THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI [1957 / 2010] [Two-Disc Collector's Edition] [Blu-ray + DVD] [USA Release] The Adventure to be Seen and Seen Again! A Magnificent Moving Film!
Spectacularly produced, and the winner of Seven Academy Awards® [1957], including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Sir Alec Guinness. ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ continues to be one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of all time. Now, for the first time on Blu-ray, following an extensive all-new 4K digital restoration from the original negative, with newly restored 5.1 audio, experience director Sir David Lean's masterpiece as you never have before.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1957 National Board of Review, USA: Win: Best Film. Win: Best Director for Sir David Lean. Win: Best Actor for Sir Alec Guinness. Win: Best Supporting Actor for Sessue Hayakawa. Win: Top Ten Film. 1957 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Win: Best Film. Win: Best Director for David Lean. Win: Best Actor for Sir Alec Guinness. 1958 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Picture for Sam Spiegel. Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role for Sir Alec Guinness. Win: Best Director Sir David Lean. Win: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson and Pierre Boulle. Win: Best Cinematography for Jack Hildyard. Win: Best Film Editing for Peter Taylor. Win: Best Music and Scoring for Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E. Win: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Sessue Hayakawa. 1958 Golden Globes: Win: Best Motion Picture in a Drama. Win: Best Actor in a Drama for Sir Alec Guinness. Win: Best Director for Sir David Lean. Nomination: Best Supporting Actor for Sessue Hayakawa. 1958 BAFTA Film Awards: Win: Best British Actor for Sir Alec Guinness. Win: Best British Film. Win: Best British Screenplay for Pierre Boulle. Win: Best Film from any Source. 1958 British Society of Cinematographers: Best Cinematography Award for Jack Hildyard. 1958 David di Donatello Awards: Win: Best Foreign Production (Migliore Produzione Straniera) for Sam Spiegel. 1958 Directors Guild of America Award: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Sir David Lean (director), Gus Agosti (assistant director) (plaque) and Ted Sturgis (assistant director) (plaque). 1958 Golden Laurel Awards: Nomination: Top Drama. Nomination: Top Male Dramatic Performance for Sir Alec Guinness. 1959 Grammy Awards: Nomination: Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast for Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E. 1959 Sant Jordi Awards: Win: Best Foreign Actor (Mejor Actor Extranjero) for Sir Alec Guinness. 1997 National Film Preservation Board, USA: Win: National Film Registry.
FILM FACT No.2: The film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942 – 1943. It was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to England in order to continue working. As a result, Pierre Boulle, who did not speak English, was credited and received the Academy Award® for Best Adapted Screenplay; many years later, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson posthumously received the Academy Award. Many directors were considered for the project, among them John Ford, William Wyler, Howard Hawks, Fred Zinnemann, and Orson Welles, who was also offered a starring role. The film was made in Ceylon, which is now Sri Lanka. The bridge in the film was near Kitulgala which is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. Sir Alec Guinness later said that he subconsciously based his walk while emerging from “the Oven” on that of his eleven-year-old son Matthew, who was recovering from polio at the time, a disease that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Sir Alec Guinness later reflected on the scene, calling it the “finest piece of work” he had ever done. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ the 11th greatest British film of the 20th Century.
Cast: William Holden, Sir Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne, André Morell, Peter Williams, John Boxer, Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Ann Sears, Heihachirô 'Henry' Ôkawa, Keiichirô Katsumoto, M.R.B. Chakrabandhu, Vilaiwan Seeboonreaung, Ngamta Suphaphongs, Javanart Punynchoti, Kannikar Dowklee, Tsai Chin (Tokyo Rose voice) (uncredited), Christopher Greet (uncredited) and Herbert Nelson (uncredited)
Director: Sir David Lean, C.B.E.
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Screenplay: Carl Foreman (screenplay) (originally uncredited), Michael Wilson (screenplay) (originally uncredited) and Pierre Boulle (novel)
Wardrobe: John Apperson
Composer: Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E.
