A character study of men in wartime and I would say David Lean's best film. A three hour movie but Lean is able to hold the audience's attention by developing the characters in the first hour. The story is about Allied soldiers in World War II held prisoner in a Japanese camp and forced to build a bridge. William Holden plays an American soldier who escapes and is rescued by British soldiers who ask him to go back in there plan to blow up the bridge. Holden's actubg is wonderful. However the most powerful performance and one of the best ever shown on the screen is that of Alec Guiness as Colonel Nicholson who due to his honor and convictions refuses to kowtow to the head of the Japanese prison camp demands. The head of the camp Col Saito was played brilliantly by Sessue Hayakawa. The last scene in the movie is a classic and will have you on the edge of your seats. This movie is not to be missed.
