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The Bridge On The River Kwai [1957]
On the DVD: Too often the best extras come attached to films that don't really warrant them. Not so here, where a truly great film has been given the attention it deserves. The first disc presents the film in the original extra-wide CinemaScope ratio of 2.55:1, in an anamorphically enhanced transfer which does maximum justice to the film's superb cinematography. The sound has been transferred from the original six-track magnetic elements into 5.1 Dolby Digital and far surpasses what many would expect from a 1950s' feature. The main bonus on the first disc is an isolated presentation of Malcolm Arnold's great Oscar-winning music score, in addition to which there is a trivia game, and maps and historical information linked to appropriate clips. The second disc contains a new, specially produced 53-minute "making of" documentary featuring many of those involved in the production of the movie. This gives a rich insight into the physical problems of making such a complex epic on location in Ceylon. Also included are the original trailer and two short promotional films from the time of release, one of which is narrated by star William Holden. Finally there is an "appreciation" by director John Milius, an extensive archive of movie posters and artwork, and a booklet that reproduces the text of the film's original 1957 brochure. --Gary S Dalkin Reviews51 years after it was made it still holds up very well Review date: 2008-06-08 Rating: 8 out of 10 This is an really good film, it goes along at a steady pace, you could say that this does not have alot of action in it, but for me that does not really matter. There are 3 things that I love about this film, first off the excellent storyline, a wonderful bit of sparing between Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Sir Alec Guinness) and Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), whereby the Colonel goes from being in charge of the camp to almost insignificance which is also really funny to watch too, then there's the performance of Sir Alec Guinness who puts in a superb performance and truly is the backbone of this film. Now that I've finally watched all of this film I can't believe it's taken me so long to see it, the picture quality is superb too taking into account it's age, I've seen films made in the 80's that have nowhere near the sharpness of picture as this film, well worth purchasing. A true story Review date: 2008-04-30 Rating: 10 out of 10 "Do not speak to me of rules. This is war! This is not a game of cricket!" In World War Two, in Southeast Asia, Sessue Hayakawa portrays the commandant of a Japanese prison camp. Alec Guinness is the British Colonel of a group of soldiers who were captured and placed in that prison camp. Jack Hawkins is the leader of a British prisoner rescue mission, and William Holden is an American prisoner-of-war escapee. Hayakawa and Guinness collide as Hayakawa tries to "break" the morale of the prisoners and make them build a bridge that is important to the Japanese war effort. Guinness is first obsessed with proving that British troops cannot be broken, and then becomes obsessed with building that bridge, to prove what he and his men are capable of. He needs structure, order, and purpose so much, that he adopts Hayakawa's project as a mission for himself. Meanwhile, Hawkins and Holden are determined to stop or destroy the bridge, to hurt the Japanese. Major Shears : "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." Everyone is determined, at least, or obsessed, to accomplish purposes that converge, collide, and clash in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The acting is superb, and Alec Guinness deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal of a man so in need of a purpose that he subverts his own beliefs and adopts the enemy's purpose. One of the scenes at the end, where Guinness's character suddenly realizes what he has done, is an amazing capturing of a man experiencing an epiphany, or emerging suddenly from a cloud of insanity. Most of the time, the term "epic" needs to be connected to something on a very large scale. David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" encompasses much of, well, Arabia. "Dr. Zhivago" spans all of Russia during the Communist Revolution. "Gone With The Wind" covers much of the Confederate South during the Civil War. "Cleopatra" shows us ancient Egypt and Rome. These epics also span years of time in the stories they cover. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" does not cover nearly as much ground, geographically or chronologically. It is, in a sense, a small epic, and it is one that unfolds at its own pace. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is just quietly magnificent and stunningly powerful. Still one of David Lean's very best films despite its faults, unlike most of his epics, the plot of The Bridge on the River Kwai is focused enough to allow the film its debate on the nature of heroism and command without seeming forced, and is divided clearly into two halves. The first is a battle of wills between two madmen and their respective codes of honour; the British Colonel Nicholson, who seeks to turn defeat into victory, and the Japanese Colonel Saito, whose cruelty comes from his inability to see his lack of shame over their surrender. Colonel Nicholson : "One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people that use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it. Not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers, Clipton, even in captivity." The second half is more standard adventure fare, as anti-heroic escaped prisoner Holden (great actor) is press-ganged into returning to the bridge with gung-ho masochist Jack Hawkins to blow it up. If at the camp Donald is the voice of common sense, Holden is the voice of the common man. Faced with the wounded Hawkins' self-sacrificing heroics, he responds with a tirade against everything he stands for; ("With you it's one thing or the other, destroy the bridge or destroy yourself!"). But though he rejects the insanity of heroic codes and proclaims that the only true dignity lies in survival, he dies upholding just such an ideal. This is just one of the contradictions of an undeniably problematic ending, which opts for the spectacular at the cost of much of the substance of the film. In reality, the bridge was never destroyed, but Lean discards history to give the audience the large explosion they've been waiting for. My favorite sequence of scenes has to be the last 20 minutes of the film's terrific ending. The human drama and personal revelations of the main characters, combined with the terrific shots of the bridge being blown up, and the train crashing into