Review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) by Bandido G — 20 Sep 2009
The 1957 Best Picture winner from epic film director David Lean is worth all the hype. Sure it's two hours and forty-five minutes long but for the entire time I did not want to look away. I had very little knowledge about the story before I watched the film and so I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling the drama was between the English Colonel played by Alec Guiness, and the Japanese captain of the P.
O.W. work camp. The whole first hour was mainly made up of the contest of a wills between the two men. The audience comes to really respect Guiness's Col. Nicholson and I found myself cheering when he stood up to the Capt.
Saito using civil yet harsh verbal smackdowns. Another plotline develops when an American prisoner, played by William Holden, miraculously escapes and makes it back to an allied base. I am getting to like Holden more and more every time I see him, and wonder why he isn't as legendary as Grant, Stewart, and Bogart.
I loved the way that Lean and the screenwriter steered the focus away from the work camp and the bridge building to Holden's story of joining a four-man team to return to the work camp on a special mission.
The sets and locations were perfect, not the least of which was the bridge itself. There's nothing like the reveal of the bridge when the team arrives, except well, what happens at the climax. As classic movies go, this is just the kind for me.
Great characters, well-built drama with fine acting, and an unforgettable, tension filled conclusion. Just sit back and take it all in - it's "Madness!".
This review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) was written by Bandido G on 20 Sep 2009.
The Bridge on the River Kwai has generally received very positive reviews.
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