RIVER KWAI!! I just noticed the schedule, sorry for short notice.

Yes, watching it now.

David Lean- that's all you need to know

Excellent movie.

PC

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yes, watching it now.

David Lean- that's all you need to know

Yep. My main man!

Let me remind you of General Yamashita's motto: be happy in your work.

Madness!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PCWyoming:
Excellent movie.

PC[/QUOTE

Good movie for entertainment but historical in accurate. In reality Col. Nickleson would have been killed outright by the Japanese commander for what he done early in the story. But Hollywood does what it does.

Agree that Hollywood stretched the truth for this movie, but the movie still makes me feel patriotic. I'll always love that movie.


I have doubts the Hollywood of today would make me feel patriotic. They would have me believe Coronel Saito was a great guy, and the Brits deserved everything they got. I certainly agree with you on the entertainment value.

Such a great film. When video stores were still in existence and it was easier to track down classic films to watch, I spent a wonderful afternoon once rewatching it and The Great Escape...what an incredible pair of WWII films.

quote:

When video stores were still in existence and it was easier to track down classic films to watch

say what you want about DVDs and VHS tapes, there was more variety before streaming became the thing. Yes, new content is streamable...hooray for us.

But there are a ton of films that were never converted to DVD, another huge group not converted to digital streaming. The old days of being able to watch an old movie on a Saturday afternoon on tv are over. If it wasn't made in this century, it likely will never be on tv except for TCM.

quote:

Originally posted by Echtermetzger:

quote:

When video stores were still in existence and it was easier to track down classic films to watch

say what you want about DVDs and VHS tapes, there was more variety before streaming became the thing. Yes, new content is streamable...hooray for us.

But there are a ton of films that were never converted to DVD, another huge group not converted to digital streaming. The old days of being able to watch an old movie on a Saturday afternoon on tv are over. If it wasn't made in this century, it likely will never be on tv except for TCM.

Well said, and I'm glad to hear from a like soul. My wife doesn't share my rose-colored memories of video stores, of going in and just spending a half-hour or so to browse, to discover something new or old that you didn't know existed, or, just as importantly, be able to take home familiar favorites, be they vintage classics or shlocky '80s comedies. It was like a library or bookstore, where one could take their time, where picking out the movie(s) was nearly as entertaining as the movies themselves (sometimes more ); NetFlix and the like just doesn't offer that kind of experience, let alone -- as you mention -- the sheer variety. Seems like in this case progress has taken us several steps back.

Regarding the portrayal of the Japanese soldiers and command in this film-

It seems that when the film was made- more than a decade after the end of the war- attitudes towards our former enemies were finally softening. As an example, take a look at a film made the same year as the one we're discussing. The Enemy Below portrays a U Boat captain and crew as real human beings, not the goose-stepping stereotypes of wartime and the immediate postwar era.

In The Bridge on the River Kwai, it is remarkable to see the flawed depths of character in Colonel Saito, and to see him crying in his hut after he is bested by Colonel Nicholson.
Notable also is the portrayed behavior of the guard who is bribed at the beginning of the film. In films during the war and previous to this one, Japanese guards were essentially robots- demonic automatons and nothing more. The guard William Holden bribes with the cigarette lighter- well, that's a real person, in full depth.

As another example of this in that period, take a look at The Young Lions from 1958.

So, a decade after the war, attitudes began to change and this was reflected in our films.

I also liked the interaction between enlisted and officer ranks - William Holden's swabbie character masquerading as an officer, pitted against Jack Hawkins.


Madness!