tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post8226474208712553677..comments2024-03-28T10:44:41.756-05:00Comments on The War Movie Buff: #12 - Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)War Movie Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-49678349502025490612021-01-05T21:49:22.633-06:002021-01-05T21:49:22.633-06:00Good points.Good points.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-39589047861707019262020-12-29T09:17:47.105-06:002020-12-29T09:17:47.105-06:00While I know the film was hated by both British an...While I know the film was hated by both British and Japanese veterans for its inaccuracies, and fictional characters, I think the film is remarkably "fair for its day", especially in concern to the Japanese. It is one of the earliest WWII films I know to depict Japanese characters with any degree of sympathy. Sessue Hayakawa’s impressively complex, sometimes sympathetic and landmark performance of Colonel Saito is a true example of this, to the point that Hayakawa was said to be reportedly very proud of the film for humanizing the Japanese at a time when most Hollywood and British movies still reflected wartime "Yellow Peril" propaganda. And though it is a small moment from a minor character, in the build up to Col. Saito giving the order to have Col. Nicholson and his officers machined gunned, you can see a visibly-worried look on Lt Miura's face, implying he is horrified by what is going to happen. He shows a bit of sympathy towards Clipton and both appear to lament the conflict between their superiors. It also has actual Asian actors and actresses playing all the Asian characters in an era when white actors still donned the shoe polish to play minorities.<br /><br />Also, while it was forced into the movie by the studio, along with Shears' nurse on the beach, Joyce and one of the Thai lady porters being set up as possibly being romantically interested in one another, or at the very least, gaining some sort of "friendly" understanding and respect, while not a major element of the story, is remarkable, as this is portrayed in a positive and light-hearted manner when interacial relationships were still frowned upon and illegal in the United States.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-39624764972282887212019-11-07T12:18:14.878-06:002019-11-07T12:18:14.878-06:00I had the same sense that the film glorified Nicho...I had the same sense that the film glorified Nicholson's collaboration and it also turned me off of the movie. I had considered that I had perhaps been uncharitable and would see more nuance on a second viewing but it sounds like that would not help.<br /><br />On the positive side this moral dissonance does give the film a surreal feel. I am not too surprised to learn that the author of the book also wrote Planet of the Apes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-58543271499147346332019-05-01T16:43:05.834-05:002019-05-01T16:43:05.834-05:00A couple of other things don't ring true. A pr...A couple of other things don't ring true. A prisoner-of-war camp without barricades and barb wire surrounding it would never work. Saito tells the prisoners that the camp is "an island in the jungle" and attempting escape would be futile, but that would not stop desperate men from constantly trying. Also the prisoners look far too healthy and well fed. The best of the POW camps run by the Japanese in WWII were unbelievably brutal, far worse than those of the Germans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-72209166773137699562019-04-07T14:30:32.040-05:002019-04-07T14:30:32.040-05:00You could certainly argue that.You could certainly argue that.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-40647350871221100572019-04-04T12:26:50.942-05:002019-04-04T12:26:50.942-05:00I always considered Nicholson as the protagonist o...I always considered Nicholson as the protagonist of this film, not Shears. Well, at least when I watch the film.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-30286937334053187012018-06-13T22:30:37.309-05:002018-06-13T22:30:37.309-05:00Agree with everything. But you know that it is a ...Agree with everything. But you know that it is a requirement to have a weak link on a commando mission, right?War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-20804870880622205472018-06-11T23:37:58.346-05:002018-06-11T23:37:58.346-05:00A gripe I have with these commando missions is the...A gripe I have with these commando missions is they always have only a handful of people going up against a company or battalion.<br /><br />And why take along Joyce, who isn't sure he can kill if he has to? In the story, Warden gets shot in the ankle when Joyce hesitates to use the knife. Why on earth do you take Joyce on a commando mission? <br /><br />How does Warden walk (and fight) with an ankle shot by a high powered rifle? <br /><br />Full disclosure. I watch The Bridge on the River Kwai every time it comes on TCM. David In TNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15749838323613927456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-87137741467285810632013-09-08T22:54:36.222-05:002013-09-08T22:54:36.222-05:00Agree. It is definitely memorable. I just think ...Agree. It is definitely memorable. I just think that it gets weaker with repeated viewings.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-49817439901996062562013-09-08T07:56:05.128-05:002013-09-08T07:56:05.128-05:00I liked this a great deal when I watcheddit it'...I liked this a great deal when I watcheddit it'sne of the movies that sticks in your mind. I've come to pay a lot of attention to that. So many modern movies are quite good while you watch them and a week later they are gone. <br />I wouldn't place it in the Top 10 but in the Top 50. 