The Bridge

Author(s): Ross
Location: Memphis, TN

“The Bridge”

Directed by Steven Spielberg
Produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy
Written by Eric Roth
Edited by Michael Kahn
Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski
Score by John Williams

Principal Cast:

Col. Nicholson Liam Neeson
Com. Shears Daniel Craig
Maj. Warden Russell Crowe
Col. Saito Gordon Liu
Lt. Joyce Henry Cavill
Maj. Clipton Ciaran Hinds

Tagline: “N/A”

Synopsis: Deep in the jungles of Burma in a WWII Japanese POW camp, captured British soldiers are ordered to build a railway bridge across the Kwai River. Led by strict British Colonel Nicholson (Liam Neeson), the British POWs eventually concede to Japanese Col. Saito (Gordon Liu) and build a bridge and score a moral victory in the process by not only building the bridge, but running the whole operation.

British POW Commander Shears (Daniel Craig) attempts an escape from the POW camp and succeeds, but his two fellow escapees are do not make it alive. Shears makes it to a British military outpost only to be directly redeployed on a top secret mission with Major Warden (Russell Crowe) and young Lt. Joyce (Henry Cavill) to destroy the bridge that Nicholson and the rest of the British prisoners are attempting to build. So Shears must lead the trek back through the dangerous jungles on a mission where the odds of success are nearly impossible.

The strike team fights its way through the jungle and past Japanese patrols to the bridge only to have the proud Col. Nicholson discover the planned secret demolition by his allies because of low tide revealing the detonation wires. It all leads to a memorable explosive finale that really shows off the courage, determination, and tenacity of the human spirt. Based in the 1957 film "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

What the press would say:

Steven Spielberg, the master of the adventure/drama, does it again as he updates the 1957 classic. This version benefits remarkably from advances in cinema and a great directing job, and a superb cast. Liam Neeson takes the role of British Colonel Nicholson, a man with rigid principles and ideals, who must keep his captured troops from falling apart under the stresses of the POW camp and their captors. He has great pride, which is his most noble quality as well as we see in the finale, his greatest fault. Neeson presents a strong leader and is matched with amazing performances by the rest of the cast.

Most notably is Daniel Craig as Commander Shears, a soldier who just wants to make it through alive and go home. He is a man bitter of war and caught in circumstances out of his control, but doing all he can while waiting for the right time for escape. When he is ordered to lead the strike team back through the jungle for the bridge, Craig does great in presenting the frustration of having to go back. Craig's work here is outstanding. Neeson's performance combined with Craig's makes for two of the most compelling and powerful performances in a while. Gordon Liu as Saito does an exceptional job. Saito is under pressure to get the bridge built or be forced to commit suicide. Liu is very good and when he squares off against Neeson, it is just as intense as the 1957 confrontation. Russell Crowe plays veteran demolitions expert Maj. Warden. Warden is a veteran grisled warrior and Henry Cavill plays Lt. Joyce who clearly has fear and questions whether he would be able to bring himself to kill a man. That question is eventually answered in the finale.

Everything really comes together under the direction of Spielberg. The cinematography and sounds of the jungle and river here are engrossing and at moments stunning. The pacing is on-spot. By the end, we learn a lesson of the horrors of war and the lives it takes. The climax of this movie is simply spellbinding. The whole movie is a powder-keg leading up to this finale where fates are revealed. It is a more than worthy update of the 1957 classic.

Possible Nominations

Best Picture
Best Actor (Liam Neeson)
Best Supporting Actor (Daniel Craig)
Best Supporting Actor (Russell Crowe)
Best Director (Steven Spielberg)
Best Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth)
Best Original Score (John Williams)
Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski)
Best Editing (Michael Kahn)