THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) MOVIE REACTION!

[@GoatLuffy_97]

This film along with Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago are David Lean's Triple Crown. Absolute masterclass filmmaking.

[@DEWwords]

His "small" films, GREAT EXPECTATIONS and DAVID COPPERFIELD are also great. G r e a t . And Guinness is in many of them!

[@janescribner8258]

And Sir Alec Guinness is in those three. The 4th David Lean film is Ryan's Hope. Bridge on the River Kwai was an "ocean" of jungle; Lawrence of Arabia, an "ocean" of desert; Doctor Zhivago, an "ocean" of snow; and Ryan's Hope, an "ocean" of sea.

[@TheTerryGene]

This classic was filmed on location in Ceylon, which is now called Sri Lanka. If you are a fan of William Holden, “Sunset Boulevard” and “Stalag 17” are “must see” movies. Holden took home the Best Actor Oscar for “Stalag 17,”

[@beardedsloth7805]

My grandad was a POW in a camp like that he said one of the guards was Buddhist and forced to be there and he would sneak food to people , my grandad said the best thing he gave him was one of those simple Japanese folding fans he said that fan probably saved lives , he still had it when he died 13 years ago

[@lisathuban8969]

RIP

[@luislora9204]

* I'm glad Jeoffrey Horne who played Lt.Joyce , the young officer in charge of detonating the explosion is doing well and going strong .!!..He will be 91 this coming August and we met and spoke about an hour after the screening of the movie at the New York Film Forum @ 11 years ago ,Jeoffrey was still teaching acting and he related that he was 23 at the time of the shooting ,he was born in Argentina to American parents ,spoke perfect spanish,great sense of humor and is the last surviving member of a great cast of actors of " The Bridge over the River Kwai "...*

[@TheTerryGene]

He was at one time married to Collin Wilcox, the actress who played Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird.

[@raymeedc]

Alec Guinness is one of the best actors in cinema history in my opinion…. Master of understatement👌

[@Chris-fd9er]

You should watch Lawrence of Arabia next. Great cast, including Alec Guiness. Also a complex war epic addressing issues of morality, honor, etc. Muliple Academy Award winner.

[@JeffreyCantelope]

Good suggestion.

[@sherigrow6480]

Based on the memoirs and writings of the real Lawrence. The brilliant Peter O'Toole brings him to life. Watch on the largest screen you can find.

[@sdw2is]

You mean the ones who surrendered en masse after the incompetence at Singapore. Surrendered without a fight. 80% died and the bridge was built by Brttish labor and not blown up.

[@BlueShadow777]

Yes, you got there in the end… it was Nicholson’s pride. Since he won the battle of pride between his own pride and that of Saito, he held himself in superiority over Saito. He held the higher moral and principled ground. He wanted to prove he and the British generally were better than their captors… particularly in engineering. He was proud of his final work. This was compounded by completing it in time. It was his work of art, his legacy. It overtook everything else to the point that nothing else mattered. He forgot about his circumstances and on which side he was morally and nationalistically bound. His realisation at the end brought him to his senses.

[@tonyjanney1654]

"My God, what have I done?" Delivered perfectly.

[@frankbolger3969]

Another fine reaction, Madison. You need to watch Stalag 17. Holden won the Oscar for Best Actor, and it was his best film. Oddly, he almost refused the part because he was convinced he would never win an Oscar for a movie like that.

[@gordonmcneil0011]

Since you now have seen this movie you have to watch David Lean's other masterpiece "Lawrence of Arabia".

[@Cbcw76]

See other David Lean films, period.

[@FrancisXLord]

David Lean is one of the greatest directors to have ever lived. Be sure to check out Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and consider while watching it that everything onscreen was actually shot on location and done full scale. Lawrence of Arabia is a cinematic achievement that I doubt ever will be matched, particularly during the age of greenscreen in which we live.

[@Elephant2024-wi2li]

Cannot even begin to imagine the horrors those POWs went through. So much of our everyday lives with individual rights and freedoms that we take for granted.

