Review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) by Milfred O — 03 Feb 2012
David Lean is the master of the epic film genre and in addition to "The Bridge on the River Kwai" his credits include "Lawrence of Arabia", "Summertime" and "A Passage to India" in addition to several other masterworks.
The film opens in a Japanese POW camp in 1943 and we are shown the terrible condition of the prisoners as well as the stubborn and heartless Japanese Commander, Colonel Saito. We are introduced to the newest batch of prisoners who are to build a bridge over the River Kwai in order to connect tracks for the Japanese trains.
The first hour of the film shows several characters, all of whom are well developed and know who they are which is captured by the actors with stunning proficiency! We see intimate details of their lives and morals as well as what they stand for and we even see the Japanese Colonel slowly becoming a more understanding person, at least compared to what he was.
In an escape attempt an American POW Shears (Played by William Holden) is able to make his way out of hostile territory and on to safe grounds, only to be sent back as a guide in order to avoid a court trial for impersonating an officer which made no difference in his treatment anyways.
You have to feel bad for the guy, but even worse are the conditions of those sick and injured who are still working on the bridge despite their conditions due to the British colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) having gone mad and obsessing over the finishing of the bridge.
The team that is lead by Shears is ordered to go in and blow up the newly finished bridge and we are left with loads of suspense the final half hour of the film. The term epic is rightfully used here as the film, while having detailed characters and a human condition theme, is also grand in scale and has the talent to pull it all off.
David Lean shows his genius in the Director's chair and the cinematography is beautiful (It looks absolutely stunning on the new 4k transfer on blu-ray) and all the actors do a terrific job in breathing life into their own characters.
This is a Classic film and deserves the rank of #36 on AFI's Top 100 Films of All Time, Highly Recommended!
This review of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) was written by Milfred O on 03 Feb 2012.
The Bridge on the River Kwai has generally received very positive reviews.
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