The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

The Bridge on the River Kwai is the first of David Lean's epic films. The film is about a group of soldiers during World War 2 in a Japanese POW camp. The simplified version of the plot is these soldiers are building a bridge across the river Kwai. Their commanding officer, played by Alec Guinness, becomes quite motivated to build this bridge and takes great pride in the bridge despite the fact it will be used against the Allies. At the same time, an American former POW, played by William Holden, is part of a group of soldiers attempting to detonate the bridge as the bridge's first train crosses it.

As mentioned a moment ago, the film stars William Holden and Alec Guinness. The two briefly meet each other in the beginning of the film but are mostly involved in different storylines. Holden was pretty good but his storyline was fairly dull at first. Guinness gives a brilliant performance, better than any performance of his I have seen, and was justly awarded an Oscar. In a supporting role, Sessue Hayakawa plays the commander of the POW Camp. His performance is very good and he was nominated for, but did not win, best supporting actor. The film also includes some other actors who are more than adequate.

While this film is generally regarded as inferior to Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia, I found this film better. It may not offer the stunning visuals offered by Lawrence, but the film is far more interesting. I would say this film is easily the best David Lean film I've seen.

Overall, this film is nearly perfect. The only complaint I have with the film is about 10 minutes worth of William Holden's side story. Other than that the film is about as flawless as I have ever seen. The film may not be as innovative as other great films such as Citizen Kane, but I don't think that matters. The story, the acting, the visuals, and the score are all amongst the best I have ever seen. This may not be the greatest film ever made, but it is perhaps my favorite and is well-deserving of the highest score I have ever awarded.

98/100
A+

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