[@duanetelesha]

A great movie with William Holden is Stalag 17, take a look. They are fruit eating bats, nothing to fear.

[@robertmaez6706]

I think he got an Oscar for "17". Great part for him. The cynical opportunistic sargent, who cares only for himself.

[@samuraiwarriorsunite]

Some feel that was a consolation Oscar. Many believed He should've won for Sunset Boulevard but got robbed. Of course, he was great in Stalag 17 as well.

[@mikect500]

Or his other bridge movie, "The Bridges at Toko-Ri"

[@robertmaez6706]

@@mikect500 Thanks! I had forgotten about that one. Jenifer Jones and Mickey Rooney.

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

I'm glad that you reacted to this, Madison. It's a film which deals with the complexity of the human condition, Nicholson started out doing something to inspire his men, but getting far too involved in it so he loses his way and sight of what he should be doing, only at the last moment realising what he had done. It's great when a film stays with you and makes you think, that's what this film does I think.

[@robertmaez6706]

I think that his brain was fried a little bit after his stint in the hot box.

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

​@@robertmaez6706 Maybe so.

[@stupidsmart-phone6911]

Alec Guiness in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (miniseries, 1979) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). William Holden in Picnic (1955) is one to watch on Labor Day. And The Horse Soldiers (1959) you'll like that one for sure. Jack Hawkins for Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, or Waterloo. (LOL I can't unsee Rod Steiger without yellow sunglasses after In The Heat Of The Night 😂).

[@TheTerryGene]

I would also add the “Smiley’s People” miniseries for Guinness.

[@melenatorr]

@@TheTerryGene Also Guinness (well, in pretty much anything) in "Kind Hearts and Coronets", "Captain's Paradise", "Lavender Hill Mob", "Last Holiday".

[@jefffinn1105]

Nice to see another Jack Hawkins fan! And the Alec Guinness comedies spanning the 1950s are a real treat to watch.

[@melenatorr]

@@jefffinn1105 So completely agree! Hawkins is great - I wish he were better known!

[@TheTerryGene]

Jack Hawkins is one of my favorites. He is also great in “The Cruel Sea” and John Ford’s “Gideon of Scotland Yard.”

[@CharlieCanfield]

i love the density and spareness of writer robert bolt's dialogue; at the end when William Holden and Alec Guinness realize each other's agenda. Guinness: "You!" Holden: "Yyyou!"

[@gilledwards9302]

In the presence of Guinness and Holden, it's easy to forget how distinguished a career Jack Hawkins enjoyed. He featured in many British war films but he really shone in 'The Cruel Sea' and 'Zulu'.

[@oriole21bird]

Jack Hawkins was a really good actor. I loved him in Ben-Hur.

[@roberttaylor5997]

The other day I rewatched 'Waterloo'. He's good in that too.

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

Check out another movie called the Prisoner with Hawkins as a British judge and Alec Guinness as a catholic priest with a mysterious past.

[@michaelwalsh2498]

Great Ww2 movie, with a human interest angle to it is "Heaven Knows Mr. Allison".

[@Cbcw76]

HEAVEN KNOWS MR. ALISON is a great and wonderfully 'small' film. Mitchum hardly ever does 'small' films but he proves he can do it, here. Along with this film, Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune 'go even smaller' with 1968's HELL IN THE PACIFIC about two flyers who end up on the same deserted island. That's the whole cast - two men, one island, then another island. That's it.

[@muddeer5383]

One of the greatest performance by an actress ever was in this movie by Deborah Kerr.

[@SuperVonKiller]

Another British WWII movie to watch is The Hill starring Sean Connery, a movie he said was his best work.. Very intense...

[@ericj166]

Agreed, The Hill is a brilliant film, with some amazing performances.

[@jnagarya519]

Alec Guiness is also in "Lawrence of Arabia" as King Faisal.

[@jnagarya519]

@@Dave-hb7lx The character and politics were accurate. Meanwhile, Omar Sharif is Egyptian -- Arab.

[@melenatorr]

Major Warden is played by Jack Hawkins, a great British stage and screen actor. You saw him as the Roman General in "Ben Hur". I bet you'll link up the voice, which is extremely distinctive.

