The Bridge on the River Kwai

A David Lean epic, this time with the incomparable Sir Alec Guinness in the lead role. I sure do admire Lean's ability to have created lengthy masterpieces that showcase the human spirit and will to live. In this case, British POWs in WWII are forced to build a bridge by their Japanese captors. The British colonel refuses to have the officers do hard labor and the Japanese colonel punishes them for insubordination. That's the first half of the film, and I won't give away the second half for those few who've never seen it. Sir Alec gives a superb portrayal of the British colonel who won't give in, adheres to all the rules of combat, does what he should given his situation, and yet forgets the big picture. The ending is thrilling (I'm talking about the last 5 minutes of the picture), but I admit that I thought it took too long to get there. I would have cut 40 or so minutes out of the film (e.g., do we need 4 minutes on a group of men bushwhacking through the jungle?). But then it wouldn't have been an epic, I suppose.

year: 1957
length: 161 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212/combined