the drink are quite a satisfying end to this epic tale. A Savage, Biting and Cruel Satire Review date: 2007-12-29 Rating: 10 out of 10 Not all satire is funny - this isn't. The film is a masterpiece by a master film maker. Other reviewers will tell you how good it is. That said, I should imagine if you were a Japanese prisoner of war who worked on the Death Railway and saw this film in 1957, you possibly found it to be extremely offensive. The author of the book Pierre Boulle realised that the juxtaposition of British Upper-class stiff upper lip and the Japanese Bashido sense of honour were two sides of the same coin. Both the book and this film exploit this. For a start, both postulate the fact that the Japanese were poor engineers and even worse bridge builders. Neither of these facts were true. The first half of the film deals with the stand off brought about by the two entrenched positions just described. Eventually, though sheer pluck and dogged determination, the British have their way and effectively take control over the building of the bridge themselves - thus aiding the Japanese war effort! In fact, they make such a good job of building the bridge that the allies, lead by William Holden, then have to mount an expedition to destroy it. It is this premise that returning P.O.W.'s might have found so offensive. The Japanese did not sign the Hague Convention on Human Rights. Their code of honour stipulated that the defeated enemy should act honourably and commit suicide. The fact that the British surrendered instead meant they were seen as beneath contempt in Japanese eyes who treated them accordingly - 16,000 died making this railway. Think about that as yiou watch the film. Enjoy it by all means - it is a great film, but it is also a travesty of what actually happened. "With you it's one thing or the other, destroy the bridge or destroy yourself!" Review date: 2007-11-27 Rating: 10 out of 10 "Take a good look, Clifton. One day the war will be over. And I hope that the people who use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built and who built it - not a gang of slaves, but soldiers, British soldiers, Clifton, even in captivity." Still one of David Lean's very best films despite its faults, unlike most of his epics, the plot of The Bridge on the River Kwai is focused enough to allow the film its debate on the nature of heroism and command without seeming forced, and is divided clearly into two halves. The first is a battle of wills between two madmen and their respective codes of honour; the British Colonel Nicholson, who seeks to turn defeat into victory, and the Japanese Colonel Saito, whose cruelty comes from his inability to see his lack of shame over their surrender. Nicholson is so determined to use the building of the bridge as a weapon against his Japanese captors to rebuild his troops' morale that he is blind to the strategic consequences ("I hope these Japanese appreciate what we're doing for them." mutters Donald's medical officer). As Nicholson exceeds his requirements, he assumes Saito's role, even to the point of forcing officers and those on the sick list to work - the very points they had earlier clashed over - forcing the Japanese Colonel to face a surrender of his own. Ultimately reduced to the meek voice of acquiescence at one of their conferences, he alone achieves his objective but only at the cost of his self-respect. He alone realises what he has become. The second half is more standard adventure fare, as anti-heroic escaped prisoner Holden (his casting clearly based on his similar role in Stalag 17) is press-ganged into returning to the bridge with gung-ho masochist Jack Hawkins to blow it up. If at the camp Donald is the voice of common sense, Holden is the voice of the common man. Faced with the wounded Hawkins' self-sacrificing heroics, he responds with a tirade against everything he stands for; ("With you it's one thing or the other, destroy the bridge or destroy yourself!"). But though he rejects the insanity of heroic codes and proclaims that the only true dignity lies in survival, he dies upholding just such an ideal. This is just one of the contradictions of an undeniably problematic ending, which opts for the spectacular at the cost of much of the substance of the film. In reality, the bridge was never destroyed, but Lean discards history to give the audience the large explosion they've been waiting for. Depicted with intriguing ambiguity as to Guinness' motives, it nonetheless tends to obliterate the assertion of Pierre Boulle's novel that all the suffering has been in vain by allowing a victory, albeit at hideous cost. War is no longer a pointless and vainglorious farce played with human lives, but a place where even a cynic and an unwitting collaborator can redeem themselves through the nobility of self-sacrifice. Yet if ultimately the film lacks the commitment of Bryan Forbes astonishly bleak King Rat or even Spielberg's dark Empire of the Sun, there is still much to admire, not least a quartet of great performances from Guinness and the under-appreciated Holden, Hawkins and Hayakawa. Lean is much more in control of his narrative than when he started making love stories with casts of thousands, his masterful use of the Scope frame coming over particularly well in this restored version (no new footage but a cleaned-up print) which finally gives blacklisted writers Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman their screen credits. Product Details/SpecificationsActor(s): Sessue Hayakawa James Donald Alec Guinness Jack Hawkins William Holden Creators: William Holden (Primary Contributor) Alec Guinness (Primary Contributor) Jack Hildyard (Cinematographer) Sam Spiegel (Producer) Carl Foreman (Writer) Michael Wilson (Writer) Pierre Boulle (Writer) Director(s): Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment EAN: 5035822000131 Binding: DVD Number of items: 2 Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen, Release date: 2000-12-04 Number of discs: 1 Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Audience rating: Parental Guidance Region code: 2 Running time: 155 minutes Theatrical release date: 1958-03-07 Language: English (Original Language) Language: French (Original Language) Language: English (Subtitled) Language: German (Subtitled) Language: French (Subtitled) Language: Hindi (Subtitled) Language: Turkish (Subtitled) Language: Danish (Subtitled) Language: Icelandic (Subtitled) Language: Bulgarian (Subtitled) Language: Swedish (Subtitled) Language: Hungarian (Subtitled) Language: Polish (Subtitled) Language: Arabic (Subtitled) Language: Dutch (Subtitled) Language: Finnish (Subtitled) Language: Czech (Subtitled) Language: Greek (Subtitled) Language: French (Dubbed) Language: German (Dubbed)
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