[@shainewhite2781]

Winner of 7 Oscars including Best Picture Based on the novel of the same name by Pierre Boulle who would later write the novel Planet Of The Apes.

[@jenniferwilgus2327]

Do you recognize Warden? He was in Ben Hur. The Roman commander who adopted Judah Ben Hur after he saved his life.

[@tlsmack800]

My favorite scenes are at the commando school. The "King and country" attitude of the Brits vs the wheeler-dealer personality of the American was so humorous , especially when you realize the Brits knew they had Shears in checkmate all along.

[@jamesalexander5623]

For William Holden "Sunset Boulevard", "Network", "The Horse Soldiers", "Picnic", "Stalag 17" ! Guinness Won Best Actor for this!

[@rollmops7948]

Holden bled to death in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, after lacerating his forehead by slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. Forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. His body was found four days later

[@thomastimlin1724]

My crazy friend at a party once put on a pith helmet and declared "This is the William Holden Drinking Helmet."

[@davidwilkins5932]

He had a notorious “Hollywood” life.

[@vincentsaia6545]

Later research debunked the claim that he was conscious as he bled to death.

[@Elephant2024-wi2li]

OMG. Never knew that. What a horrible death.

[@brianvernon249]

I watched this in college in the late 1990s. I always liked how the ‘Merican just would not obey, behave, etc. and then he gets away! And then he comes back!

[@socalpaul487]

I recommend "Mr. Roberts" 1955, "Operation Petticoat" 1959, "The Great Escape" 1963

[@Cbcw76]

And if OPERATION PETTICOAT, then can Cary Grant's FATHER GOOSE be far behind? Hopefully not.

[@socalpaul487]

@@Cbcw76 Absolutely, "Father Goose"

[@Divamarja_CA]

Captain Newman, MD is a nice WWII movie with Gregory Peck, Angie Dickinson, Dina Merrill and Tony Curtis.

[@fast_richard]

William Holden had the kind of screen presence that made anything he was in worth watching. Some of his best: Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Escape From Fort Bravo, Sabrina, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, The Horse Soldiers, Alvarez Kelley, Network.

[@thunderstruck5484]

I remember seeing as a kid in the theater, had to lean out in the aisle watching the train crash ! classic movie never gets old, William Holden the ultimate anti hero in so many movies, thanks Madison!

[@Dej24601]

Guinness has been in so many classic films, but my recommendation to see him perform a Master Class in acting is leading actor in the 7-part tv series ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ (1979) which is filled with phenomenal actors. For fun, you can see him in a very different role in the comedy “The Captain’s Paradise” (1953.)

[@im-gi2pg]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy!🎉

[@user-sx7wo1yl7y]

On location in Ceylon (today called Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India.). Unbelievably awful conditions. Real bridge. Real train. Real explosion. No CGI. If the explosion did not work perfectly,- if only part of the ridge was destroyed, or if the train did was damaged and unusable for a reshoot, the whole movie would have been ruined- too expensive to reshoot it. This was REAL film making by a truly remarkable director. One of the great films of all time, and nothing like it will ever be made again.

[@Nitedawg1]

The officers doing labor, though ironic, still adhered to his principles. For Nicholson the bridge became a British mission that he didn’t even want the Japanese to work on. The officers were not doing slave labor for the Japanese, they were volunteering to do it for him to achieve their leader’s mission. Work you hate but are forced to do can be demeaning, the exact seem labor when done for yourself can be rewarding.

[@joeyartk]

The biggest ladies man in this movie was Sessue Hayakawa. He was a huge heartthrob in silent movies in Hollywood in the teens. He made millions of dollars a year and was famous for throwing huge drinking parties.

[@JesseOaks-ef9xn]

i was a kid when this movie came out. I didn't get to see it until many years later. They used the march from this movie in some commercials. William Holden played a prisoner of war in another movie. It was Stalag 17. It had an all-star cast and the plot had some interesting turns.

