# The Bridge on the River Kwai - should I watch it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642 "2010-11-06T00:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/21 "2010-11-06T04:23:33Z")
Also of interest is the story behind the screenplay - it was written by Michael Wilson but not credited to him, as he was blacklisted at the time. In some ways you can see the story is about the situation with respect to the HUAC for people in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/22 "2010-11-06T05:16:29Z")
After purposely by-passing it for most of my life, I finally watched it this Summer. Great story, great period acting, slow paced/building yet weirdly compelling, great ending. Definitely worth the watch. 4 stars. Probably one of my favorite movies now. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/23 "2010-11-06T05:20:12Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Those are the very qualities that made _Network_ one of the greatest films ever. I walked out of **Network** mad as hell and was not going to take it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/24 "2010-11-06T05:25:01Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Those are the very qualities that made _Network_ one of the greatest films ever. To be fair, while Holden was brilliant in _Network_, Ned Beatty really takes top honors with his five minute monologue on “the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today!” This may be the single greatest speech in film, ever. “I have seen the face of God.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/25 "2010-11-06T05:48:16Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > To be fair, while Holden was brilliant in _Network_, Ned Beatty really takes top honors with his five minute monologue on “the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today!” This may be the single greatest speech in film, ever. It’s been years since I’ve seen _Network_, but I remember that being my least favorite part. The rest of the movie was brilliant satire; right on the knife edge between being preposterous and still plausible. Then Beatty’s speech was the sort of faux eloquence that just didn’t ring true as actual dialog. And it seemed to be going for some sort of omniscient puppet-master thing that wasn’t in the rest of the movie. I’ll watch it again one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/26 "2010-11-06T08:23:36Z")
I’ve only ever seen bits and pieces of the film, but next week [The Music Box](http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/features/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai/) theater in Chicago is playing it for a week. Is it an anniversary or something? It’ll be great to see it for the first time, from beginning to end, on film and on a big screen. We saw **Lawrence of Arabia** that way last year, and I’m so glad. I’ve owned the DVDs for both movies for years, but could never bring myself to watch them, not even on our big screen. They deserve to be seen the way they were originally shown. LoA did anyway, and I assume Kwai too. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/27 "2010-11-06T11:41:50Z")
I only made it about halfway, then was suddenly overcome by sleepiness and had to go to bed. No, it wasn’t the movie’s fault! 🙂 Just a rough day. I’ll be happy to watch the whole thing next time it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/28 "2010-11-06T12:50:20Z")
As a movie, it’s great. The way Lean builds the tension approaching the climax is masterful. But I just can’t watch the film anymore ever since I learned what it was really like for allied POWs in Japanese hands. I can’t suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/29 "2010-11-06T13:03:10Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I’ve only ever seen bits and pieces of the film, but next week [The Music Box](http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/features/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai/) theater in Chicago is playing it for a week. Is it an anniversary or something? Not an anniversary, but I’d guess the screening is linked to the film just being released on Blu-ray. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642/30 "2010-11-06T14:32:31Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Really? _Sunset Blvd._? _Stalag 17_? _The Wild Bunch_? _Network_? All of which could have been done better by other actors; and if you’re willing to play imaginary casting director, I’ll bet you could name several. All actors have to be egotists, but Holden’s was wrapped up in his bitter, self-centered alcoholism, and it puts a wall between him and his audience. As for BotRK, in my opinion, Pierre Boulle wrote it about the collaborationism of _French_ officers in SE Asia, David Lean pitched it to send up British attitudes that led to the disasters of World War _One_ not Two, and William Holden was cast in it to attract American audiences. It’s no more dedicated to the POW’s of SE Asia than Buster Keaton’s **The General** is about the Civil War: it just a set-up for dumping a train in a river. Historically, I’ll could say that perhaps BotRK generated enough interest so that later, [better movies\*](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0ROG2oitPI) about POW’s in SE Asia could be made, but I can’t because it’s such a rich resource on its own, and BotRK only muddied the waters. Thank you for letting me have my say. \*the Japanese officer is the same actor who played the court jester in _Ran_. Now there’s range. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bridge-on-the-river-kwai-should-i-watch-it/559642.md?page=1)