@@flarrfan I almost always suggest good but seldom or never reacted to movies. However reactors seem to only want to react to what I refer to as the Redbox selection. LOL.
@@flarrfan Like "Bridge on the River Kwai", "The Great Escape" also has an unmistakable whistled theme song, but it wasn't actually a popular tune during the war like the "Colonel Bogey March" in BotRK.
The movie is based on a novel by French author Pierre Boulle, partly based on his own experiences in the war. Boulle also wrote the novel "Planet of the Apes" that was made into a film in 1968.
David Lean is a brilliant director and this movie never fails. The “madness” message is universal and the mental health “make-up” of Nicholson is fascinating, and Guinness gives a master acting class in officiousness. And the difference between his “you” and William Holden’s more disgusted “you” is palpable! Listen, if anyone was moved by this movie, I have a few other David Lean movies: Great Expectations, Brief Encounter, Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Passage to India, Summertime, Oliver Twist and Ryan’s Daughter. He evolved from film editor to director and the movies he edited are also worth watching!
Shears felt that war was absurd, and he tried anything to survive within it, but he wasn't like contemporary clueless, and selfish people. Shears, would bend any rule, to make sure he came out ahead, when it involved empty, abstract ideas of honor. But when placed in a situation where others depended on him, he believed in individual honor. That is why at the end, he did his duty and sacrificed himself, not for abstract war aims, but because of his duty to the men he was with.
Your best work ever!!!!! Love your respect for a 1957 movie. Keep reacting to the oldies....this movie should be a lesson learned....!!! Movie making at its finest!!!! Love u both!!!!
The legendary Sessue Hayakawa who played Col. Saito was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for his role in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Hayakawa who was a remarkebly handsome young man was a major Hollywood star an and sex symbol to American women in the nineteen teens and 1920s silent film era. His stardom and his wealth rivaled that of Charlie Chaplin during that era. He was also known to throw wild Hollywood parties in his Hollywood mansion in his younger years. Hayakawa's career lasted into the late 1960s when he retired from acting. Nice reaction guys. I always enjoy watching you guys comment on the movies you watch. It's very entertaining.
I love how under Nicholson's command, he allows his officers to perform manual labor on the bridge...which was the whole principal at the root of the conflict between Nicholson and Saito to begin with.
Glad you enjoyed William Holden who played Shears. He won an Academy Award for 1953's Stalag 17. David Lean the director is known for his epics, particularly 1962's Lawrence of Arabia.
Fun fact about the railway; Weary Dunlop was an Australian medical officer who was renowned for treating POW's in Thailand on the Burma railway. Worth having a look at his life if you like studying war.
There is also the book Return to the Kwai. A memorable anecdote from the book is about the prisoners rescuing orphaned kittens to serve for Christmas dinner.
This location of the events in the movie was Burma, now known as Myanmar. It was one of the many British holdings in Southeast Asia at that time, along with India. The Japanese attacked China before they attacked the United States, and threatened the entire Southeast Asian theater as a result. As part of their efforts, the Japanese used enforced civilian and prisoner of war labor to build the "Burma Railway," also known as the "Death Railway," in order to supply their efforts.
You can go to see the actual bridge on the River Kwai (or Khwae Noi) in Kanchanabari in Thailand, not Myanmar, plus many war graves. It is a steel bridge taken from Indonesian and transported to Thailand by the Japanese. The prisoners built new foundations for it.
Marian & Joy, for another profound look at what prisoners of war endure , watch "The Deer Hunter" (1978). Starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, and John Savage. 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor.
A magnificent film. Colonel Nicholson's immortal line, "What have I done?" is one of the most "borrowed" lines of all time. Starring Sir Alec Guinness, who went on to a higher level of film immortality as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Well, I really don't think that "what have I done?" is a line strictly linked to this movie. I think it was said about a billion times before and after, in movies and in real life😂
The author of the book on which this is based, Pierre Boulle, also wrote the book "Planet of the Apes," which was adapted into another classic film twelve years after this one.
The big question... did the movie diverge from book or did the book diverge from the movie? We already know the answer... Even so, Dear Reader, go read the book if you have not yet.
I love this movie. I first saw it when I was around 10 years old and the ending blew my mind. I never saw anything like it before. It opened my eyes to the true ugliness of war. Nicholson's Battalion of prisoners came from Singapore almost certainly. The Japanese took a lot of prisoners when they took Singapore. And Shears came from the USS Houston, an American cruiser that got trapped in the Phillipines and ended up fighting to the death against an entire Japanese Task Force.