[@michaeldmcgee4499]

My favorite Alec Guiness film is "Damn the Defiant" a 19th century Btitish Navy tale. It co-stars Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle.

[@geomotion224]

A favorite moment of mine that says so much about Nicholson's character is at the very end. It has just dawned on him what he's done. He lunges toward the detonator but then is knocked down by the mortar blast. He raggedly stands up, and though injured and about to pass out and die from a situation he directly caused, the most important thing to him at that moment is to pick up his hat. Ruled by pride and propriety to his last breath.

[@craigoconnor6662]

I envy you and all the reactors like you watching great old films like this for the first time. Watching these films through the eyes of someone else makes them come alive again.

[@victorsixtythree]

If you want to see Sir Alec Guinness in a comedy role that came out just one year before Star Wars and Obi Wan Kenobi...check out "Murder By Death" from 1976. A mysterious man (played by author Truman Capote!!) invites the world's greatest detectives to his mansion to solve a murder. Written by Neil Simon and also starring, among others, Peter Falk, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Maggie Smith...and more!

[@lindajohnson4204]

A Guinness comedy we loved when we saw it at the drive-in, was "All at Sea", which I believe had another name when it was shown in England. He played a son of a naval family who was too seasick to sail. He discovers a for-sale, worn-out amusement pier on a beach, and buys it, growing and developing it until it grows so big, it breaks off in a thunderstorm and becomes a seaworthy pier, which he must navigate to a safe spot, OR else it became a sailing amusement vessel, which sailed all over the world. I remember his walking in to Lloyd's of London to get it underwritten, I guess. Though from the 50s, it had "mods" vs "rockers", with Cliff Richards representing one or the other. A fun film when I was a child of 6 or 7. Guinness also played Pip's friend and roommate in Lean's _Great Expectations,_ when he was _very_ young.

[@nmt2k2]

You have such a nuanced understanding of the craft of film, and how the craft can be applied in the service of a brilliant story. You would so, so, so much appreciate The Sting.

[@susanliltz3875]

Check out William Holden and Faye Dunaway in the movie: “NETWORK “

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Also: " Born Yesterday, The Key, The Horse Soldiers, The Devil's Brigade ".

[@leftcoaster67]

David Lean makes brilliant movies.

[@michaelbrennick]

Madison, great reaction to a great film! Nicholson was so set on his code he became fanatical. He wasn't in the least trying to help the Japanese. He got lost in his attachment to a code of honor and became delusional. He really believed in the old notions of the British Empire and his responsibility to "civilize" the Japanese militarists. He really believed that his men's bridge was going to be a shining light that would change the hardened hearts of the Empire's enemies. Nicholson was much more a Victorian Englishman, not a 20th century man at all. I totally agree with your take on Shears. On a superficial level he comes off as an opportunist and a lovable rogue. He rejects the honor codes and doesn't believe in idealistic justifications for war. He hates war, but he's completely honorable in his loyalty to soldiers that rely on him and that he relies on. Shears is a wonderfully drawn character.

[@michaelbarrett1556]

Hey Madison. Stalag 17 is one of my favorite movies which happens to star William Holden. I highly recommend it. Oh, and enjoy your reactions tremendously. Keep up the good work!

[@MojaveEast]

"Pyrrhic victory" is the phrase you were looking for at the end.

[@beatmet2355]

There’s not only a connection to Star Wars via Alec Guinness, there’s also a connection to the Star Wars spoof, Spaceballs. The whistled theme of this movie was also used in Spaceballs, as the tune for the little people with Yogurt.

[@kbrewski1]

Only 2 seconds of the famous whistling theme as they enter the POW camp to demonstrate to the Japanese how prideful they are????!!!!! That intro scene sets the whole theme of the movie!!

[@lindajohnson4204]

"Colonel Bogies March", the whistled theme, was a very popular song when the movie was released! Grownups discussed the issues of the story the same way kids discussed what happened at the OK Corral.

[@perrymalcolm3802]

A hell of a great picture!! Anything by David Lean is superb!