Cinematography: Jack Hildyard, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.66:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Português: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Português, Chinese (Traditional), Korean and Thai
Running Time: 161 minutes
Region: Blu-ray: All Regions + DVD: NTSC
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ [1957] takes place in Japan-occupied Siam (later Thailand) in 1943, after the Imperial Japanese Empire has conquered vast territories of Asia. Over a muddy jungle river called Kwai, a Japanese Colonel Saito [Sessue Hayakawa], must complete a railroad bridge vital to Japan's war effort. Into Saito's prison camp come captured British troops and their stalwart leader, Colonel Nicholson [Sir Alec Guinness]. To Colonel Saito's confusion, Colonel Nicholson upholds British military traditions with his men, not at all taking defeat as a humiliation. Colonel Nicholson refuses to bow to Saito, and uses the bridge project to prove the superiority of the British and keep up the captives' morale. Meanwhile, escaped American soldier Major Shears [William Holden] is forced back to the Kwai compound to help advise a commando team assigned to destroy the bridge.
‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ film is undoubtedly a classic. Epic is an overused term in film reviewing. It's short, handy, and sounds mighty good. But ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ film truly lives up to such a word. The $2.8m budget was an astonishing amount of money to spend on a film in 1957. The production lasted nearly a year and the physical task of constructing a real bridge in Sri Lanka was an incredible challenge. Added to that, you have the remarkable performances from the brilliant actors.
Alec Guinness is the stiff, a no-nonsense Colonel Nicholson and with his men are captured by the Japanese and put to work building an essential bridge. However Colonel Nicholson is a stickler for the rules and under the Geneva Convention, he and his officers are not supposed to engage in manual labour. There's something Lear-like about Colonel Nicholson, because he is stubborn, intractable, and intelligent. Colonel Nicholson’s battle of wills with Colonel Saito, results in a titanic struggle that Colonel Nicholson wins because he has less to lose than his opponent - is the most compelling aspect of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.’ Colonel Nicholson is willing to allow men under his command to die so he can prove a point. It has been said that only an insane man will not break under torture, and Colonel Nicholson will not break.
However Colonel Nicholson, with is refusal to work may seem ridiculous, but his not giving in is an inspiration to his men. Furthermore, he wins that battle and decides to help the Japanese build a good bridge so that his men are kept busy and are treated well. But his determination to do the job right clouds his loyalties and by the time a covert commando squad is despatched to destroy the bridge, he has lost his objectivity.
The second "prong" of the film concerns Major Shears [William Holden], an American who escapes from the camp shortly after Colonel Nicholson's arrival. Despite nearly dying more than once, he makes it to safety, and is nursed back to health at a British outpost. While there, he is "invited" to return to the camp as part of a commando squad led by Major Warden [Jack Hawkins]. Major Shears, although less than enthusiastic about the assignment, agrees, and soon he, Major Warden, and several others are on their way into the jungles of Burma, setting out to destroy the bridge on the river Kwai that Colonel Nicholson is building.
It's a war film that's less about battles and fighting than about the madness that surrounds those events. No human endeavour is more effective than war at turning morality, judgment, and sound thought upside down. All kinds of madness are on display in ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ and the madness of a commander who defines collaboration with the enemy not as treason, but as honourable; the madness of a soldier who accepts a suicide mission to return to the prison from which he escaped; and the madness of a struggle that strangles humanity and forces men to make harsh, inexplicable choices. The sheer physical elements of the film amount to an action blockbuster of the time. But director Sir David Lean achieves a fine balance of creating complex characters from a fine cast, while keeping the pace up throughout this long war film. It all comes to fruition in the thrilling climax, which again offers a difficult choice for Colonel Nicholson and possibly is Sir Alec Guinness’s finest moment.
The post-World War II cinematic landscape is littered with big-budget films about the conflict and the toll it took upon those who participated in devastating wars and so some, pointless pursuits of power. Some of those pictures have become timeless classics and some are nearly forgotten. Few, if any, are as simultaneously thrilling, awe-inspiring, and tragic as ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.’ For director Sir David Lean, this represented cross-roads between the more intimate, character-driven dramas of his early career and the glorious spectacles that marked his later years. ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ contains elements of both and of course the characters are well cast characters and the finale end to the film is in my mind, edge of your seat astonishing and is all the stronger for it. In my opinion, it is one of the best films to emerge from a very strong decade of cinema and we have all gained for the better, in showing us that again, wars are a pointless exercise, as no one wins in the end and a cost to human lives that will be lost forever.
