The Bridge on the River Kwai

Rating: 4.75/5

War films have always been a rather large blindspot in my own movie viewing history, and I knew this Best Picture Watch Through would allow me to add more of those to my "watched" list. The Bridge on the River Kwai has without a doubt been one of my favorites of the Academy Awards winners.

This is a lengthy film, but it goes by in a flash. It's intense, as most war movies are, but not to the point where it gets classified into the lists of "great movies you'll never watch again". There are war films that are graphic, intense, and terribly hard to watch (I'm looking at you Deerhunter), and there's absolutely a need for movies like that. They cast a spotlight onto the unthinkable tragedy and perils of war, but they certainly aren't the type that most people would ever watch numerous times.

Though Bridge on the River Kwai certainly has its very difficult moments, there's something about it that makes it seem much more rewatchable than other films in its genre. Honestly, a huge factor to this could be that it doesn't involve the storyline of innocent children being thrown into the horrors of war, but it's also because it's such an unusual take on a war film. The soldiers aren't in constant battle. There isn't really a lot of action. But what there is, is two leaders from opposing sides who, in an effort to do what they think is best for their troops, unintentionally almost forget about the fact that they're enemies.

I know Bridge on the River Kwai isn't exactly historically accurate, but given the time period of its release, I can't say that I'm shocked. Either way, if I had a ranked list of war movies, it would be very near the top.

1958 Best Picture Winner - The Bridge on the River Kwai

1958 Best Actor in a Leading Role Winner - Alec Guiness

1958 Best Director Winner - David Lean

1958 Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Winner - Pierre Boulle, Carl Foreman & Michael Wilson

1958 Best Cinematography Winner - Jack Hildyard

1958 Best FIlm Editing Winner - Peter Taylor

1958 Best Music, Scoring Winner - Malcolm Arnold