The Bridge on the River Kwai
|
List Price: Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Bridge on the River Kwai
Movie Review: Holden shines once more but loses the Oscar.
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957) William Holden and Alec Guinness clash while prisioners of war at a Japanese camp. Although I'm not too keen on Sir David Lean's works, I admire the vast scope of his productions. The famous River Kwai March is as memorable as the film's explosive ending. William Holden is clearly the star here, but Guinness grabbed the Oscar gold as the veteran Brit with a bridge to build, whose duty places him at odds with Holden and the true goal of the film -destroy the bridge at all costs. Everyone should watch it at least once in their lives, if only for the ending.
Movie Review: "your as crazy as nicholson,both of you worried about how to die with honor when all that matters is how you live"
Summary: 5 Stars
with those words william holden sums up this movie,and what a movie.david lean was the master of taking a grand scale movie and still making it a very personel psychological battle of wills.
this is really two stories in one,one being the battle between alec guinness as a british colonel and his his counter part sessue hayakawa who runs the japanese prison camp during world warII. their battle of wills is one of the most intense psycholgical battles ever put on screen,with both men unbinding and how the single-minded colonel takes his job of building a bridge over the title river as an excerise to prove that the british are better than their captiors,never seeing that he is in fact aiding his enemy.
william holden is a p.o.w. who escapes only to be forced by jack hawkins to return to the camp to blow up that bridge. we follow both stories till they both converge at the end. sounds simple but nothing about this movie is simple. after repeat viewings you can find layer upon layer to the story and the soldiers.
sir alec guinness won a richly deserved oscar for his amazing job as a soldier so blind to the code of honor that he can see nothing else. but william holden is the heart of the movie as the out for himself man who sees through guinness's and hawkins heroics and the all consuming quest for honor in a war when there isn't any. jack hawkins is a true joy to watch as leader of the men sent to blow up nicholson's bridge. and for once the enemy in the form of camp commander sessue hayakawa is showen as a well rounded person who finds no honor in his prisoners,but comes to understand and even like him.
when the two stories join up this powerful movie sets up a classic final 25 mins. thathas never been equaled in movie history. the final shot of mr.guinness as he finaly sees and understands what he has done is both heartbreaking and will stay with you long after the movie ends.
this two disc set is amazing,the film is lovingly restored and the credits have been restored to give carl forman and michael wilson as writers(the were blacklisted at the time so the french novelest pierre boulle,who wrote the book but spoke no english was credited as sole writer and picked up the oscar for screenplay for this). the extras are fantastic and that just makes the whole set that much better!!
this is in the top 3 war movies of all time,winning SEVEN oscars for guinness,picture,director,editing,screenplay,and score. and this features the famous whistling tune "colonel bogey march" that you will also remember long after the movie ends. if you love movies this is one you must have!! get this one now!!!!!!
Movie Review: Still Stirring Wartime Adventure and Compelling Psychological Drama Exhibit David Lean at His Peak
Summary: 5 Stars
After years of more intimate British films and just discovering the joys of location shooting with 1955's "Summertime", master director David Lean made his first actual widescreen epic with 1957's "The Bridge on the River Kwai", an acknowledged classic that deserves attention from a new generation of viewers and another visit from the rest of us who love perfectly executed films by an unparalleled craftsman. Recently, this movie has been overshadowed by his 1962 follow-up epic, the comparatively more elaborate "Lawrence of Arabia", but this richly textured WWII-set adventure is special enough on its own terms. While it has its share of action and suspense presented in exacting detail, the film is even more resonant as a psychological drama about the test of wills between mission-driven officers amid the perils of wartime survival.
The plot takes place in 1943 when after surrendering in Singapore, Col. Nicholson marches his ragged British company into a Japanese prisoner work camp in the Burmese jungle (this is where the famous whistling of "Colonel Bogey March" is first heard). The erudite Col. Saito runs the camp and demands that the new prisoners build a massive railway bridge, a critical juncture between Rangoon and Malaysia. In a classic stand-off, Nicholson finally forces Saito to respect Geneva Convention and not allow his officers to do manual labor on the construction. Upon his ironic Pyrrhic victory, Nicholson slowly descends into the madness of seeing the completed bridge as a potential morale booster for his battle-weary men. Meanwhile, shortly after Nicholson's arrival, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Shears escapes from the camp only to be later blackmailed into joining a British commando mission led by do-or-die Maj. Warden and hesitant Lt. Joyce with the sole goal of blowing up the bridge. Through Peter Taylor's thoughtful film editing, the movie breathlessly alternates between the parallel storylines of the bridge construction and the jungle commando mission until the exciting climax.
Lean's accomplishments are many with this memorable film - the authenticity of the Burmese jungle locations (filmed in Sri Lanka), the seamless integration of the two storylines, the masterful handing of the final scenes, and in particular, the gradual metamorphosis of Nicholson from a by-the-book British officer to Saito's willing collaborator. A frequent participant in Lean's films, Alec Guinness gives his career-best performance as Nicholson providing all sorts of unexpected shades to his complex characterization. As Shears, William Holden does what he did best in the 1950's, concurrently exuding natural bravado and a conflicted soul and then adding a layer of cynicism that dares to challenge the viewer to support him. The 68-year old Sessue Hayakawa came out of retirement to play Saito and delivers a subtle performance of unbending discipline and pained humiliation. Jack Hawkins and Geoffrey Horne lend sturdy support as Warden and Joyce respectively. With the same expert eye he lent to "Summertime", Jack Hildyard provides the superbly expressive and composed cinematography. Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman, both blacklisted at the time, wrote the brilliantly developed screenplay. This is essential viewing.
The two-disc 2000 Limited Edition DVD set has a pristine print transfer with great sound making the entire experience feel surprisingly fresh upon viewing. There is a nearly hour-long documentary on Disc Two, "The Making of The Bridge on the River Kwai", produced for the DVD and full of intriguing insight into the production logistics. There are a couple of shorter featurettes produced around the time of the film's original release, the first is a black-and-white teaser for the film itself and the second a rather pedestrian lesson in Film 101 produced by USC grad students and introduced by Holden. Director John Milius provides a respectful tribute to the film in another short.
Movie Review: Culture clash
Summary: 4 Stars
I was pleased with the result of this film, although I could have seen it end victoriously just as well as tragedic. I would have preferred a more positive ending, although the tragedic ending does serve its purpose. Excellent characterizations on both sides of the war; the culture clash was a pleasure to see. I prefer Shogun though, in terms of contrasting cultures, but they did a well-enough job with the time and material they had with this particular film.Movie Review: David Lean Masterpiece of War's futility
Summary: 5 Stars
When all is said and done "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is simply one of the greatest films ever made. William Holden is superb in the role of the american escapee. Alec Guinness's role as the British P.O.W. Commanding Officer in a wonderful layered performance that I still am finding fascinating after multiple viewing. The screenplay tight and the characters are well developed. I will also add totally believable. David Lean's Direction and Photography is outstanding. This isn't a movie as much as an experience.