David Lean would win the Oscar for Best Directing for this film as well as for Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - I would suggest you add that film to your list. He was a multi-skilled filmmaker, nominated 5 more times for Best Director, 3 times for Best Screenplay and once for Best Editing. Steven Spielberg has said he was one of his greatest influences.
Oh my God! One of my all-time favorites! So glad reactors are giving it more attention! Also, Japan was not a signatory of the Geneva Convention until well after WWII, so in real life, there was no expectation from captured Allies to be treated in accordance with it.
These are British and Australian troops. During ww2 in the British lost overseas territories such as Mayla, Singapore, and Burma. 130,000 British and Australian troops became captives of the Japanese. They endured three and half years of brutal captivity. The Japanese put many onto the infamous Thai Burma railway which killed between 12 and 15,000 prisoners of war. As great as this film is it truly was alot worse for thousands of prisoners in the far east.
1:09 Mark! Pierre Boulle! I read the novel back in high school as it was one of the library books. He also wrote the novel "Planet of the Apes" that the movies and two television series, one live-action and one animated cartoon, not CGI, and both on "CBS" were based on! 😊
Alec Guinness's greatest role, winning an Oscar for Best Actor. Sessue Hayakawa is also great as the Colonel Saito being nominated but sadly not winning Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in this role.
This is Thailand. The movie was filmed in Sri Lanka. The British were all over SE Asia as it was still the British Empire, and they were in near constant conflict with Japan during the war, not just Germany.. The British were in Australia, Burma, and they were in India and Sri Lanka. British Empire forces in Singapore, Thailand surrendered early in the war. Colonel Nicholson literally says the Bridge is a great vehicle for keeping his men engaged and in order, as well as to show the world the quality of the British Army to build a quality bridge that would last beyond the war. At the very end he realizes his mistake. You never figured out Colonel Nicholson is Alec Guinness who played Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV. Consider viewing two other David Lean masterpieces: "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago." Especially Lawrence of Arabia - widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is partly based on reality, there was a river Kwai and a bridge built by the British POW. The geographic position was Malaysia. The prisoners were the result of the British surrender at Singapore. More than 100,000 prisoners were taken, and 1/3 of them died from very bad treatment from the Japanese. This was South East Asia, and very few Americans were there. US prisoners suffered at the Phillipines.
0:00 Mark! Before I start viewing your reaction video, I want to share something! Have you ever seen "The Beverly Hillbillies"? The actress that plays "Jane Hathaway" the banker's secretary and personal assistant? She's not in the Lindsay or Lindsey Lohan version of "The Parent Trap" but she is in the original version starring Hayley Mills! In that movie, there's a Summer camp setting for part of the movie. The girls reenact the scene with the whistling British POWs marching along because I think that's how they regard the camp leader! 😂
The Japanese advance through SE Asia was so rapid, and together with defensive mistakes made by the British, the Japanese were able to create a seige situation on the island of Singapore, even though the British had more troops. Ultimately, they cut off fresh water supplies from the Malaysian mainland and began a relentless bombing program, eventually forcing the surrender of approx 80000 British, Australian, Indian, and local troops, who became prisoners of war, many of whom died in forced labour camps. Whilst the movie is set in Thailand, it is based on the construction of the Burma Railway. The movie itself is completely fictional.
Loosely based on a real place and real events. Three more classic WWII POW films include KING RAT (1965), STALAG 17 (1953), and THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963). KING RAT is amazing, and based on the novel by James Clavell, a survivor of Changi Prison, and had some extras who also survived that prison.
19:29 Mark! You hate the war, but you're still viewing the movie! 🎉 So you aren't one of those people who hate war as a concept and therefore avoid and/or ignore entertainment that depicts war! 😊
Germany generally abided by the Geneva convention in its treatment of British and US prisoners, but not Russians. Japan never finally signed the convention.
36:50 Mark! Thumb Up #653! 👍 (I tapped on it, and it went down because somehow it was automatically liked for me! Ugh! So I tapped on it to make it an official like from me, but the number was no longer 655!) You're welcome, and thanks! 😊 Notes: The movie is based on a novel, not a history book, as novels usually are works of fiction, right? 🤔 It wasn't a biography or autobiographical. Virginia?!?! 😂😅 It isn't a tropical state! 😮
16:06 Mark! See how the men are not fully clothed as they work because of the heat? 🤔 In another post, I wondered if women would do the same under such conditions. But thanks to seeing Joy here, I finally remembered the movie with female POWs! Gardening was the most physical manual labor, as was nursing. But the worst for them was being used as sex alaves! 😮 So, no, they weren't used for projects like this one. 😮
You see how each represented the Japanese, British, and American behaved. Such a brilliantly executed movie. Another David Lean masterpiece. You should check out his other movies like Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago.
