Alec Guinness powerful monologue - THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- Go to 54 seconds to get straight into the dialogue.
An awesome clip from a great movie, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957). Alec Guinness, as Colonel Nicholson of the British Army in WW2, delivers a phenomenal monologue right after the completion of the bridge. Incredible writing, performing, and cinematography.
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (2 April 1914 -- 5 August 2000) was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. He is known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy, Prince Feisal in Lawrence of Arabia, and George Smiley in the TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He is also known for his portrayal of Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946).
The Bridge on the River Kwai opens in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma in 1943, where a battle of wills rages between camp commander Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) and newly arrived British colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness). Saito insists that Nicholson order his men to build a bridge over the river Kwai, which will be used to transport Japanese munitions. Nicholson refuses, despite all the various "persuasive" devices at Saito's disposal. Finally, Nicholson agrees, not so much to cooperate with his captor as to provide a morale-boosting project for the military engineers under his command. The colonel will prove that, by building a better bridge than Saito's men could build, the British soldier is a superior being even when under the thumb of the enemy. As the bridge goes up, Nicholson becomes obsessed with completing it to perfection, eventually losing sight of the fact that it will benefit the Japanese. Meanwhile, American POW Shears (William Holden), having escaped from the camp, agrees to save himself from a court martial by leading a group of British soldiers back to the camp to destroy Nicholson's bridge. Upon his return, Shears realizes that Nicholson's mania to complete his project has driven him mad. Filmed in Ceylon, Bridge on the River Kwai won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary British filmmaker David Lean, and Best Actor for Guinness. It also won Best Screenplay for Pierre Boulle, the author of the novel on which the film was based, even though the actual writers were blacklisted writers Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, who were given their Oscars under the table
This was released in 1957...the cinematography still holds up in 2020 and the acting is just timeless. They don’t make movies like this anymore.
Yeah I did´nt even see the movie but just this scene has this feeling of space which is really rare in today´s films.
What’s also amazing is Sir Alec Guinness is only 43 here when this came out. He looks so much older, already 57 or 58. He looks his age more or less of 63 in Star Wars, maybe looking a little older. He aged quickly in early middle age. One of the all time greats.
well because now "they" have an agenda in media
I saw it on the big screen in 68 in colour!!!!!
Classic movie and so surprised it snot re run on tv even sky movies.....best movies always are using natural beauty of the world
He's not only having the same thoughts as many men but he's also explaining part of the reason why he built the bridge and why he doesn't want to see it destroyed. It's his legacy.
No! He realizes His legacy too late...his legacy is to be a good soldier!
How can a voice and precense be at the same time so invoking and powerful? A master of his craft indeed.
He had the High Ground.
Alec Guinness has the most perfect speaking voice of any actor ever.
That scene took a long time to film because David Lean was very lucky and wanted the right sunset ! It drove Guinness had 😂
One of.... the great speaking voices. Shakespearean actors before and during his time were trained to enunciate. Unlike actors today. Sigh.
A beautiful moment of vulnerabilty. Any other time it would be the basis for friendship.
Saito sees beauty in the sunset because he will live due to the bridge being completed, very Japanese. Nicholson sees only beauty in the engineering of the bridge, a job well done, very English. Both men have done their "duty" in their minds.
Nicholson faces and realizes his huge mistake, by building a great bridge, too late that he is really abetting and helping his arch enemy, the Japanese army.
His British pride had altered his proper duty to never help the enemy, a realization that he got very late.
@@JohnUSA7 If my memory serves me, that realization comes with a sinister consequence, because when the bridge is blown up the train falls with it killing all the injured or ill POWs who were aboard. Regardless his main motivation to complete the bridge, which was in the same lines with his men, was to turn their dire situation into something of value, since at one point they realized that someone will end up making the bridge, if they were the ones doing it, at least their efforts will pay up by having a long standing structure that symbolized their pride.
It was that bridge that united both sides, even if for a brief moment in the history of that war, they worked together to build a monument for themselves and if they ever had to work again they would cooperate in friendly terms all while the world around them was wrecking in flames.
The "lost" look he gives after the stick falls and he realizes he has showed a personal side is brilliant.
Alec Guinness = One of the greatest actors ever, right up there with Brando and Olivier
I actually think he understood it perfectly well. And appreciated those of us who knew better.
Far superior to Brando, IMO...
Humphrey bogart?
Modern day….Daniel Day Lewis
Don't forget Christopher Lee
Nearer the end than the beginning has always stuck with me.
when he drops the stick, he says "blast". cheeky foreshadowing
Good catch. There is many layers to this scene. That is why it's great.
