An absolute and exhilarating piece of a movie epic.

Rating: 10/10 (12 July 2001)

I have trouble just trying to describe David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai" in less than five words to summerise my review. However, I'll say it's an absolute and exhilarating piece of a movie epic.
Based on the novel by Pierre Boule, a band of British P.O.W.s who are under the command of the unbreakable Col. Nicholson (Alec Guinness) construct a bridge (for trains) for their Japanese captors before a specific date. What Nicholson and the Japanese don't know that the lone American war prisoner, Shears (William Holden), who is presumed dead after making a daring escape and is now guiding Warden (Jack Hawkins), a British major and his small commando unit whose objective is to the blow up the bridge. Although I loved the film's dynamic climax, I also liked the psychological battle of wills that Nicholson and Saito (Sessue Hawkaya), the camp's leader have. James Donald, who portrays Major Clipton, the medical officer, says that unforgettable line at the end - " Madness...Madness"
The performances here are definitely memorable ones, Guinness and Holden most notably. I can't forget to mention the film's lavish photography (Jack Hildyard) of the jungle and Malcolm Arnold's clever musical score which includes the famous whistling WWI song "The Colonel Bogey March". There's a strange fact that since the movie's two screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, were "blacklisted". Boule, who didn't speak a word in English, received credit for the script.