You have turned defeat into victory.

''It is quite understandable; it's a very natural reaction. But one day - in a week, a month, a year - on that day when, God willing, we all return to our homes again, you're going to feel very proud of what you have achieved here in the face of great adversity. What you have done should be, and I think will be, an example to all our countrymen, soldier and civilian alike. You have survived with honour - that, and more - here in the wilderness. You have turned defeat into victory. I congratulate you. Well done.''

After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors - while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.

William Holden: Shears

Alec Guinness: Colonel Nicholson

A film from 1957 from David Lean whom would later helm Lawrence of Arabia, converts writer Pierre Boulle's novel Le pont de la rivière Kwaï to the big screen. Pierre also wrote the titan novel Planet of the Apes. His two biggest achievements of his life amongst an array of books he wrote.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a moralistic story with believable characters whom all serve a purpose and point in the wheel and scheme of matters.



David Lean succeeds in creating a breath-takingly layered film which is entertaining, thought provoking and assembles characters we can relate to and care for.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a colossus achievement which shows off and immerses us in a time from history and a novel that has twists then turns as each plot thread is divulged to us.
The Bridge on the River Kwai has many dimensions - all relatively reflective and powerful. It is one work for which the term spectacular and extravagant is awe inducing, and not some pipe dream forgettable creation. The relationship regarding the Hayakawa and Guinness characters, and the interaction thus between them is as compelling as anything ever presented on stage or screen previously.

The four leads were as perfect in their roles, individually and in combination, as heaven doth allow. In addition to their acting talents, their abilities to portray characters proper relative age are duly noted. At true age of 47, Jack Hawkins' character is about the equivalent in the film. William Holden, younger in the film, and Alec Guinness maturer Veteran, were believable, although only two years apart (41 and 43 respectively) in actuality. Most amazing is Sessue Hayakawa; He was 68 -essentially pushing 70- in 1957, yet one could imagine his character's being a contemporary of Guinness's colonel - even maybe a year or two younger.
Alec Guinness deservedly received the Oscar for Best Actor for his role of colonel Nicholson, whom he embodies in entirety, disappearing so utterly into the character that the actor is an after thought, leaving nothing but the real man in his stead. It's a superlative piece of acting from one of the truly great actors of our time.

Overall, The Bridge on the River Kwai from the beginning of the film to it's spectacular climax, Lean builds upon and maintains a subtle tension that underscores and lovingly strokes the drama, thus a compelling, unforgettable motion picture film is born from the results. David Lean is the definitive master regarding epic films such as this, filling them with sweeping visuals while integrating them with the emotional involvement of his characters. Lean knows what he wants and how to achieve results, and he takes an electrically charged story and glorifies it by using everything possible at his disposal; Visually vast, rich and potent and combined with use of sound and poignant musical prowess. Most importantly, he knows how to get the kind of performances from his actors to put it all across so convincingly and believably.

The Bridge on the River Kwai won 7 Oscars and rightly so because it achieves a timeless quality that is a sum of it's parts...and everytime you watch the qualities show. Later, Lawrence of Arabia from David Lean would achieve similar results and also 7 Oscars echoing the success of The Bridge on the River Kwai. This is a golden film, treasure and prize for audiences to cherish, and an epic adaptation utilizing a dramatically turbulent story.

''You make me sick with your heroics! There's a stench of death about you. You carry it in your pack like the plague. Explosives and L-pills - they go well together, don't they? And with you it's just one thing or the other: destroy a bridge or destroy yourself. This is just a game, this war! You and Colonel Nicholson, you're two of a kind, crazy with courage. For what? How to die like a gentleman... how to die by the rules - when the only important thing is how to live like a human being.''

10/10