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

The last ten minutes were some of the most tense and suspenseful sequences. I remember screaming with excitement with the sounds of the train coming

[@nealrepetti2396]

I've bin watching this movie 🎥 for 50 odd years and, you hit the nail on the head Maddy!

[@stanleywiggins5047]

The Dr's words at the end sums it up, "Madness, total madness,!!

[@jbigger59]

You really, REALLY need to watch another David Lean directed masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia. The man is the master of wide screen, epic film making.

[@PE4Doers]

In addition to 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', the movies I love with William Holden, include are 'Stalag 17', 'The Horse Soldiers', 'Network', and the 'Devils Brigade.'

[@flarrfan]

This and Great Escape are both superior POW movies...Some would include Stalag 17, which also starred Holden, but for my taste it's just a good adaptation of a play and doesn't compare with the other two. Great Escape is also based on a true story, rather than fictional like the other two. IMO Holden's best performances were in Sunset Blvd. (1950) and Network (1976).

[@jefffinn1105]

I completely agree with Sunset Blvd & Network over the merely entertaining Stalag 17.

[@jasonjuneau3554]

The movie was based on a book by Pierre Boulle. From what I have read, Nicholson's character was based on Vichy French officers in Indochina who collaborated with the Japanese.

[@staffan-]

Always great to see someone reacting to this amazing movie! Alec Guinness is such a good actor. Another Alec Guinness movie from the same time period that I like is "Our man in Havana" (1959). It combines light-hearted comedy with serious suspense.

[@batman51]

If you want to see more of Alec Guiness, you should watch Kind Hearts and Coronets where he plays seven different parts!

[@vincentsaia6545]

One of the inaccuracies: The Japanese were expert engineers who by this time had built a railroad from Manchuria through Southeast Asia and didn't have to beg the British on how to build a bridge.

[@Dontuween]

I mentioned elsewhere that this movie is really about obsessions. Nicholson & Colonel Saito obsessed with building that bridge. Major Warden obsessed with destroying that bridge. Young Lt. Joyce thrusting for ANY kind of action. And Shears with the most reasonable obsession - wanting to get away from it all!

[@flatebo1]

Saito is obsessed with building the bridge because honor compels him to obey the dictates of his superiors. Nicholson is told that the elm timbers used in the construction of London Bridge lasted 600 years, kicking off his obsession with the bridge as his legacy, his shot at a kind of immortality, being remembered by future generations who will use his bridge.

[@DEWwords]

Bill Holden: NETWORK, STALAG 17, SUNSET BOULEVARD... those are his very best.

[@colinglen4505]

If you get a chance, have a look at Alec Guinness in Tunes of Glory. He plays a different kind of military man in that and he's superb.

[@michaelstach5744]

This is about the character arcs. The British Colonel switches from resistance of the officers working to getting the officers to build a high quality bridge. The Japanese Colonel despises the British for their surrender but ends up needing them to accomplish his orders. Shears hates the camp and wants to save his own skin; in the end he sacrifices his own life for the mission. The main characters move their povs 180degrees over the course of the movie and we go along for the ride.

[@digitalbegley]

As a child I enjoyed this movie, certainly stirred an interest in the Second World War. Whilst in the army in the 90s my regiment would often host the Burma Star Association on special occasions. On talking to veterans I asked them about this movie and they all hated the plot as it completely misrepresented them and their actions during their time in captivity. One non-commissioned officer from a Highland Regiment said to me "they could never make a movie of the misery that we had to suffer, audiences just would not understand". I will be making a pilgrimage to the Burma Railway in a few weeks time so quite poignant to watch this film now.

[@Dej24601]

It is very loosely based on events concerning the building of the Burma-Siam bridge during the war. The locations used for the film are actually all in Sri Lanka (Ceylon at that time.)

[@ThistleAndSea]

Very grey. Yes. Nothing easy about this one, not if you're really thinking about it, but what a great story. Thanks for sharing this one, Madison I enjoyed rewatching and thinking again about this one with you.

[@mikeduplessis8069]

1957 is just 12 years after the end of the war. To us that would be like doing a historical drama set in 2012.

