What begins as a fairly standard POW film in the Great Escape vein (parts of this are rather obviously an influence on that later film) morphs into something much more psychologically interesting in David Lean’s adaptation of the novel The Bridge Over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. Buoyed by a staggering performance from Alec Guinness – one that easily could have turned into caricature in the hands of a less gifted actor – the film splits into two sections: the first featuring Guinness’ Colonel Nichol­son and his captured British POWs building the titular bridge under the watch of the initially
Read More