Bridged too Far **

Rating: 6/10 (4 February 2006)

This Oscar winning film of 1957, "The Bridge on the River Kwai," is a little too heavy handed.
One of the prisoners has it right, "won't building this bridge be seen as an act of treason?"
Captured by the Japanese, Col. Nicholson and his men agree to build such a bridge. They put a tremendous effort into it. At no time is there ever a discussion of trying to escape. What would John Wayne have done?
Nicholson's lame excuse is that in years to come people will thank the English for building the bridge. He anticipates a world at peace with respect and toleration for all cultures. Baloney. You're at war, Mr. Nicholson.
At the end, Nicholson cries out in regret, "What have I done!," as he collapses and destroys the bridge. What was the writer really thinking.
As always, William Holden is effective, this time as an ant-war hero caught up in this predicament. Jack Hawkins acts in his usual bombastic overbearing way.
The cinematography is beautiful but the story itself is far from the realm of reality. War is war.