The WWII film, ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ was shot by brilliant Jack Hildyard, who of course earned an Oscar for his efforts, is gorgeously composed and photographed. As befits an epic of its standing, it is in widescreen colour. The destruction of the bridge, which was captured by multiple cameras, couldn't be more impressive. Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E. and his composed film score, which gained another Oscar winner, effectively supports the action and brilliant cinematography visuals. Oddly, however, the best remembered music from the film is not by Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E., but instead, it is the tune "Colonel Bogey March," which famously shows us the prisoners whistle near the beginning of the film as they enter the camp. ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ catapulted that song from obscurity to world-wide awareness and every time you hear the "Colonel Bogey March," it will bring back happy memories of when we viewed that film in the cinema, as well as viewing this awesome Blu-ray disc.
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI MUSIC TRACK LIST
COLONEL BOGEY MARCH (1914) (uncredited) (Music by Kenneth Alford) (Arranged by Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E.) [Whistled by Alec Guinness with British Prisoners of War]
FOR HE’S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW (uncredited) (Traditional) [Sung by the British Prisoners of War after Nicholson is put in the oven]
IF YOU WERE THE ONLY GIRL IN THE WORLD (1916) (uncredited) (Music by Nat Ayer) (Lyrics by Clifford Grey) [Performed by Percy Herbert and Harold Goodwin at the Entertainment]
GOD SAVE THE KING (1744) (uncredited) (Written by Henry Carey) [Performed by the British Prisoners of War]
I GIVE MY HEART TO NO ONE BUT YOU (uncredited) (Music by Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E.) (Lyrics by Dave Shand)
RADIO DANCE MUSIC (uncredited) (Music by Dave Shand)
CAMP CONCERT DANCE (uncredited) (Music by Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E.)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures presents us ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ with a stunning 1080p image and shown in the spectacular 2.55:1 aspect ratio and is totally remarkable and totally dramatic, compared to the previous original inferior DVD releases. Gone from the previous releases are the hairs, dirt, and scratches that spoiled those previous releases. In this restored print, gives it that filmic wonderful look. Most striking about this Blu-ray release is the general boldness of the colours are really nice and the greens make the jungle so life-like; reds truly pop out, especially of the Japanese flags and the blood; but also the blue sky and sunsets are absolutely gorgeous. The skin tones themselves are a great and totally counter balanced. Details are razor, from wood and clothing textures, to the hairs on the arms and sweat beading coming off their faces. So all in all, the film looks and feels brand new. ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ is one of the finer looking Blu-ray discs on the market; it's not going to wow audiences hoping for a WWII film that looks like it was filmed six months ago, but as far as vintage catalogue titles go, they don't get much better than this.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures brings us an awesome 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. With this Blu-ray release, the soundtrack has had a minor upgrade, and in some scenes it was a bit on the quiet side, so I needed to crank up the volume slightly. This Blu-ray release hits all the right notes and delivers a wonderfully clear and perfectly stable sound presentation. The soundtrack is slightly is slightly front-heavy with the surround speakers engaged primarily in the delivery of light atmospherics sounds, but it certainly hits all the right notes and delivers a wonderfully clear and perfectly stable sound presentation. The sound of heavy falling rain and the sounds of the jungle wildlife has a slightly pronounced surround presentation; and listeners won't feel engulfed by the environment around the bridge and prison camp, but the audio quality of the film has some absence of a more directionally-specific sound field, but now again we get some pronounced sounds in the form of an ear-piercing blow of a whistle, but most importantly, dialogue is effortlessly delivered via the centre channel with no issues of note. ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ might to some people might feel it is not a spectacular show of sonic delights, but fans should be appreciative of Sony's efforts in bringing this track to a level of excellence never before achieved for home video viewing public.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Crossing the Bridge: Picture-in-Graphics Track: In this in-depth feature-length video feature, discover how Sir David Lean’s Academy® Winning film shows the experiences during World War II. Meet the real-life soldiers who toiled along the Burma-Thailand “DEATH” railway. All the information you get to read is printed in the novel “Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai” written by French novelist Pierre Boulle that was first published in France in 1952 that was finally turned into the Academy Awards® winning film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ in 1957 and also informs us how they went about turning the words into a screenplay and to finally get the film up there on the silver screen. What is presented is a multi-purpose video feature that offers insights into the making of the film, facts about World War II and POW camp experiences, first-hand accounts from soldiers who worked on the Burma-Thailand railway, and book-to-screen comparisons. While viewing the feature film, you get to view a small boxed window via the left-hand side of the screen while a changing background accompany the various text-based notes across the bottom of the screen; and it is more like a glorified trivia track than anything else, but this solid supplement is a fine companion to the film. Sony has smartly designed the supplement to allow users to immediately skip to the next fact via the forward arrow located at the top right hand side of the screen. This special feature is well worth checking out.
