Synopsis: Batshit
British bureaucrat believes bunkum, benefits Bushido bullies, builds bigger,
better bridge.
Blurb From the VHS
Jacket: “Set in an Asian prisoner of war camp during World War II, this
riveting classic combines a psychological battle of wills with high-powered
military action.”
What Did I Learn?:
If you’re an enlisted soldier, impersonating a dead officer is your ticket to
respect and attractive women. Oh wait, I already learned that from watching Mad Men!
You Might Like This
Movie If: You'll watch anything that involves the Bridge on the River Kwai...
Really?: 1) I
realize Nicholson (Alec Guinness) is initially
a hero to his men for standing up to the Japanese, but come on – his cause is
simply to exempt British officers from manual labour. Wouldn’t that rub some of
these guys the wrong way? Moreover, I had a bit of a hard time believing
everyone would go along with his new orders, which come pretty close to outright
collaboration with the enemy. I have a funny feeling a more realistic script
would see Nicholson falling off a cliff, or meeting with a most unfortunate
accident. 2) So, exactly how long is Nicholson actually in the hot box? I had a
hard time believing he could survive more than a day or two, based upon his age
and general fitness. 3) So, Saito backs off from machine-gunning the British
officers because the sick prisoners threaten to serve as witnesses? Why wouldn’t
he simply murder them, as well, or at least threaten to do so? And were Japanese
prison camp commandants genuinely afraid of getting tried for war crimes in
1943?
Rating: At 161
minutes, David Lean’s The Bridge on the
River Kwai is a little too long for my taste, but it’s otherwise a
masterpiece that richly deserved its seven Academy Awards for Best Picture,
Director, Actor, Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing and Music-scoring.
Guinness is magnificent as the well-meaning, but slightly loony Colonel
Nicholson. I only wish Lean had included more than one scene of Guinness interacting
with William Holden’s cynically-realistic Shears, but it would have been a very
different movie. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212/?ref_=rvi_tt
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