Bridge on the River Kwai: Bonafide Classic

Madness…madness are the immortal words of Maj. Clipton upon reflecting the effect of war upon men in David Lean’s 1957 epic The Bridge on the River Kwai : a film which explores the madness of war itself and its effects upon individuals in grand and explosive fashion.

In my own personal cinematic history, David Lean’s 1957 epic The Bridge on the River Kwai was one of the first film’s which seriously got me hooked on cinema. And why should it not? Directed by one of the finest directors Britain ever produced the film is a grand spectacle buoyed by stellar performances from two cinematic giants and a magnificently constructed (albeit historically inaccurate) and photographed story which fuses drama, action and romance into a majestic palpable 161 minute feast for the senses.

The main ingredient in this recipe is the film’s epic story of betrayal, friendship, the madness of war and the frailties of nationalism. The film opens up in 1943 where a group of British POW’s headed by Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) are sent to a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the Burmese jungle. Forced to surrender by their commanding officers, the British troops whistling their song (the celebrated “Colonel Bogey March” used throughout the film) remain upbeat, yet tired because of their binding trust in authority and Empire.

Yet, the camp they are sent to is run by Japanese Col. Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) who is known for his brutal tactics and sentiments towards opposition POWs. This does not seem to deter the naïve Brits who plan to follow Saito’s orders upon the basis of adherence to proper “civilized” military code and conduct. Such a view abhors the camp’s remaining builders: a wily American named Shears (William Holden) and his Australian counterpart who are bent on fleeing the island in the middle of the jungle.

However, Nicholson’s desire to uphold civility and law in the uncultured jungle appalls Shears who plans to escape at all costs. Both the brash views of Shears and the cautious approach of Nicholson appear foolish to the camp’s epicenter of reason and logic: a British medical officer named Clipton (James Donald).

Clipton’s rationality is also the antithesis of the outlooks observed by Saito and Nicholson; both of whom are clearly dedicated to their own nationalist endeavors and beliefs. This is confirmed after Nicholson and the British battalion’s officers are held at gunpoint by Saito for refusing to comply with the Japanese order of creating a bridge across the River Kwai to connect the Bangkok line to Burma; and thus hasten the Japanese war effort into British occupied India. While Nicholson has no qualms over letting his regular soldiers build the bridge, he refuses to join in the labor himself because the Geneva Convention disallows officer’s entering manual labor.

Nicholson’s view infuriates Saito who locks him and his officers in cramped, prison quarters as punishment for their dissent, while the weary British army regulars continue to work on the bridge. Meanwhile, Shears barely escapes to freedom during a nighttime escape; leading to an epic tale of his own as he floats down the Kwai before being rescued and sent to an army hospital in Ceylon.

Yet, the bridge has become an immense failure. Plagued by poor planning and unable to control the British soldiers, the effort has turned to chaos forcing Saito to consider committing Hari-Kari. It is here the parallels between Saito and Nicholson continue to develop. Both are immensely stubborn and patriotic and this shown particularly in the latter’s refusal to back down from Saito’s peace offerings in order to get what he wants.

Yet, Nicholson’s victory is cut short by his own troubled sense of reason. Now not only will the POW’s build a new bridge for the Japanese, but they will also build a “proper” bridge to last generations. Nicholson bizarrely perceives that such an action would help not only restore order and morale to his troops, but also help “enlighten” his enemies and bring order and civilization to the jungle.

Perhaps it is the war, or the heat or his time in isolation, but Nicholson has clearly gone mad in a rather genteel manner as he continues to push for the creation of his grand bridge. Yet, unknown to Nicholson a crack group of British Special Forces led by Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) have assembled a covert operation to provide an explosive finale and destroy the bridge with the reluctant help of their latest acquisition: Shears.

Filmed in Sri Lanka, David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai is a brilliant shot and paced film. The colorful award-winning cinematography by Jack Hildyard is sweeping and impressive particularly in the scenes of the bridge construction and Holden’s two contrary trips down the Kwai.

The script by The Bridge on the River Kwai author Pierre Boulle, “Hollywood Ten” Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson accords the right dialogue to the right people and allows the film to flow quickly without any major hindrances. Though it is plagued by historical inaccuracies it still is an influential film. For starters the bridge was built across the Mae Klong, not the Kwai and was neither wooden, nor incompetently constructed by the Japanese. And secondly, the Bridge was never destroyed: it was finished on October 17 and in fact remains standing today.

The acting is superb all around, even if they are for the most part cultural stereotypes. Guinness puts in perhaps his greatest performance as Col. Nicholson (he won a Best Actor Academy Award for it) in which he emits an aura of the haughtiness and decadence often associated with British authoritarian figures. The screenwriters correctly provided the film’s best lines to William Holden who portrays Shears with his regular brand of acidic temperament and flavored wit.

Sessue Hayakawa shows why he was an early star in American silent cinema. Though his role has been oft-criticized for being racist or overly stereotyped, Hayakawa does elicit a high degree of humanity and sympathy at times with his assured performance, which sadly did not garner him an Academy award. Jack Hawkins continues the all-around superb performances as the glory-hunting Major Warden. Performances by James Donald as Clipton and Geoffrey Horne as the Canadian Lt. Joyce are often over-looked by many reviewers but deserve equal credit as both put in fantastic performances in key supporting roles.

The combination of fine acting, superb script and sublime cinematography are astutely managed by director David Lean who displays a rare breed of flair and virtuosity, which made him the “King of the Epics” producing future blockbusters Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago .

The Bridge on the River Kwai was one of the first films which really got me into cinema. At the time, I was ironically working in a movie theatre, but not into films all too much. But when The Bridge on the River Kwai came out on DVD I bought it blind and have never regretted this one of my initial DVD purchases. This is certainly a classic which lives up to its weighty reputation and has long term replay value.
Unlike many “classic” films this one has held up very well despite its age simply because is imbued with themes which still hold powerful resonance to this day.

The film’s picture on DVD brims in its 2:35:1 widescreen format displaying an array of dirty browns, tanned orange hues and boreal greens with mixed results. While the picture itself is clear and has held up well, every so often it appears faded and lacks sharp precision at times. The sound also despite the age still holds up in a 2-channel Dolby Surround or a 5.1 Dolby Digital offering. There are also soundtracks in French, Spanish and Portuguese. Subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese and Thai.

The Bridge on the River Kwai was released on two formats. The first a single disc edition which I own has no features except trailers and talent files. The other deluxe edition contains a wealth of extras including an isolated music score; trivia; maps; documentary featurettes about the making of the film; a short film narrated by William Holden; an appreciation by John Milius, and a photo gallery.

In a world continually ravaged by war, Clipton’s lasting words from the hilltop of Madness…Madness echo and resonate today with as much impact as they had during the story’s historical landscape in World War II to the film’s production during the Cold War to today.

While most Academy Award Best Picture’s are hardly that, The Bridge on the River Kwai is a rare Best Picture which shines today as it did almost fifty years ago. Thanks to its precise direction, powerful story and cunning array of superb actors, The Bridge on the River Kwai continues to span across generations connecting one to the other with its haunting representation of the ethos of war: a must-see classic which truly explemifies the meaning of the word.