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| DIRECTED BY |
| David Lean
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| STARRING |
| William Holden |
| Alec Guinness |
| Jack Hawkins |
| Sessue Hayakawa |
| James Donald |
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Warning: Minor Spoilers
The film looks like it must�ve taken an unruly amount of time to make � the bridge and the subsequent destruction of it alone is an expansive feast for the eyes. �The Bridge on the River Kwai� has managed to captivate enough people�s hearts over the years to now be considered one of the greatest films of all time, but what makes it so memorable? Perhaps it is the remarkably entertaining acting, namely by the wonderful screen presences of Alec Guinness and William Holden. And then there�s the meticulous direction of David Lean, who manages to turn an otherwise boring story into a beautiful film of epic proportions.
I don�t really care how historically accurate Lean was with this film; many of his critics defame him for anachronisms. Lean created a war film that isn�t fraught with bloody battles (excluding the Grand Guignol, of course) and still managed to make it entertaining by focusing on psychological and moral conflict. Major Shears� adamant refusal to come out of confinement and allow his men to rest may ultimately lead to the death of every British soldier involved, yet his patriotic belief in what he calls �principle� will not waver. And by the end, despite the Hell that he and his men have been forced by the Asians to go through, he refuses to let the bridge get destroyed. This circumstance of humanity evolving patriotism is as compelling to watch as any of the most elaborately orchestrated action sequences that I�ve ever seen.
Predictably for a 160+ minute film - this does have its boring moments - mainly during drawn out dialogues in scenes involving formal meetings that Lean seems to be so fond of shooting. And yes, of course, I know that a war does involve a lot of meetings. But I doubt that it would�ve been a detriment to the film if Lean had drawn much of it together more tightly and concisely. I�m just saying that perhaps he could have been a bit more creative with some of it.
David Lean didn�t exclude the elaborately constructed action sequences by any means. The final battle over the bridge is masterfully constructed and entirely suspenseful for anyone who�s lucky enough to be viewing the film for the first time. But then it all leads up to an absolutely ludicrous finale; Major Shears stumbling around and actually falling directly onto the detonator. Another moment of ludicrousness comes when we see that a soldier has been killed by falling rather gently onto the branch of a tree. These random foibles are the most prominent detractors of Lean�s films, yet I manage to forgive him for the absolute extravagance of everything.
