling at the men while serving them. When one was placing mortar shells into a weapon while smiling during combat at the end, she reminded me of the Price is Right girls showing off a prize. Though this depiction of women was standard in film for the time period it was made, it only comes off as silly now.

But by and large, this is a wonderful film that easily allows you to overlook these flaws. And worth multiple viewings just for Guinness excellent performance

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest War Movie of All Time
Review: In my list of the top ten movies of all time there is a place for "The Bridge on the River Kwai". This movie has just about everything; great acting, great directing, great music, great cinematography, a great, multi-layered story line, and a message for all humanity. The great acting includes William Holden who brings his usual swagger to his character. However, the audience finds themselves focussed on the acting of Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa and their mental chess game of a struggle for power. This aspect of the movie would qualify for greatness by itself. The cinematography is outstanding and underscores much of what the director tries to bring out. This is one of those movies worth seeing on the big screen if you can find a theatre that shows old(er) movies.

The story essentially involves British POW's having to build a bridge deep in the jungle of Burma. The Japanese prison commander is insistant that officers work along side their men. The British commander refuses to alow this to happen. This is the chess game between Guinness and Hayakawa. An American POW (Holden) escapes towards the beginning of the movie and is drafted to return to the POW camp in a guerilla action to destroy the bridge. During this 160 minute film, there is ample action, plenty of sub-plots and a lot of brilliant symbolism. My favorite is a gun battle between the guerillas and a Japanese patrol deep in the jungle. We have an early glimpse of a number of sleeping bats as the scene develops. When the action starts, the gunfire disturbs the bats who blacken the sky as they come to life. This imagery of turning peace into chaos is itself symbolic of the ultimate anti-war message of the movie. The idea of the British soldiers building, with misguided pride, a bridge in the jungle only to have it destroyed upon completion is a message about the pointlessness of war. The brilliance of this movie is that it can be enjoyed equally by WWII buffs and anti-war protestors. Each time you watch it you pick out a little bit more than you saw before. If you haven't seen this movie, you've been cheating yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Humanity during times of war.
Review: This is a must-see film for anyone who wants to even pretend to be 'up' on film history or attempt to pass pronouncements on current films. David Lean crafted one of history's best cinematic experiences with this 1957 film. Alec Guiness is great as the 'leader' of a group of British POW's under the supervision of a Japanese war camp superintendant. The prisoners have been forced to build a bridge over the river that bears the film's namesake. Less an action film than a drama, BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI gives us fascinating characters and shows us how they change over the course of the film. In the end we have learned much about each of them, and no one is quite what he seems to be at the beginning. While there is action, this is almost more of a character study in how humans bear up under extraordinary circumstances.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: More than a War Movie
Review: "Bridge" is in the ranks of the all time best movies, war and otherwise. The core of the story focuses on a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burma that holds allied war prisoners, mostly British, led by Alec Guiness a colonel and engineer, a man driven by the duty to maintain his concept of society against all odds and deprivations. The commander of the camp underplayed magnificently by Sessuyu Hayakawa (forgive spelling errors) has the dishonorable job of overseeing this camp rather than fighting the enemy in battle. He can be harsh yet has a certain gentle nobility and does not understand the British mentalitity although he is required to harness it to complete an assignment ie. to build a bridge in this Burmese jungle for the transport of Japanese troops and materiele.
The clash between Guiness and Hayakawa is most subtle. Hayakawa attempts and fails to break Guiness who insists on maintaining class distictions including those between officer and regular soldier. The men,tending to be a slovenly lot are won over by Guiness, his bravery and his call for pride in themselves and their work. Because Guiness can control his men and can put them to good use in building the bridge for Hayakawa, a partnership begins between these two men. Hayakawa gets his bridge; Guiness gets a project to keep his men busy.
A third major player in this movie is William Holden,an American Lieutenant who is also a prisoner in the camp, a realist and a survivor who escapes from the camp in the first third of the movie. The fourth major player is Jack Hawkins, an intellectual and Commano officer, who enjoys war games and commandeers Holden to give up his freedom to go back to the camp with Hawkins and his commando team and blow up the Bridge which has now been completed and is in a most strategic position to effect the course of battle.

