One of the best war dramas ever!

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2002)

This is an outstanding war drama about the infamous Burmese railway. The most notable character is Colonel Nicholson played by Alec Guinness. His combination of drama and comedy help make his character really come alive.
(Spoiler warning!)
My favorite scene is when he has been released from the torture box and is inspecting the work site. A soldier is giving a report of the construction and keeps winking at the Colonel in order to indicate they've been secretly sabotaging the project. The Colonel tells him to have the man report to the medical station and have his eye checked. It is a great comic relief moment in a very serious film. One of the other breathtaking scenes is when Colonel Nicholson goes to the hospital and gives a talk to persuade the wounded to work on the site. It is one of the most powerful dramatic scenes I've seen in a movie. The idea is totally outrageous and beggars belief, yet Guinness plays it with utter conviction, and he's very persuasive.
The ending does seem a bit too far-fetched and is pushing coincidence to the limit. (I know it differs from the book.) But this is still one of the best dramatic stories ever produced.