Madness...

#36—The Bridge on the River Kwai

Looking over the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Movies list I have found that one genre of film is quite underappreciated and that is the War genre. I have counted only six films that deal directly with war (two of which I have covered here and here). Unfortunately I think that this is a travesty because quite a few heroic and uplifting stories can be found within this genre.  Number 36 on this list can be considered heroic by some, and yet by others it can be considered a reflection on a soldier’s mindset. I present #36…The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness Star Wars) and a company of his men have been captured by the Japanese and been transported to a work camp in the jungles of Burma. Overseeing the camp is Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), a proud Japanese solider who informs the new arrivals that all must contribute to the construction of a bridge for the Japanese Army. However, when Nicholson sites the Geneva Conventions statement of “no ranking officers will perform manual labor” a battle of wills begins between Saito and Nicholson. Even after threat of death, Nicholson stands proud and refuses to let himself and his officers perform manual labor with the other prisoners. During this standoff, one of those other prisoners, Commander Shears (William Holden Sunset Boulevard), escapes the camp and makes his way back to a military hospital. Shears shares his story with other people and when word of his escape reaches British Major Warden (Jack Hawkins Lawrence of Arabia), he recruits Shears to lead a small team back to the bridge to demolish it.

Not your typical war genre film that showcases a lot of wartime fighting and death, The Bridge on the River Kwai is more of a psychological look into the minds of POW’s. Telling the story of two Colonel’s and their will to do what is right by their men or for their country. Boasting a 2 hour and 47 minute runtime, the film does actually flow quite well going back and forth between the camp and the plan to destroy the bridge. Ironically I thought that the film didn’t really touch on the life of any of the other prisoners.

In the film Guinness gives the audience a man that is trying to make lemonade out of the lemons he has been given by trying to build the best darn bridge there ever was. Guinness’ Nicholson is a proud man and a man that wants to do right by his men. I will admit that I will now think of this film before Star Wars, when I think of Alec Guinness due to the brilliant performance in this film. I was also very impressed by Hayakawa. Saito’s sheer will to do what he must to get this bridge completed is palpable. The Colonel is prepared to kill men just to save his own life. I will admit that I did not find Holden at all appealing. This performance was very reminiscent of his role in Sunset Boulevard which is almost a selfish and cowardly one. I must view a few more of Holden’s films to uncover the appeal he must’ve had at one time.

This will be the second film by director David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia) on this list. Like the previous film on this list, The Bridge on the River Kwai incorporates some beautiful wide shots and a bit more personal views. This film was more about the personal relationships than the vast landscapes of the Arabian desert. I still loved how Lean was able to get the actors to exude military mindset and bring forth the mental struggle they all go through.

I actually think that this is a perfect place on this list for Kwai. It encompasses a lot of the elements that make a wartime epic great, but it also never overly wows. I would definitely recommend this film to any Guinness fan that has failed to catch this.

The Verdict: Perfectly Placed. Worth Your Time.