The climax occurs when the commando team reaches the camp and are ready to blow up the bridge by now a magnificent structure, a tribute to British workmanship.

The Bridge becomes to symbolize more than just a structure, Guiness in a kind of madness has fixated on the edifice and the process forgetting that his men are doing the work of the enemy for the enemy under the supervison of British officers. Hyakawa has given up his pride and honor for the sake of necessity and is going mad with shame. Hawkins, who is injured is totally fixated on the destruction of the Bridge. Holden just wants it all to be over, finish the job and leave.

The end culminates in the demolition of the Bridge along with tragic realization that the fixations of Guiness, Hayakawa and Hawkins are a form of madness that have distorted ideals and destroyed lives.

Rating:
Summary: Intense human drama in the midst of the war action
Review: The key to this film is the interaction of the major characters, and the underlying motivations of each. The principal interaction is between Alec Guinness' character, and that of Sessue Hayakawa's. There is a secondary, but important interaction between William Holden's character, and Jack Hawkins as yet another British commander. And then there's the interaction of sorts, although the two characters are separated from each other for the major part of the film, Between Holden's and Guinness' characters.

There is the problem of historical inaccuracy here. The portrayal of deep issues is given precedence over fact. The separate values governing each person's actions are spotlighted. Colonel Nicholson's perspective does appear warped, and he is the true tragic protagonist of the story. His nationalistic pride and an ego driving him to show superiority through building the best and strongest bridge although doing so aids the Japanese military blinds him to the reality of the situation.

The slow development of the plot will discourage many who have been exposed primarily to current films which cater heavily to more physical sensations at the expense of mental and spiritual considerations. But gaining the insight possible through this classic is worth the effort, even if it means multiple viewings, for those who are willing to take it.

Rating:
Summary: A true classic
Review: Where does duty stop and to whom is it due? These are some of the questions dealt with in this WWII film classic set in a prisoner-of-war camp in Burma. The matter-of-factness of Alec Guinness is captivating as is William Holden's vacillation between honor and trickery.

The prisoners are directed to build a bridge for the Japanese army. Told that all prisoners will work, Guinness points out the articles in the Geneva Convention that expressly forbid officers from working anything other than administrative chores. The camp commander refuses to comply and thus begins the battle of wills between them. The commander has his duty to his superiors, just as Guinness has his duty to the commander, to his country, and to his men. He does not see the problem of these conflicting duties until it is too late.

Holden is an American who is just trying to go home. After a daring escape, he winds up "volunteering" to return to the POW camp. Although he just wants to go home, he sense of duty pushes him back.

I would recommend seeing this film.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Quality
Review: Again, in brief;
Good carton box; Clarity of tape with bright colors. Crystal-clear sound. Good enough.

Rating:
Summary: Even after Private Ryan...
Review: This is still one of the greatest WWII movies. The acting and directing is excellent, and the plot makes it one of the greatest war movies of all time. I'm surprised this was made in 1957; it was far ahead of its time. It rewards multiple viewings, and if you're trying to educate your kids about WWII, this is a good movie to show them.

Rating:
Summary: A Bridge over time
Review: As a 23 year old, it is hard to understand all of the hype that surrounded The Bridge Over The River Kwai. From what I understand, the scene where the bridge is blown up was one of the most dramatic special effects of its day. In this era of computer animation and digital enhancement, this is hard to imagine.

Evaluated in the context of its time, this movie is no doubt a classic. The acting, the direction and the cinematography are all first rate. The whole production is based on the true story of the American POW's who were held in a camp and forced to build the infamous bridge. I am guessing for all of its acclaim, it is very close to the actual events that happened.

Everything on the DVD is good. My only beef is with the chapter selections, there are not enough of them. You find yourself having to fast forward through chapters to get to a specific point. Other than this small issue, this is a DVD worth adding to your collection.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Classic!!
Review: This is a great, classic film. The setting is a World War II prison camp somewhere in the jungle. Hot, sticky, and yucky. The prisoners are required to build a bridge. The prisoners do what they can to keep the bridge from being built, until one day, when a British Colonel whose spent too much time in the sun shows up as a prisoner. He actually designs and builds a great bridge. It's a good film about the struggle of and against human nature.