Alec Guiness and Ewan McGregor have the same voice ! it's very amazing
Exactly what I usually notice, their voices are very similar, it's like Alec's voice is just the voice of an old Ewan McGregor 🙂
Movies like this need to be protected from ever being remade or having a sequel....natural brilliant movie
Hate to tell you but they made a sequel in the 70s...... it was not good.
@@Calh92 NO tell me it aint so :(
Why on earth does this need a remake? It's a perfect film
Yes. Ewan McGregor
Because Hollywood is out of ideas, and general audiences can’t sit through old movies because “old” 🙄
I mean... Better sound quality couldn't hurt
You are kidding? I wasn’t aware. Modern Hollywood is going to take a giant (probably politically correct, “woke”) SHIT on one of the best films ever made? Pathetic, typical and not surprising. The modern film industry is morally, intellectually and spiritually bankrupt. Fuck them
@Troy Hooker tbf he isn't wrong about Hollywood
My favourite all time film. Great cast. 7 oscars well deserved.
indeed. a true cinema masterclass
I agree entirely. Question: Should SH have been awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor over Red Buttons?
@@trapezemusicin my opinion yes his chemistry with Guinness was so engaging
What an incredible scene Hayakawa listening to Guiness almost like a confession.
Both are acting 28 years in the service Hiyakawa is acting with his face superb
+charles pope - What exactly Colonel Saito was thinking? What was the letter he had with himself and a gun when the train is approaching?
What does it mean when Nicholsan says " What have I done" while collapsing?
I would appreciate a clear response.
+millions1022 It meant , why he lost his mind.
millions1022
saito has a suicide letter. he is planning to kill col. nichols, then himself. he is disgraced. but for nichols's stockholm syndrome causing him to build a proper bridge for the enemy, it would not have been accomplished.
saito was thinking the exact same thing as nichols. ALL older men/people spend much time reflecting on what life has meant, and coming to terms with what one has done with it, now that one is "nearer the the end than the beginning."
this is the most poignantly true and organic scene in any movie.
A most powerful scene. Col Saito has lost face and was planning to commit harikiri, so the bridge represents the failure of his Bushido code of honor. Col Nicholson sees it as another achievement for what it's worth in his 28 year career and his love affair with India.
Dropping the stick/baton is a great touch; in a moment of distraction he loses his possession. The bridge project has distracted the colonel.and he lost sight of the fact that the Japanese are the enemy. It's crystallized when the medical officer asks in an earlier scene, "Build the bridge, yes. But do we have to build it so well?" I love the sound of this scene. The heels on the planking tell us how solid the bridge is. The bird sounds, the flowing water and the clarinet. Saito doesn't say anything. What is there to say?,
pkneeno
Nice.
pkneeno thanks for breaking it down so eloquently. This was one of my fathers favorite movies as long as I could remember I used to catch him alone in a room watching it at any time of the day. It was always on VHS and it was a recording. The cinematography looks great and he would have appreciated 720p. I have not watched this movie but was just reminded and now can’t wait to. Maybe it will help me understand who he was a little more.
@pkneeno. From his disposition (fingers drumming on the support coupled with his facial expression) it may rather be that Saito was contemplating murder (of Nicholson with back turned) rather than ritual suicide. Nicholson's words and also the setting Sun, may have changed his mind: he looks as if he concluded that the Bridge built in time was sufficient to 'save his face', since he mentioned earlier in the Film that he would only have to 'kill [himself]' if it were not.
When I first saw this film I was a teenager and although I did notice subtleties like Saito enclosing a lock of his hair in a letter home, I initially thought he was planning to kill Nicholson. The way the scene is shot, Saito seems to be reaching for his knife in such a way that it won't be noticed. And he quickly returns it as soon as Nicholson calls his attention to something being amiss. A definite favorite film of mine and worth watching all these years later!
That is an awesome description and assessment of that movie and scene.
I get goosebumps just thinking about watching that movie.
And I've seen it more times than I can count
When I was young my dad sat me down to watch this film and marvel in a genius actor….to this day Alec will always be the greatest actor I’ve ever watched
Thanks for uploading this. Alec Guinness was something special. I love watching these legends do their stuff.
"I’ve been thinking. Tomorrow it will be fifty-eight years to the day that I’ve been in the service to the Jedi Order. Fifty-eight years in peace and war. I don’t suppose I’ve been to my home planet more than ten months in all that time. Still, it’s been a good life. I love the desert, with it's sand. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But there are times when suddenly you realize you’re nearer the end than the beginning. And you wonder, you ask yourself, what the sum total of your life represents. What difference your being there at any time made to the galaxy to anything. Hardly made any difference at all, really, particularly in comparison with other men’s destinies. I don’t know whether that kind of thinking’s very healthy; but I must admit I’ve had some thoughts on those lines from time to time. But tonight… tonight.. * drop's lightsaber * blast.."
