The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

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Director: David Lean
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins

Synopsis:
In a Japanese POW camp in Thailand, the camp commandant clashes with the British commander of the prisoners over the construction of a key bridge. A lone American in the camp manages to escape, only to be roped into a commando raid to destroy the bridge.

Impressions:
I've greatly esteemed Sir Alec Guinness since I first saw him in that movie he didn't like and he really delivers a stunning performance as the complex Colonel Nicholson. Sessue Hayakawa also deserves a lot of credit for his role as Colonel Saito, a nicely layered character who could have easily been a simple cardboard cutout. I'll be honest that I didn't really care for the entire arc about Holden's character, who felt like the needlessly shoehorned Yank you find in films where the absence of any Americans supposedly make the movie unmarketable. Not to knock Holden's acting or anything. I was simply more interested in the camp, even if excising the commando stuff would've resulted in a shorter movie.

This movie is a highly regarded classic for a reason. You should at least see it if not add it to your personal collection.

Rating:
Own It

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