"What have I done?"

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 2003)

I watched this movie a couple of weeks ago on TCM. When I sat down to watch it I had no idea what to expect. The openings scene with the troops marching and whistling was confusing at first but then everything fell into place. I have noticed that many people seemed to think the film was too long. But for some reason I don't think the film would have worked if it was chopped in half. For about an hour of the movie it is just British troops toiling in a Japanese prison camp, while Alec Guinness is caged in a box. That hour of the film set everything else up and everything fell into place.

I doubt a movie like The Bridge on the River Kwai could ever be made again. If viewers don't see sex and explosions in the first 45 minutes people get bored. If this movie was released in 2003 it would be a major box office blunder. This movie really shows how cinema has changed in 40some years. Too bad movies like this can't be made today.