"your father and I built a bridge in Burma to allow the Empire to expand. We worked several thousand people to death, then starved and beat the rest.... He was a good friend"
Please don’t waste the time with a remake of this masterpiece.
No David Lean or Stanley Kubrick film can be remade.
Brilliant classic film
The sunset meant that they could only shoot one take per day - I think Guinness said it took a few days to get 100% right, but after this take he was totally satisfied, but was rather put out that Lean did not congratulate or even thank him - just said they might have another go the next day. Guinness worked with him for many decades but said he was not an easy man to get along with and he didn't really regard him as a close friend.
In his 1990s memoirs he said he was sent an advance copy of a Lean biography which he said was excellent but declined to review it when he was asked by a newspaper, saying he didn't want to revisit his time with him and all the memories it would reopen.
guinness gives one of the all time great performances in this movie IMO
indeed
Watched the movie last night, Oscar winning performance from Alec, and love this speech it’s one we can all relate too and I’m now about Alec age in this movie and feels especially appropriate, rip alec 🙏
The beginning..."Beautiful"...is just amazing.
Nicholson is talking about the bridge, but Saito assumes he's talking about the scenery. And even though we can't see Saito's face, we can see Hayakawa have to...adjust...the character so brilliantly.
You've got it the wrong way round...Saito is talking about the scenery when he says "Beautiful", Nicholson assumes that he is talking about the bridge
At the beginning of the movie Saito breaks Nicholson's command stick but he stays in command, in this scene he loses the stick by his own doing because he has really lost command by his collaboration with the enemy. Even dropping it from the bridge he created. The only thing the construction of the bridge did was take away his command.
08jag80
command of morals
command of sanity
command of ethics
Nicholson lost sight of the only asset he has, being mindful of his captors as is symbolized with dropping his stick in the river
Nice observation of an important metaphor in the story. I'm glad you pointed this out. I hadn't noticed it before. Also noteworthy is that not only Nicholson has changed, but the pressures of war and circumstance has changed the other two main characters as well, without them quite realizing it. Saito now is beginning to see his captives as human beings worthy of some measure of respect even though his military culture views prisoners as deserving of only contempt and cruelty. Shears, who has had up to now had has his fill of war and has openly recoiled from the morbid ruthlessness of the commando leader he is accompanying to the bridge, will in the end transform into a most earnest soldier willing to do all and risk all for the sake of the mission. Despite our best plans, things may work out differently than intended. One of my favorite quotes in the movie is, "There's always the unexpected now isn't there."
@08jag80. In the context of the Film such an assertion would be premature: Nicholson only questions himself in the scene where he actually says "what've I done". By the way, that's a swagger (not a command) stick.
loss of the swagger stick foreshadows his demise, its fall from the bridge...the bridge that cost his life and honour
The thing that makes this even cooler is that he actually fought in WW2.
Genuine class.
This is my favorite scene in the whole movie... Nicholson is taking in his accomplishment of building the bridge under grest adversity.... Saito sees the Sunset from the middle of the bridge and the Artist inside of him speaks " Beautiful" its very powerful cinema superbly directed!
Sad that so many people today only remember him from Star Wars.
From time to time...I like to speak like Lt. Col. Nicholson, regarding my ordinary affairs. While looking off my front porch...I wonder what difference my cutting of the grass really means.
lol
Sir, it depends if anyone can see your lawn, if it is of a quality to dominate your neighborhood and cause wives to doubt their husbands prowess’s, then yes it matters. Everything we do, if done with passion matters. Everything.
@Big Duke6 It makes the grass shorter...
That's it...
@MichaelKingsfordGray Do you ever take your head out of your arse?
Sir Alec's speech on the bridge taught me that there was such a thing as great acting... and this was it.
(The conversation starts at 0:54)
Strong with the force he is!
Heartfelt just two men one looking back over his life. It’s just when he turned at the end and seen the “enemy” he suddenly checked himself. Sad really.
As near perfect a scene ever filmed. Sir Alec and David Lean quarelled about whether Nicholson should be filmed from behind; Lean made the best decision.
Filmed from behind in order to show the sunset.
Lean took his time !
Pure genius.
Hard to believe Sir Guiness was only 42-43 years old during filming of The Bridge On The River Kwai! He looks closer to 50-55. That made him 62-63 during production of Star Wars.