Joy seems to be fully tuned into what’s going on... almost 100% correct. However, Marian is wrong, the setting is not Japan nor Thailand, it's Burma or 'Myanmar’ as it’s now known. There was no part of WWII going on in mainland Japan, and it was the primarily the British and Aussies who fought the Japanese on mainland Asia, while the Yanks fought them in the Pacific. Although this movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is set in Burma (now Myanmar) during World War II, the actual bridge featured in the film was located in Sri Lanka. The River Kwai itself runs through both Burma and Thailand, and the bridge's construction is based on historical events related to the Burma Railway, which was built by Allied prisoners of war and Asian labourers under Japanese supervision.
And the British were involved because the railway was aimed at a potential invasion of British-controlled India...This was the era of the British empire which didn't begin to end until India won independence a few years after the war.
You seem to have got a few things wrong as the "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is definitely set in Thailand , not Burma. The POW camp housing the workers was just outside Kanchanaburi in Thailand where one of the bridges can be found today. The River Kwai did not run though Burma and Thailand, in fact the name was just based on the mispronunciation of a Thai word. There has never been a "River Kwai" in Thailand and the bridge was built over the Khwae( pronounced like square) Yai which is a tributary of the Maekhlong river. After crossing the bridge the railway followed the other tributary, Khwae Noi until near Burma.
Guiness regretted playing Obi Wan Kenobe near the end of his life . Because he was only remembered by younger people for that one role , not for the incredible films that he made , like this one .
The Americans didn’t join the war until well after the Australian and British were in Japan. There is a town in France called Villers-Bretonneux which has a memorial for the Australian soldiers who saved them from German occupation.
You were right about the Japanese . They treated prisoners with contempt and afflicted many atrocities on them. The Germans and the British for the best part abided by The Geneva convention. It was in the German's interest as they expected their own POWs to be treated well by the allies also. As you mentioned,the Japanese forbid their soldiers to surrender and any who were captured were expected to kill themselves. There is a very interesting film called The Railway Man you should watch.
Great story from the film was the casting of actor Percy Herbert.. David Lean told him he would never get a part in the film because he didn't look the part. Percy apparently grabbed Director Lean and put him up against the wall, saying "what do you fucking know. I built the fucking bridge and it's still standing.. Percy had spent 4 years as a Japanese POW. He did indeed build the railway and the bridge. Lean gave him a part and made him technical advisor on the film.. The whistling on cornel Bogey came from Percy. He said they would whistle it as an act of passive aggression.. Percy maintained that the Japanese were brutal, but the British officers could be worse. After the war Percy and some of his comrade's pressed charges against there own officers. Percy went on to have a great career in British movies. James bond actor Roger Moore thought the world of him and always tried to get him work..
Such a great film, Love your reactions, You guys are so cute. JUST TO LET YOU KNOW... the real true story, Starring COLLIN FIRTH,is (The Railway Man , 2013) you have to watch END credits for update, on there lives. Enjoy, is a very underrated film.
20:46 “At the same time, after the war people can use it for a good purpose”. Ok, meantime, potentially millions (or at least hundreds of thousands) of people could die from the construction of an enemy supply route 🤷🏻♂ 23:04 “I think he knows something”. No, the medical officer doesn’t know what’s going on. The reason he ‘doesn’t want to be part of it’ is that he disagrees with what he sees as the British *helping* the Japanese by building the bridge.
One interesting fact about this movie is that when they blew up the bridge, it was not a special effect. They build a real bridge, and drove a real train across it, and blew it up. That meant they had one shot. No re-takes.
British forces (inc. Indians, West Africans and Australians) fought a long, vicious war against the Japanese in Burma. The Americans fought them in New Guinea and the Pacific.
There was plenty of conflict between the British and Duthc Empire in Asia, because the Netherlands owned Indonesia, and Britain owned: India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Burma, Hong Kong and dozens of other places.
Another great POW movie is "Empire of The Sun" directed by Spielberg. It introduced us to Christian Bale as a child actor who successfully transitioned to adult actor.
Japan didn't sign the Geneva Convention until 1953, eight years after WW2. The other Axis powers Germany and Italy had signed it in 1906 and 1864 respectively.