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Special Feature: The Making of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ [2000] [480i] [1.37:1] [53:03] This documentary, treats film fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI,’ about the determination of a group of British soldiers in a Japanese POW camp to maintain their dignity and spirit, even in the face of soul-crushing adversity. We also get to view archive footage of the cast and crew at work, and shows much of the efforts that were required to make this piece of film history a reality. We also get a plethora of clips from ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.’ We are informed that the archive footage of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ was from the Private Collection of Ron Paquet. Contributors include: Adrian Turner [Film Historian], Sam Spiegel [Producer], Norman Spencer [Associate to Sir David Lean], Pamela Mann Francis [Assistant to Sir David Lean], Peter Newbrook [Camera Operator], Teddy Darvas [Assistant Editor], Donald M. Ashton [Production Designer], Keith Best [Engineer], Eddie Fowlie [Property Master], William Holden (archive footage), Sir Alec Guinness (archive footage) and Jack Hildyard (archive footage).
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Special Feature: William Holden and Alec Guinness on The Steve Allen Show [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:30] This special feature has the two main film stars talking about their then-latest picture on The Steve Allen Show television programme to promote the theatrical release of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ film. William Holden and Sir Alec Guinness were interviewed “via a video link” by Steve Allen while the actors were still working on the film in Ceylon. The questions obviously were sent to the actors in advance, and their answers were then filmed and Steve Allen dubbed in the questions during the television broadcast. Unfortunately, the quality of the black-and-white video is atrocious.
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Special Feature: ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ Premiere Narrated by William Holden [1957] [1080i] [1.78:1] [1:50] This special feature has a newly discovered archival audio narration by William Holden discussing the London Film Premiere of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ over a series of still black-and-white photographs. We also get to view black-and-white and colour scenes from ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ film. Despite being very short, it packs a lot of detailed information.
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Special Feature: Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:13] Here we get a rare black-and-white behind-the-scenes look at the building of the famous and notorious bridge in the film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ and the preparations for its destruction and is narrated by Bob Marcato (uncredited) and gives very good in-depth information of all the logistics that went into making the very gruelling intense film. Contributors include: William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sam Spiegel, Sir David Lean, Sir Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. Music by Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E. (uncredited).
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Special Feature: USC Short Film Introduced by William Holden [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [15:52] This special feature is part of a series to educate students on how to get the most out of their movie-viewing, and William Holden discusses a number of issues to consider as one watches a film. It’s a bit pedantic but it’s kind of cool, and it also features more nice black-and-white behind-the-scenes shots from ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ film, and most of the special feature was photographed on location during the Production of the film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.’ Sadly, once again, the quality of the black-and-white image is totally atrocious. But despite this, it is still a definite must view. This special feature was done with the courtesy of the USC School of Cinema and Television.
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Special Feature: An Appreciation by Filmmaker John Milius [2000] [480i] [1.37:1] [8:06] This special feature combines film clips with talking-head shots of filmmaker John Milius as he tells us why he likes the film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ so much and gives it a great honour. It was occasionally very interesting to get his perspective on Sir David Lean’s film. This special feature is in honour to the film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.’ John Milius has been a Writer/Director for films such as ‘The Wind and the Lion’ [1975], ‘Big Wednesday’ [1978], ‘Conan The Barbarian’ [1982] and ‘Rough Rider’ [1997 TV Miniseries]. John Milius has also been a Co-Writer for films such as ‘Apocalypse Now’ [1979], ‘Clear and Present Danger’ [1994] and many others. As a bonus, we get a plethora clips from the film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI.
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Special Feature: Photo Gallery [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:28] Here we get to view loads of images and presents them as a running video programme. The Photo Gallery features a mix of international movie posters, lobby cards and other advertisement promotional material publicising the up and coming film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ and in the background we get the award winning composed film score by Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, C.B.E. (uncredited). It’s a fairly nice little collection to view. The “KWAI” archive images were from the personal collection of Ron Paquet. Sadly the quality of the images is very poor.
