Review for The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge on the River Kwai is a masterpiece and thanks to the restoration techniques, high definition and blu-ray technology; it looks and sounds better than ever. But even without all this, this is still a film that everyone should watch.The Bridge on the River Kwai is a masterpiece. Really that's all I need to say. The review can simply end there, but the fact is, the film is so good it deserves the attention that even a full review can still only scratch the surface as to how good it is. The film depicts the horrors that faced the POWs captured by the Japanese in Burma during the Second World War. The British POWs are forced to build the eponymous bridge. This is something that British Officer Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) is at first defiant against and refuses to be used or allow his men to be used as slave labour.

However the brutality of the Japanese led by Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) soon break him and the bridge is begun. The bridge is built as an iconic symbol of the countries triumph in Burma. This soon becomes the only thing that keeps the troops going. However, after an escape attempt, American Shears (William Holden) is enlisted by Allied Forces to help them destroy the bridge which he agrees to. This soon leads to an epic confrontation which shows the madness of the war (or indeed of all wars). It cannot be expressed how good David Lean was as a Director. Looking at his credentials, it is just one great film after another. These include classics as brief encounter, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago. He is one of the most Oscar nominated director, nominated seven times and winning two amongst many other awards over his time.

It's difficult to find a bad film that he made and it is very rare that a director has no blemishes (Even a director as great as Francis Ford Coppola has Jack and The Godfather Part 3). The Bridge on the River Kwai is possibly Lean's jewel in the crown (no pun intended), though many look at Arabia or Zhivago as his best films, I feel that this is the film in which Lean put his stamp on the world and showed everyone just how great a film can be. Many directors such as Steven Spielberg have declared Lean as an inspiration to their work and is one of only three people to win the AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award who was not an American. Winning seven Oscars including Best Picture, a thoroughly deserved Best Director Award for Lean, a well deserved Best Actor award for Guinness, Screenplay, Cinematography, Music and Editing.

All of these were well deserved and the only award that it did not win was Best Supporting Actor award for Hayakawa. The film is often voted in the 'Best Films' of all time and as a War Film it certainly rates as one of the best. It is a perfect example of the suffering that occurred during the POWs captured by the Japanese during the Second World War. It is also a wonderful look at the spirit and resilience of the British Officers. Though at times this feels a little cliché, it is certainly something that we in Britain can be proud of. The acting is wonderful, Guinness shines throughout the film and he is surrounded by a great cast that includes an amazing turn by Hayakawa as the camp Commander trying to keep his position of authority within all the madness.

Lean's direction, the cinematography and the editing is perfect and really there is no other way of describing it. Even with all the technological advances in the way films are made I doubt that a filmmaker could make a film that looks as good as this. It is almost an exercise in pure perfect filmmaking and certainly something that all budding filmmakers should watch to see how to tell a story, show a story and present it. The Blu-ray comes with an abundance of special features that looks at the making of the film, many featurettes and rare footage featuring William Holden and Alec Guinness. Sadly, the only thing missing is a commentary, but there is so much here that any stories or things you would like to know about this film is covered. Crossing the Bridge is a 'Picture in Graphics' element that includes a huge amount of info including a fascinating 'book to screen' comparison element.