The Bridge on the River Kwai...for Christmas?

A recent acquisition of mine is the recently restored collector's edition of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).  Now, how do I justify writing about a WWII movie at Christmas time?  No problem...this is a GREAT gift idea!

Columbia Pictures and Sony have released it just in time, and in a gift package that is perfect for any movie buff.  The box includes both a DVD and Blu-ray disc.  They are packaged in a 32 page book, with the Blu-ray disc in the front and the DVD in the back.  You also get a dozen small copies of the lobby cards.  See one below.

The pages of the book contain movie posters, a list of credits, stories about the film, and a LOAD of photos.  A lot of content is from the original 1957 souvenir book.

The disc has a few special features, including stars William Holden (1918 - 1981) and Sir Alec Guinness (1914 - 2000) on "The Steve Allen Show."  Actually, he didn't receive his title until 1959, so he wasn't 'Sir' at that time.

The movie itself is worthy of a blog post.  It earned seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Alec Guinness).  The cast list is pretty short, though, and leaves me little in the way of Bit Actors to talk about.  I believe that the main characters, played by Holden, Guinness, Jack Hawkins (1910 - 1973) and Sessue Hayakawa (1889 - 1973) all shared equally in the success of this film.

There were a few others who played the prisoners, and of course there was a good number of Asians playing their captors.  Hayakawa had quite a career, spanning the years 1914 to 1966 and 103 titles.  He worked with many stars including Jerry Lewis in The Geisha Boy (1958).

This release is a bargain.  If you don't receive it as a present, make sure you buy it for yourself!

The Last Holiday

Two movies...The Last Holiday - 1950 and 2006.  1950 starring Alec Guinness and 2006 starring Queen Latifah.  I have both films on DVD and they both have their good points.  The newer version has a happy ending, which is fine if you are in the mood.

The 1950 version has a screenplay by J. B. Priestley.  The ending is dark...you will not see it coming...and if you haven't seen the film, I will not spoil it for you.  It is certainly a film worth looking for.

The story is about a common working man, George Bird played by Guinness, who is diagnosed with a fatal disease and, having no family, how he spends his life savings on a last holiday fling.  George is a farm implement salesman when he goes to the doctor for a checkup and hears the bad news.  The acting is superb and I consider this one of the great classic British films.  Think of Basil Rathbone quality.

Once again we see that movies are held together by the small parts adding character to the overall mood of the film.  Of course, Guinness is wonderful in the lead, but look at the rest of the cast.

Bernard Lee, who later starred in many James Bond films; Wilfred Hyde-White, from My Fair Lady and too many other films (156 total) to list; and David McCallum's father as the "blind" fiddler, who in real life was the concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Even the names you don't recognize had outstanding parts.  Muriel George (61 acting roles) as Lady Oswington, and her maid-servant Miss Fox played by Esma Cannon (73 roles).  Small parts but what atmosphere they bring!  They help to clarify what the others are thinking about why George is at the resort.

Sid James plays another regular guy at the posh resort where George is staying, so they hit it off right away.  James was in the "Carry On" series of British comedies.  I counted 36 Carry Ons, in his 143 roles from 1947 to 1976, the year he died.

Lastly let's mention Ernest Thesiger as Sir Travor Lampington, the doctor who named the deadly disease George has.  Born in 1879, he started acting in 1916.  Thesiger played Dr. Pretorius in The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935.  He made The Last Holiday when he was 71 years old, then went on to make another 29 films until 1961.

The legacy collection of Frankenstein films pictured at left is in my film library and is a great bargain.  It includes LOADS of extra materials.

Classic British films are wonderful to watch because of the all important bit parts and the great actors who bring them life.