[@chefskiss6179]

David Lean. That's all one can say when left speechless. I mentioned it when you noted this film was coming soon, but I'll say it again... I love that you're getting to some historic epics, and it would be great if you got around to 1982's Gandhi.

[@dougearnest7590]

Gandhi, the guy who told the Jews not to resist the Nazis, and who encouraged the Indians to help the Japanese. We only know his name because he was opposing the British. Had he been in Germany or Japan or Russia opposing the government, we probably would have never heard of him.

[@torbjornkvist]

The idea with Major Warden (the great Jack Hawkins) is that he's a fanatic, with much fighting experience. He was captured by the enemy, and tortured, but he escaped. A man of action behind that civilized, polite British frame.

[@NoLegalPlunder]

Alec was in a lot of great movies. A little unknown movie of his called Last Holiday left me speechless.

[@jorluo]

My favorite "I love Lucy" episode has always been S4E17: "L.A. at Last!", where the Ricardos and the Mertzes arrive in Hollywood and Lucy goes to the Brown Derby restaurant where her sighting of William Holden (who plays himself) turns catastrophic.

[@lindajohnson4204]

I remember Lucy trying so hard to meet Holden in the Brown Derby. Was this the one where Lucy disguises herself with glasses and a putty nose, and the nose gets lit, rather than the cigarette? When my mama was dying of cancer, she had VA care because she had been in the WAVEs in WWII. Once, when she was staying there a few days, she had a nasogastric tube, taped to the end of her nose. When we went to the semi-outdoors smoking tent, another female patient was there, and we started a conversation. When mom tried carefully to light her cigarette and not her tube or the tape, she said it made her feel like Lucy lighting her putty nose, and we all just broke down in laughter. She didn't light her NG tube, but we all kept laughing and laughing, and still laughed when we got back to the room, and whenever we thought of it, later Mom rediscovered _I Love Lucy_ in those months, and we watched the whole series on cable. She thought the episode on the train, where Lucy kept pulling the emergency brakes, was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

[@jorluo]

@@lindajohnson4204 Heh, if you write in KZbin search: I Love Lucy: LA at last, you'll find a 4 minute colored version of that nose story. Makes me laugh every time.

[@lindaosika7648]

I remember a tv series called Tenko about women in a Japanese POW camp. The characters were wonderful.

[@steelers6titles]

The jaunty theme is "Colonel Bogey". Keeping morale high.

[@tomwillcutts2918]

Madison - natural for you to associate Alec Guinness with his famous role of playing Obi-wan ... When you compare that role to this movie and his part in another great movie of its time, you can really appreciate his talent and his range. I'm speaking of Lawrence of Arabia, where it can be hard to spot Alec playing Semitic royalty as King Faisal.

[@Cbcw76]

Alec's Obi-Wan was a total shocker when it arrived in theaters. I think all the fans were shocked, then happily shocked then always so pleased - until his fate.

[@oriole21bird]

William Holdens performance in this is one of my favorites of all time. The reluctant anti hero. This film is amazing and also holds up extremely well. Its really one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen even though the circumstances are so dire. I'm glad you liked it!

[@104w44n]

The Wild Bunch analogy is a good one ... and they both have trains too.

[@mattx449]

James Donald who played Clipton also played Theo Van Gogh in Lust for Life. Excellent film.

[@MrAitraining]

A true classic. It's also the very 1st movie I bought when films started coming out on DVD. While this specific op isn't true, there were hundreds of covert/destruction operations not far off from this throughout Word War 2

[@ronbopostal]

I always used to watch this movie every time I got the flu. 161 minutes of numbness to my aches and pains. I haven't watched this for nearly 30 years, ever since I started getting a yearly flu shot.

[@flibber123]

The test of wills between the two commanders, and it all gets undone by an unexpected turn of events(the commando raid). That's the part of this movie that never gets old for me. The British commander winds up putting his officers AND sick and injured to work, that's how far off the deep end he jumped.