12 seems too high. Carolinehttp://allaboutwarmovies.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-38926582598991255382013-09-02T21:31:57.680-05:002013-09-02T21:31:57.680-05:00Thanks. I personally think "over" sound...Thanks. I personally think "over" sounds better.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-60821856524034187162013-09-02T11:12:24.665-05:002013-09-02T11:12:24.665-05:00As for the name change from the novel to the movie...As for the name change from the novel to the movie, it must be remembered that the novel was written in French, "Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai". <br />My high-school Canadian French tells me that from context, "de la" could be translated as "of the" or "on the". I guess "over the" sounded better to an English audience. FastForwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09747587141124326535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-83968640525947785222013-09-02T09:41:11.258-05:002013-09-02T09:41:11.258-05:00I totally agree with you! The only thing I can ad...I totally agree with you! The only thing I can add is, as I said in the review, the only way for the movie to work is for Nicholson to be the way he is. With that said, you could argue the movie would have been just as good if there had been more dissension in the ranks over the collaboration. And the book Nicholson is worse.<br /><br />BTW I just realized that Donald's Clipton is in some ways the opposite of his Ramsey in "The Great Escape". Ramsey plays devil's advocate about whether the mass escape was worth the potential loss of life. In a sense, he argued for collaboration.War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-5894008860858433872013-09-02T09:32:53.017-05:002013-09-02T09:32:53.017-05:00Thanks. This story reminds me how far movie buffs...Thanks. This story reminds me how far movie buffs have come with modern technology. My favorite movie when I was growing up was "The Great Escape". I would have to wait for the annual TV showing of it. DVDs, Netflix, etc. Absolutely amazing. War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-19533777799813881682013-09-02T09:28:40.646-05:002013-09-02T09:28:40.646-05:00Thanks for the cool casting info. The review was ...Thanks for the cool casting info. The review was already too long for me to include it.<br /><br />I read that Guinness was upset with the flow of the character. He thought the film was going to be too anti-British. However, when Lean had a private showing of some of his early work for Guinness and his wife, Guinness admitted it was the best work he had ever done (so to hell with the portrayal of a British commanding officer LOL).<br /><br />As far as being disgraced by a court martial, that would have been totally appropriate! War Movie Buffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999735218343872013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-80198378195982685332013-09-02T00:43:42.879-05:002013-09-02T00:43:42.879-05:00I liked the movie the first time saw it, but was ...I liked the movie the first time saw it, but was less impressed the second time. As you said, the acting and cinematography are excellent but I can't get past the fact that Lean set up the film to glorify a collaborator. True, he has a moment of sanity at the end, but no one, aside from the doctor, criticizes his decision to aid their enemy. The rest of the British prisoners share Nicolson's pride in constructing a solid bridge that will be used to transport supplies to help kill their comrades. <br />I don't want to be too harsh, but it just doesn't fit. If Nicolson had gone nuts and collaborated but the rest of the British prisoners despised him, that would have been interesting.historyonfilmhttp://www.historyonfilm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-62536016550735673162013-09-01T22:03:27.293-05:002013-09-01T22:03:27.293-05:00Holden's contract included a percentage of the...Holden's contract included a percentage of the profits from theatrical re-releases, and he sued to keep the movie from being sold to TV. They settled by paying him a lump sum. When it was shown on TV for the first time in 1966, according to legend, water levels in city reservoirs all dropped at the same time, because of so many people waiting until the commercial break to go to the bathroom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7201660899514011402.post-25496490696526725322013-09-01T21:53:14.009-05:002013-09-01T21:53:14.009-05:00Today, it is hard to imagine anyone but Guinness a...Today, it is hard to imagine anyone but Guinness as Nicholson, but the part was reportedly offered to Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Ray Milland, and James Mason. And Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant were supposedly considered for Shears. Olivier did "The Prince and the Showgirl," opting to do love scenes with Marilyn Monroe rather than spend months working in a jungle. Laughton feared that his state of health would not stand up to the tough conditions. (There is also a story that he and Lean did not get along when they worked together on "Oliver Twist.") Guinness was reluctant to play the part. He thought the "blinkered" determination to build the bridge would be implausible. But he managed to pull it off, and managed to make the character more than just a "stiff upper lip" cartoon, especially when the blinkers finally come off ("What have I done?"). Although I came away thinking, he was probably better off getting killed. If Nicholson had survived, he might have been disgraced by a court martial for collaborating with the enemy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com