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Special Feature: ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ Trailers: Here we get to view two Original Theatrical Trailers and they are as follows:
‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ Theatrical Trailer [1957] [1080i] [2.66:1] [3:23]
‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ Re-Release Academy Awards® Theatrical Trailer [1957] [480i] [2.66:1] [3:08]
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Special Feature: Previews: Here we get to view four individual Columbia Pictures featurettes and they are as follows:
The Treasures of Columbia Classics [2010] [1080p] [1.37:1] [3:34] For 90 years, Columbia Pictures has touched audiences around the world and here they showcase their most popular films that some even went onto win Academy Awards® and when comes to creating timeless entertainment, Columbia Pictures stands alone. The moments remembered. The classics you treasure are ready for the next generation. All the clips we get to preview are as follows: ‘It Happened One Night’ [1934], ‘Punch Drunk’ [1934], ‘The Black Room’ [1935], ‘Disorder in the Court’ [1936], ‘Violent Is the Word for Curly’ [1938], ‘Holiday’ [1938], ‘Mr. Smith Goes To Washington’ [1939], ‘The Man They Could Not Hang’ [1939], ‘The Sniper’ [1952], ‘Salome’ [1953], ‘Gilda’ [1953], ‘From Here To Eternity’ [1953], ‘The Wild One’ [1953], ‘On The Waterfront’ [1954], ‘Earth vs. The Flying Saucers’ [1956], ‘The Tall T’ [1957], ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ [1957], ‘Operation Madball’ [1957], ‘The Line-Up’ [1958], ‘Comanche Station’ [1959], ‘Ride Lonesome’ [1959], ‘Terror Of The Tongs’ [1961], ‘Homicidal’ [1961], ‘Lawrence of Arabia [1962], ‘Under The Yum Yum Tree’ [1963], ‘Strait-Jacket’ [1963], ‘Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb’ [1964], ‘The Gorgon’ [1964], ‘Easy Rider’ [1969], ‘Five Easy Pieces’ [1970] and ‘Ghandi’ [1982].
TCM Classic Film Festival Trailer [2010] [480i] [1.78:1] [1:02] TCM welcomes you to The Experience of a Lifetime in the heart of Hollywood, where legends STILL LIVE and movie dreams BECOME REAL and in April 2011 the magic continues and what we view with this trailer is basically a promotional video to announce the up and coming TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood in April 2011.
‘TOMMY’ [1975] [1080i] [1.78:1] [1:02] Here we get to view a long promotional trailer of director Ken Russell’s amazing over the top musical extravaganza film ‘TOMMY’ where your senses will never be the same!
‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS’ [1978] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:29] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘MIDNIGHT EXPRESS.’ Where they inform us that it is “A True Story of Triumph!”
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PLUS: 12 replicas of the original colourful theatrical lobby cards.
BONUS: A beautiful 35 page book with in-depth stories, amazing behind-the-scene rare photographs from the production, Cast Filmography and contents from the original 1957 souvenir book.
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‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ DVD Presentation:
Image Resolution: 1080i (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.66:1 (CinemaScope)
Audio: English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Subtitles: English, English SDH and French
DVD Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Making of ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ [2000] [480i] [1.37:1] [53:03]
Special Feature: Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [6:13]
Special Feature: USC Short Film Introduced by William Holden [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [15:52]
Special Feature: An Appreciation by Filmmaker John Milius [1957] [480i] [1.37:1] [8:06]
Finally, ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ rightly deserved to receive Seven Academy Awards® because this is definitely one of the finest Second World War films of all time. Though based on a real-life World War II incident, the devastating story is really about what constitutes military duty and “honour” and how it can be twisted into disloyalty and dastardly treachery. While not explicitly bloody, there is a sadly a downbeat ending, bit no detriment to the award winning film and of course the famous final one-word line of dialogue that sums up the whole thing: “Madness!” But of course there is an abundance of true excitement in the film ‘THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI’ and especially with the last amazing 20 minutes of the film are excruciatingly tense, but well-acted with a minefield of issues and thoughtfulness are what make this a formidable film. This is a war film about ideas, not just blowing things up, but in the end, both those attributes turn into the same thing, in an example of the usually noble concepts of battlefield chivalry and obedience taken to extremes. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