[@kbrewski1]

You missed/edited out the irony of the exchange between Saito and Nicholson as they were alone on the finished bridge. As the sun was setting, Saito looks at the sunset, and says "beautiful". Nicholson mistakes it as Saito complimenting HIM and the British work on the Bridge. That shows how far afield and obsessed Nicholson had become about the bridge.

[@user-sy5vv4ze3h]

Another great reaction, as always, but I want to focus on some recommendations. Guinness made his reputation on a series of tremendous, off-beat comedies in the 1950s, especially “The Man in the White Suit” (1951), “The Lavender Hill Mob” (1951), and “The Ladykillers” (1955). His best drama, I think, which Guinness thought contained some of his best work, was “A Passage to India” (1984), based on my favorite E. M. Forster novel. However, Guinness was furious with Lean for leaving much of that performance on the cutting-room floor. Holden also had many great movies. He won an Academy Award as best actor for “Stalag 17” (1953). “Executive Suite” (1954) is also terrific, and in his last film, “The Earthling” (1980), he gave a moving performance as a man dying of cancer while he himself was dying of cancer.

[@user-vq5cj4bo1f]

Youve seen Jack Hawkins who played Warden in Ben Hur. He played Admiral Quintus Arius ,who was saved by and then adopted Ben Hur. Great reaction to a great movie here. Another great one is Spartacus. Jean Simmons who was in The Big Country is in it..And talk about gut punches.,the end of it would bring tears to a statue.

[@tonyherrera2570]

Excellent reaction to a cinematic classic. William Holden is one of my favorite actors. I recommend that you watch a couple of other Holden classics. Stalag 17 and Sunset Blvd. They’re both wonderful movies👍🏼👍🏼😊.

[@francoisevassy6614]

I am glad you commented this great movie. I hope you recognised the great English actor, Jack Hawkins (the sea officer rescued by Ben Hur who adopts him), I recommend : • The Cruel Sea • The Long Arm - a very underrated movie My other recommendations are Alec Guinness : • Kind Hearts and Coronets (he plays every member of a family, including the old suffragette lady) • The Lavender Hill Mob William Holden : • Sabrina (with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart) • Stalag 17 (his Oscar) And also for Sessue Hayakawa : • Three Came Home (starring Claudette Colbert - a WW2 movie, he plays a decent Japanese Officer). Greetings from France 🇫🇷

[@dennisgerner2416]

Believe that film was shot in Ceylon. Real bridge survived in Thailand as a Tourist spot.

[@thunderstruck5484]

Right before he dies he realizes what he had done, probably everything including building the bridge in the first place,

[@JS-wp4gs]

Its worth mentioning its not surprising at all that saito didn't know what he was doing in regards to the picking the bridges location. Japanese pow camp commanders, like their staff and guards were assigned specifically because they were incompetent at their jobs, so they were given the jobs nobody else wanted anything to do with and nobody actually cared about as prisoners were intended to be executed the moment the allies landed on the home islands (which never ended up happening because of the surrender) In short, they basically viewed it as second hand dishonor to have to deal with people who dishonored themselves by allowing themselves to be taken prisoner so the incompetents were given the job of dealing with them, and were also treated exceptionally poorly themselves by anyone higher in rank than they were. So alot of things went into making pow camps the hellholes that they were

[@Atlas_Redux]

An absolutely amazing movie. This and Das Boot are so underrepresented on react channels and needs more attention.

[@flatebo1]

The novel The Bridge on the River Kwai was written by Pierre Boulle who also wrote the novel Planet of the Apes. Sessue Hayakawa (Colonel Saito) was a popular Hollywood sex symbol of the 1910s/20s, mostly playing as a villain. "There are times to compromise and times to not compromise" "Never compromise. Even in the face of Armageddon." - Rorschach.

[@jhilal2385]

POW's: "The Great Escape" (1963) "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) "Von Ryan's Express" (1965) "Stalag 17" (1953)

[@davidclarke7122]

Jack Hawkins, who played Warden, was a great British actor. To see him in perhaps his finest role, watch " The Cruel Sea" 1953, in which he plays George Ericson, captain of HMS Compass Rose in the battle of the Atlantic, check it's score on Rotten Tomatoes and Imdb

[@jamesdrynan]

Guinness was great! " What have I done? " Fantastic cast, direction and what a wreck! For real, no fakery there.

