So did William Holden

Big Cat `93 said:

---

Duh. Forgot about Stalag 17.

---

Love that movie!!

this was when they just knew how to make real movies

there is some documentary on the "real" Bridge on the River Kwai.

imagine being a POW of the Japanese

oh man! my group (well me) picked this movie to an english project on in high school!

Picked it because i remember watching it numerous times growing up with dad. The other members of the group did not share their same opinion as I did after watching it.

jeffk said:

---

I can hear the whistling now.

---

If I never have to play Colonel Bogey March again, it will be too soon.

Sweet! Here's one that I truly love and that my wife will likely enjoy as well.

I know a fellow Ag whose father-in-law was in the camp portrayed in The Great Escape. His name wasn't Hilts or Hendley.

MGS said:

---

Higgins was also there

---

It's been too long, but you imagine a spin-off about a younger Higgins?

The best war movie ever made, and arguably one of the to 20 best movies ever made overall.

The true story behind it.

https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/the-true-story-of-the-bridge-over-the-river-kwai/

Just watched it again. So great!

Even though I knew how it ended, I still was clinchednup as Nicholson approaches the commando following the wire. They did such a great job showing him become totally obsessed and Guinness nails the role.

One thing I've never understood. Why was Saito considering killing himself? He takes all of the preparatory steps but never gets around to it. Was he ashamed of how the British had pulled it off but he had not?

I thought Saito was preparing his knife for seppuku if it turned out the bridge failed when the train was coming up to crossing.
I don't think he'd care who built the bridge. He'd claim it as his victory and throw anyone in the box who disagreed.

Quad Dog said:

---

I thought Saito was preparing his knife for seppuku if it turned out the bridge failed when the train was coming up to crossing.
I don't think he'd care who built the bridge. He'd claim it as his victory and throw anyone in the box who disagreed.

---

I never connected it with an aspect of "if it failed". He seemed to have pulled back into his shell the further the movie went along, especially when around Nicholson because Nicholson had essentially out maneuvered him in the first act. I'm still a bit confused by it because he accomplished his mission but I think the previous poster was right in that his perception was that Nicholson had succeeded and he had failed.

But then to your point, he didn't go through with it the night before during the Brit's celebration so maybe he was prepping in case something went wrong the next day…

Stive said:

---

Quad Dog said:

---

I thought Saito was preparing his knife for seppuku if it turned out the bridge failed when the train was coming up to crossing.
I don't think he'd care who built the bridge. He'd claim it as his victory and throw anyone in the box who disagreed.

---

I never connected it with an aspect of "if it failed". He seemed to have pulled back into his shell the further the movie went along, especially when around Nicholson because Nicholson had essentially out maneuvered him in the first act. I'm still a bit confused by it because he accomplished his mission but I think the previous poster was right in that his perception was that Nicholson had succeeded and he had failed.

But then to your point, he didn't go through with it the night before during the Brit's celebration so maybe he was prepping in case something went wrong the next day…

---

Had it not blown up I pictured Saito shipping the Brits away to another camp, taking down their sign and christening the bridge to be the Saito Bridge.

Watched this one over the weekend. Amazingly I had never seen it. Reminded me of Unbroken in a strange way. The final scene was a groin kick. The whole time I was screaming to blow the bridge

Now that spoilers are allowed, here's my full random comments. Somehow if missed this movie and never seen it before
Young Obi-Wan!

Had a military unit ever actually marched to whistling?

US Commander Shears claimed he was on the Houston, which was sunk by torpedoes at the Battle of Sunda Strait. Most of the crew became POWs with many dying in captivity.

You'd think US Commander Shears could have given a 2 minute speech on what to expect from Saito.

Like Saito having an American pin-up girl calendar from Ohio in his office.

I know it's the principle of the thing, but it seems silly that Saito and Colonel Nicholson spent so much time arguing over like 8 officers working. The eight extra men wouldn't have sped up work much even if they did manual labor.

Man, Commander Shears found paradise and a blonde to escape to, not too bad. The native village looked nice too.

Lord Louis Montbatten requested Shear's info on the railway was the Uncle of Prince Phillip, also the first Governor - General of India.

Commander Shears pulling a Don Draper

The morality of building the bridge was an interesting discussion and decision. Is it aiding the enemy? Helping the prisoners? Helping the community after the war? Even had to recruit the injured. Does the board think it was the right thing to do to build it so well? Just a slight change in the role of the performance and they could have made Nicholson seem like a mad man obsessed with building this perfect bridge. Pretend like you didn't know it would be blown up.

Nice of the British to include 3 different kinds of hats to the paratroopers. Shears formed his to look like a cowboy hat while the Brits kept theirs in bushman style.

Where did the stage for the night entertainment come from? The Brits built that too?

Doesn't make much sense for the Japs to walk guard along the top of the bridge. You can guard the top of the bridge with two guys, one at either end. The rest of your guard should be at the river bank watching the most vulnerable spots.

I thought you weren't supposed to march in time across a bridge because of vibrations. The Brits did at the end.

Madness: an appropriate word to end a movie about war, denial, and obsession.

From wiki: The screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, were on the Hollywood blacklist and, even though living in exile in England, could only work on the film in secret. The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. The official credit was given to Pierre Boulle (who did not speak English), and the resulting Oscar for Best Screenplay (Adaptation) was awarded to him. Only in 1984 did the Academy rectify the situation by retroactively awarding the Oscar to Foreman and Wilson, posthumously in both cases

In a 1988 interview with Barry Norman, Lean confirmed that Columbia almost stopped filming after three weeks because there was no white woman in the film, forcing him to add what he called "a very terrible scene" between Holden and a nurse on the beach.

Jack Hawkins and Sesu Hiakowa.

This was the same director that later did Lawrence of Arabia and I think you can see some similarities in framing and shot selection, although an earlier version.

Really enjoyed this one as it has been a long time since I watched.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

---

One of the greatest movies I have ever seen. I love how Guinness takes on the challenge of building the bridge and faces down the Jap camp commander who is insisting officers build right along enlisted men. As annoying as the song was, I have always found myself humming along with it when the Brits are whistling that tune. The ending, when I first saw this movie, came as a bit of a shock, but in more recent viewings, I believe this was the best way to end it.

In honor of Thanksgiving week, I'd nominate Planes, Trains and Automobiles as the next movie of the week.

---

BIG NEWS: The new 4K release of PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES contains the legendary 75 minutes of deleted scenes that have been whispered about for decades. Finally, witness John Candy smoke and eat a hot dog at the same time. pic.twitter.com/cW3mv33pJZ

— Justin Decloux (@DeclouxJ) November 22, 2022