Madness! Madness!

Rating: 10/10 (29 May 2006)

This is one of those rare pieces of cinema that actually deserved all the rewards and accolades it received from the Hollywood establishment. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is outstanding in all departments. Based on a French novel by Pierre Boulle which in turn was a literary adaptation of a true story, director David Lean, with the able assistance of blacklisted screenwriters Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman, has fashioned a remarkable motion picture that shows, more than most at first realize, the senselessness and madness of war. Lean was also helped tremendously by Jack Hildyard's cinematography, making the jungles of Ceylon come alive for the camera. One telling scene that pinpoints the majesty of Lean and Hildyard's collaboration is when Cmdr. Shears (William Holden) is lost in the wilds while attempting to escape from the POW camp. A strange looking bird flopping overhead turns out to be a kite. The viewer's mind's eye is engulfed in Shear's plight when suddenly the camera pans to the kite, then shows an entire village with all indications of friendliness toward the lost soul. Only a great director could make the movie goer feel so much a part of what was happening on the wide screen.
Some of the best acting ever put on celluloid takes place in "The Bridge on the River Kwai." Alec Guinness becomes Col. Nicholson, a British officer so keyed to the rule book that there is no room for deviation. Yet he has the admirable quality of also being a gentleman and a role model for the men under his command. His fortitude and perseverance in a near death encounter with the Japanese POW commander, Col. Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), make him a martyr for his men and his country. That he becomes so enmeshed in the only material success of his twenty eight years in the British army, building a bridge for the Japanese enemy, only endures him more to his men, with the exception of army physician, Maj. Clipton (James Donald), who sees it as treason or at best an unnecessary collaboration with the enemy. Col. Nicholson becomes so obsessed with the bridge project that it muddles his mind to the extend that for the first time he begins to bend the rules, justifying it through rationalization of keeping morale high among his charges.
Col. Saito is Col. Nicholson's nemesis and foil. Saito bends all the rules for his on egomania; yet he is intelligent enough to know when to falter. It becomes easy for Maj. Clipton to convince Saito not to shoot Nicholson in front of witnesses. Saito sees the bridge project as a means for his own salvation and advancement, also knowing that if he fails he will likely be executed, at best demoted and shamed. Saito not being a by-the-book officer finds it easy after a self-saving catharsis to be pragmatic.
A wild card in the game is the cynic with a conscience, Cmdr. Shears. He has learned to be a con man from his experiences in the US navy at war. Much of the humor in the film is provided by Shears, having some truly laughable comebacks for the ever so serious British officers. Maj. Warden (Jack Hawkins) explains to Shears that there's no time for training for sky diving. "The consensus of opinion is that the most sensible thing for Major Shears to do is to go ahead and jump, and hope for the best." To which Shears retorts dryly, "With or without a parachute?" Shears is a foil for both Saito and Nicholson. Thus, the viewer is given three lead characters with diametrically opposed personalities who must interact under desperate circumstances that create metamorphoses in each.
The theme for "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Colonel Bogey March," proved so catchy that it became a best selling record. As used by Lean in the picture, "Colonel Bogey March" intensifies the defiant attitude of Nicholson and his men, beginning as a group whistle, gradually instrumental accompaniment is added until there is a cacophony, which should have told Saito that this British regiment would be hell to deal with.
Postscript: I saw "The Bridge on the River Kwai" at a drive-in theater in Sacramento, California, where my brother lived, when I was fourteen years old. The film was released in 1957 and was on the drive-in circuit in the summer of 1958 when I watched it. The passion pit showed more than just grade B zombie flicks. I was impressed with the movie. I have seen it several times since. It is always a treat. Be sure and view the wide-screen version.