This movie from 1957 is a great story. One gets into the story with a great deal of respect for Colonel Nicholson ( played by Alec Guinness) who has at great risk to himself defied a Japanese commander of a POW camp in WWII. However later in the movie we see how even the best intentions can go wrong.
William Holden plays American POW Commander Shears who escapes from the camp and ends up against his will returning.
Guinness was masterful in this role. His voice slides like jelly on toast, the refined officer who wins his battle of wills and as a method of building moral for his troops builds a proper bridge perhaps losing sight of the correctness of this action.
The most telling storyline of the movie for me was that as the deadline for the bridge's completion gets closer Nicholson asks the junior officers to work on the bridge ( the very thing he fought against tooth and nail earlier in the movie) and even rousts soldiers of the sick bay to work to meet the deadline. In the end like Orwell's Animal Farm the Colonel becomes what he rebelled against.
The conclusion like the rest of the movie is excellent. This is a movie that makes you think, their is a smattering of violence and perhaps a few lessons on war to be learned along the way. You could do much worse than spend a Sunday afternoon if you are cooped up inside watching this movie.
Showing posts with label William Holden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Holden. Show all posts
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Wild Bunch
This movie is complex. While watching it I changed my mind a couple of times about how I felt about it. In the first half hour I almost gave it the hook but as the movie progressed I did appreciate it.
The overarching theme of the beginning and the end of the movie is violence. Violence, violence. Some parts of the movie were quite special. The film shot, the picturesque was in some cases magnificent. The actors William Holden and Ernest Borgnine were perfect fits.
Holden who I did not have a great knowledge of as an actor was firm and resolute, with a measured approach. I guess one could say a man's man. Borgnine , understated in his role, but still as with all of his roles he played the part with just the right pitch.
In the end the characters trying to adjust to a modernizing world go out in a blaze of glory with a wink and a nod to each other. The unspoken decision to confront great odds and risk death for what becomes the final time is worth watching. To so callously roll the dice in so casual a way about one's life tells much about the characters and where they are in their lives.
I was on the fence with this movie but in the end I give this a well above average movie.
The overarching theme of the beginning and the end of the movie is violence. Violence, violence. Some parts of the movie were quite special. The film shot, the picturesque was in some cases magnificent. The actors William Holden and Ernest Borgnine were perfect fits.
Holden who I did not have a great knowledge of as an actor was firm and resolute, with a measured approach. I guess one could say a man's man. Borgnine , understated in his role, but still as with all of his roles he played the part with just the right pitch.
In the end the characters trying to adjust to a modernizing world go out in a blaze of glory with a wink and a nod to each other. The unspoken decision to confront great odds and risk death for what becomes the final time is worth watching. To so callously roll the dice in so casual a way about one's life tells much about the characters and where they are in their lives.
I was on the fence with this movie but in the end I give this a well above average movie.
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