Seen on DVD: David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai
David Lean's war drama " The Bridge on the River Kwai " (1957, UK/USA) is turning 62 this year (I can just probably dream that I'd get the chance to watch the film, shot in CinemaScope, on the big screen). If given a casual glance, one might think that the film indeed possesses all the qualities of being an "Oscar bait", which made it such a big winner at the Academy Award ceremonies at that time. It's set during wartime, has A-list actors, has big themes - and British (or directed by a British director and topbilled by a British actor). It's your classic epic, so to speak (and the director himself was known for helming epic movies). But then, setting aside all the accolades that the film has garnered and the stature it has gained in the history of cinema, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" is in itself one of the greatest films of all time, a truly remarkable masterpiece. What makes it even more so is how, in spite (or perhaps because) of i...