He aged pretty fast
I’ve seen this film many times, and Star Wars some 10 times when it came out, and I realised only TODAY what the connection was. I knew I was a bit slow...
My father was a Navy Seabee for 21 years with 3 tours in Vietnam among many other places. As a child of about 7 in 1966 I remember seeing him depart from the grinder at Port Hueneme with my mom and siblings on a foggy morning and I clearly remember the whistling theme song from this movie playing over the loudspeakers as the battalions loaded up and left. I can't watch this movie without reliving that day and shedding tears.
The British have given the world so many gifts over its long history, not the least of which is the art of acting. That gift is here so beautifully demonstrated by Sir Alec Guinness.
Nicely written.
Yeah sure..! So many gifts and so many catastrophies..! Wars to control China, to control South América like against Paraguay and Peru.. against India, interfiering countries who wanted to be developed like Japan or Singapur.. yeah.. they gave us so many gifts.! Fuck them all..!!
@@humbertoflores2545 Where are you from? And what has it provided the world?
@@jacktanner4948 I am from Peru, we provide many types of food, commodities and minerals to the world (potatos 3000 types, unique cereals, unique fruits, the best cotton quality), we have ancient culture and the oldest civilization discovered in the Americas (Caral), we have many resources to be developed but thanks to British companies in the 19th and beggining of 20th century they scam and took it from us using different resources with many illegal ways, provoking wars against us using our neighboors, drilling oil wells outside the boundaries of the contracts, trying to control our resources as a monopoly... also you took Argentinian territories far from your island (Las Malvinas discovered by the French)...as the Spanish tried in 1866 with our islands, but they could not...and so on.. Britain did not provide anything to the world, just good rock and roll music, wars and misery... in exchange for many things that you took for centuries.. so, do not brag of yourselves because it is not true.
@@humbertoflores2545 Those who achieve little always look for somebody else to blame.
Most people know Alec Guinness from Star Wars, I know him from this movie first...
Great character reveal here, Nicholson as self-absorbed, proud but still seeking external validation. As Saito enters the scene, looking over the rising sun says "Beautiful". Nicholson answers "Yes, beautiful. A first-rate job, I had no idea it would turn out so well", thinking Saito must only be referring to the bridge, his work.
I'm glad someone here mentioned that Saito is actually referring to the sunset - and not Nicholson's bridge. Saito like everyone else in the film, except for Nicholson's own obsessional delusions, just wants to get back home to the more beautiful things in life - away from the pointlessness of war. Saito never did give a shit about the bridge - any old bridge would do, just anything to avoid execution from his own commanders so he could get back home.
Drops his baton - a subtle symbol of his betrayal of the British Army.
I always thought it was a foreshadowing of the bridge collapsing into the river (he even says the word "blast" after the baton falls into the river) - maybe it was intended to serve both purposes.
I always thought is illustrated his mediocrity. He goofed.
For me, is the best scene of this great masterpiece. Lean gets stop the time, it is very difficult.
For me is the best scene!
i was expecting his first speech as "hello there" 😂😂😂😊
was watching this with my teen son tonight and had to leave when this scene came up, lest I tear up. so powerful.
+Matthew Kimball Especially the line, "...what difference your being there made to anything...or if it made any difference at all." I think we all have that thought at some point in our lives. What does the sum total of any given life have on anything? Especially yours.
I couldn't agree more. Such a heartfelt and emotional moment when such a great man in the film would think those things. Shows how even the greatest men sometimes doubt themselves.
@@charliebrown4804 Only the great ones have the capability to introspect, which is indicative of a powerful intellect.
As a kid, I wondered if I would one day feel the same way about how I spent my years. That's what a great actor can do for you - point the way.
While I served in the USAF/USAFE in England '77 to '86 I took advantage of the Great "West End" World! I saw Alec Guinness twice on Stage at the Queens Theatre. In "Yahoo" a One Man Play about Jonathan Swift and in "The Old Country"! ....Magnificent Shows!
And He Still Sounds Like Older Obi-Wan
I Needed To Make A Star Wars Reference
Ronnie Kenworth or an older A. Hopkins
Its not a reference. He is obi wan. Just like Ewan. Force bless.
he sounds like his voice, not like a character in his movies, kiddo
@@cristianmicu He's talking about being in the Jedi service for about 28 years.
Guinness is killin' in this
Amen too that he got an oscar
@@birdiebear0077 gd shout: thanks for pointing that out
This and Lawrence of Arabia. Not because of Obi Wan and Prince Faisal but because the movie itself is just amazing. Similarly to Lawrence of Arabia.
