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Jul 15, 2017ba_library rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Classic movie directed by David Lean that won 7 academy awards in 1957 (including Best Picture). Think I had to sit through this one several times as a child – really only remember the tune the soldiers whistle. British P.O.W.s are forced to build a bridge in enemy occupied Burma during WWII. Everyone seems a bit nuts in this film! The first hour has the British commander (Alec Guinness) arguing with the Japanese commander of the camp - British officers do not have do manual labor according to the Geneva Convention. The Japanese commander could care less and so it becomes a battle of wills until the Japanese commander realizes he cannot get the bridge completed by the deadline. The British officer is totally by the book, been in the army most of his life and for him there is a proper procedure and function for everything. Prisoners are usually expected to try to escape, but in this camp - the jungle / nature is better than barbed wire. The British officer tells his troops not to attempt escape, but there is an American officer who has other plans. The British eventually take command of the building operation and Alec Guinness is determined to build the best bridge ever, much to the concern of some of his officers, the American prisoner escapes (sort turns into James Bond) but much to his dismay British special forces recruit him to go back into the jungle, back to the P.O.W. camp, in order to destroy the bridge. Worlds, missions, objectives seem to collide . . . can the Bridge on the River Kwai be destroyed? Who or what else will it also destroy?