Return from the River Kwai (1989)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers (WGA):

Joan Blair (book) and
Clay Blair Jr. (book) ...

Release Date:

13 July 1989 (West Germany)

Genre:

War | Drama

Plot:

A group of war prisoners from the Kwai bridge building camp undertake a harsh journey to Japan.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Train | British | British Soldier | British Empire

Cast

Nick Tate	...	Cmdr.Hunt
Timothy Bottoms	...	Seaman Miller
George Takei	...	Lt. Tanaka
Edward Fox	...	Maj. Benford
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexander Blaise	...	Exec. Officer Clancy (as Blaise Alexandre)
Simplicio Cahilig	...	Old Vietnamese Man
Michael Dante	...	Cmdr. Davidson
Patricia Edmondson	...	Lady in Saigon
Denholm Elliott	...	Col. Grayson
Richard Graham	...	Sgt. Perry
Jimmy Guerrero	...	Japanese Businessman
Paul Holm	...	Benford's Patient
Ryusuke Inoue	...	Japanese Boy
Sachiko Inoue	...	Japanese Mother
Koji Kato	...	Japanese Soldier
Motoko Kobayashi	...	Japanese Soldier
Michael Kostroff	...	Radioman In Submarine
Ronnie Lazaro	...	Boonrod
Sheila McLaglen	...	Lady in Saigon
Lolita Mirpuri	...	Lady in Saigon
Masato Nagamori	...	Lt. Yamashita
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Maj. Harada
Chris Penn	...	Lt. Crawford (as Christopher Penn)
Kashinobu Shibata	...	Japanese Soldier
Etsushi Takahashi	...	Capt. Ozawa
Andres Tepongco	...	Anon
Anna Maria Tirol	...	Meo Girl
Masachi Tomori	...	Japanese Soldier
Pierre Valderon	...	Frenchman in Saigon

Runtime:

101 min | Spain:97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:12 (f) (cut version) | West Germany:16 (f) (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Malaysia

Company:

Roadshow Productions

Trivia:

Anthony Andrews was earmarked for the Edward Fox part

Movie Connections:

Follows The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Decent Entertainment for War Film Fans

Though a far cry from the David Lean classic, I thought this film offered reasonable entertainment for anyone with a passing interest in war films. Admittedly, there is not a great deal to say critically in the film's favour, but I think the current voter average is a little too harsh.

The film does suffer from a large dollop of poor acting, a sometimes inane and amateurish script, and often allows itself to become bogged down in clichés. The stilted and often unimaginative direction makes the film seem like a television show. However, at times the director allows the film to shine with some snappy and economical moments. The music is by the great Lalo Schifrin, and though not one of his best works (a little too simplistic and drenched in military cliché) it is quite catchy. But the special effects are too lacklustre to make the action sequences truly exciting.

However, Return from the River Kwai does have at least an interesting premise, and a decent screenplay which helps carry the story well. The on location shooting makes the settings look authentic, and the costumes are fairly decent. The film offers more than enough thrills and spills to keep you amused on a rainy afternoon. And of course it is great to see the always dependable George Takei and Edward Fox, as well as the lovable, late-great, Denholm Elliot on screen.

By no stretch a great movie, but one I am content to pass the time with. I do wish that television stations would program a movie like this for a daytime matinée instead of that made-for-television rubbish about some murderer in Mid-West America. Return from the River Kwai is a much better effort than those kind of movies, and it offers good, simple, lunchtime fare. At least a 5/10.