"...from time to time. " Superb scene! Lean must have liked working with Guinness because they did at least four pictures.
This whole time I didn’t recognize Obi Wan in this movie….amazing what a mustache does
Listening to Alec's voice in 1957, I can see how Ewan McGregor's voice in Star Wars III and in the "Obi Wan Kenobi" series is similar to Alec Guinness's In this movie 🥲
My favourite scene from the movie - pathos and poignancy is so hard to film.
Yes sir Alec guineas which I respect awsum actor
That slow crane shot was dank
There is something incredibly sad in this scene about human nature that I can't put my finger on. But it draws me in.
The moment when he loses his stick and shrugs it off has had an odd effect on me. Now when something small goes wrong for me, I don't say 'Damn.' I say 'Blast.'
Rapprochement in advance. Crazy
The force was with him...
The Force was with the Explosives they put on that Bridge!
Always
Nicolson: "Hello there"
Saito: "colonel Nicolson! You are a bold one!"
Viewed this Masterpiece in 1966
For me, it's the truism in the philosophy embodied in " sum total of one's life.... "
It mirrors St.Augustine's " confessions" which for 1,500 years epitomized the credo of Christiandom.
What Nicholson is saying isn't important
It's how he carries himself
He's bending over rather than standing attention
Addressing Saito as equals or even friends
THIS IS WAR! THIS IS NOT A GAME OF CRICKET!
1:50 would be perfect word to Luke if Obi-Wan was to appear instead of Yoda in TLJ
"Luke...ask yourself what the sum total of your life represents"
as much i loved that scene. I do wish there was another scene with obi-wan, bu then again Ewan would have to do a spot on alec guinness impression
Note the offhand salute, as Nicholson is walking away. He continues with military protocol and yet gets in a jab at Saito as if to confirm that Saito and the Japanese army is beneath British military ability.
That is the British army's form of salute.
So this The Clone Wars he was talking about...
INOLVIDBLE PELICULA
Im half expecting him to say "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany"
Iwan Mcgregor did a great job playing young Alec in Star Wars.
2:41 - "I must be off." Just slightly.
I really do believe that line was meant to indicate Nicholson was a bit unbalanced at this point! .... Ha!
The book written by the same author of PLANET OF THE APES.....Pierre Boulle
Use the force, Luke!
best scene of the movie
what he says i think about alot now... as i live homeless in my car
I just hear obi wan speaking
Who else heard the E.T. theme in the background music?
Is this a movie I should see?
shawoo Definitely.
+shawoo yes
+shawoo It has been selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress National Film Registry as one of the greatest films in in history.
ASAP and with no distractions.
Obie Wan Kenobi now that’s a name I have not heard in a long time a long time. The Force will be with you always
Hello there.
Colonel Nicholson is such a mass of contradictions. He proudly yet naively aids the enemy and is oblivious to the purpose of the war all for the sake of being a gentleman. Saito was correct when he said the British had pride but no shame.
Obie Kenobi is the using the force on Tatooine and helping his young Jedi Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi. Also the Obie Kenobi series on Disney plus looks more interesting to watch on television
These words of sentimental reflection are totally alien to the Imperial Japanese samurai.
I'm not sure that's really true.
Where did Col.Nicholson get his spotlessly clean uniform? He and the other British prisoners marched into the camp in rags.
Great speech General Kenobi!
What exactly Colonel Saito was thinking? What was the letter he had with himself and a gun when the train is approaching?
What does it mean when Nicholsan says " What have I done" while collapsing?
I would appreciate a clear response.
Excellent - I especially like Vin Diesel cast as Shears. He can carry the dual qualities of "free spirit" and reluctant hero. The three Bangkok ladyboys was a LOL!
La beaute de la paix¡¡
"That's no moon. It's a Japanese station."
Twisted.
Yes. With Vin Diesel as Shears. Gwynneth Paltrow (English accent) as the blond on the beach. Ralph Fiennes as Warden. Three Bangkok ladyboys as the bearers (updated for today's times). Matt Damon as Joyce.
it was the best movei I seem so far. p.s. manuel J maldonado
Does anyone know if Alec Guinness and Richard Burton ever made a film together?
I don't think so.
If only this bridge (I know the real bridge is in Thailand but this movie was in Sri Lanka) was still intact, how many tourist would visit this place...
Quite a few people do visit the bridge.
Alec at some points it sounds like frieza
This guy was the original Sean Bean.
This dude sounds just like Lord Feisel in Lawrence of Arabia
Same actor
But tonight ....
Tonight....
28 years to the day I've been a Jedi Master