A critically acclaimed war epic has arrived on Amazon Prime, and viewers are calling it “a true masterpiece.” Despite being nearly 70 years old, the film’s legacy still doesn’t fail to captivate audiences with its sweeping scale, psychological tension, and extraordinary performances.
Where many war movies focus on battlefield spectacle, David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai chooses to examine pride, duty, and moral ambiguity in conflict. It is widely considered one of the best British war films ever made.
Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle and released in 1957, the movie is set during World War II and follows a group of British prisoners of war who are forced to build a bridge for their Japanese captors in the Burmese jungle.
At the centre is Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness, a proud and disciplined officer who gradually loses sight of his role as a prisoner. Rather than resist the enemy’s orders, Nicholson insists on building the best bridge possible – a symbol of British excellence and honour, even under captivity. Opposite him is William Holden’s character, an American escapee who is later ordered to return and help sabotage the bridge.
The film slowly evolves into a psychological power struggle between honour and reason, obsession and sabotage. Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins, and James Donald also turn in powerful performances, but it’s Guinness’s role – for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor – that defines the film.
Although it contains few scenes of direct combat, The Bridge on the River Kwai is often classified among the greatest war movies ever made, not just for its subject matter but for its thematic depth and technical complexity – the film was shot on location in Sri Lanka and makes extraordinary use of natural landscapes.
It won seven Academy Awards in total, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, and has since become a landmark in film history.
Viewers on film reviewing platform Rotten Tomatoes seem to agree, with one describing it as “the best war movie out there. A true masterpiece!”
Another writes: “There will never be another movie that approaches this one in ambition and grand scope. The screenplay, acting, location, setting – it’s as if designed by providence. Just brilliant.”
Many singled out Alec Guinness’s performance in particular: “Hayakawa, Holden and Hawkins are all superb but it’s the towering performance of Guinness which elevates this movie to classic status and guarantees its place in movie immortality.”
One reviewer also commented on the production standards given the era: “Extremely well done, especially given this 1957 movie didn’t have the benefits of modern CGI and special effects. Great characters and great performances. A war picture without war, instead focusing on the men’s motivations and morality”.
The Bridge on River Kwai (1957) is now sreaming on Amazon Prime Video.