[@Turok279]

Madison , Great reaction . This was one of the Big Ones. In the 60’s and 70’s when I was growing up most people didn’t have cable tv and there was no home media or streaming. So you only got to see a major movie like this maybe once a year when it would come on tv. This movie and The Magnificent Seven , The Great Escape , The Guns of Navarone , were huge events for young men. You could count on everyone watching them and talking about them for days afterward. These were important movies for us that helped shape our outlook on life.

[@kermitcook8498]

William Holden POW. STALAG 17. Civil War Western? THE HORSE SOLDIERS, ALVAREZ KELLY. Col Saito homage role in THE GEISHA BOY. Among Sir Alec's nearly 40 movies is the lighter side? THE LADY KILLERS, MURDER BY DEATH. The real bridge is iron and looks like bridges you see as highway overpasses. It was bombed and rebuilt. Today, it is a tourist attraction. Col Bogey March is from WWI. There were rude lyrics added for WWII. They chose to whistle for this movie.

[@johncooper8537]

One of the supporting actors Percy Herbert was actually a prisoner of the japanese during the war.

[@susanfox6666]

I saw this movie many years ago. Decades now. I love all the points you brought up. I remember being downhearted at the end. Wasn't sure I wanted to see this reaction, but I was a kid when I saw this. Thanks for doing a great reaction..

[@salmanilla7943]

Check out Lawrence of Arabia, it's Alec Guinness wielding a different kind of saber.

[@chuckschulze6877]

Merril's mauraders is a fantastic and true movie about the war in Burma.

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Hello Madison K. Thames, you have selected a good one. There are some stalwart actors in this one. You will see them in many movies. Such as some viewers may spot Obi Wan Kenobi, or others may spot Pike. The young actress is lovely. The theme song was #1 on the radio for a time. Mitch Miller had a weekly T.V. Show. This is not a Western. It is more of a " Jungle "; which brings to mind " Tarzan's Fight for Life " a movie that I once had a fondness for. That movie got me onto an archery kick. Turned out I had an aptitude for. I seem to recall that " Commander Shears " was aboard the Cruiser Houston when it was sunk. The recovered Ship's Bell and one Lewis Gun is on display inside the Battleship Texas BB - 35 that is now at port in Galveston, Texas. " Hey! "

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Hello Madison K. Thames, for many years my favorite Alec Guiness movie was " All at Sea ". It was probably not his best, but it always tickled me. From about the same time frame for me was " The Inspector General " starring Danny Kaye. It tickled me back then too. It would be a good Saturday if either of those movies were scheduled for viewing.

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Hello Madison KL. Thames, when I first saw this movie, I had no clue about leeches. I have since learned that are critters similar to garden slugs and snails. Sprinkling salt upon them is the worst and they will let go. Garden slugs release slime until they soak and wash off the salt, or if more salt is sprinkled upon them, until they dehydrate and desiccate. Before learning about the salt solution for leeches, strategically placed cigarette embers would cause them to release. Salt is faster. Anyways keep out of swamps and jungles, if possible. Did you know that the bloodsucking mosquito is the Female? Males don't bite, only mate.

[@clutchpedalreturnsprg7710]

Hello Madison K. Thames, here is Eddy the flying fox's tale: KZbin video: Bat acts like a dog, demands belly rubs

[@kbrewski1]

A corrugated steel or tin "cell", sitting outside in the blistering jungle heat of Thailand, with no light, in a box of of probably 6 x 6, would be 10 times worse than a Large Plastic Port o Potty. There is a reason it was called The Oven.

[@feldweible]

My first optometrist survived the Bataan Death March and years in Japanese prison camps until Japan finally surrendered. He would never buy anything Japanese. The vile treatment he an all prisoners of the Japanese endured makes me angry with Gen. MacArthur for his keeping many Japanese War Criminals from being tried for their crimes.