It is a fantastic movie IMO. I think one of the best WWII films. I’m not an expert on British in POW camps, but I didn’t notice anything unrealistic about it. It’s based on a true story I believe. The British are forced to build a bridge by their Japanese captors for the transport of supplies. Once the train comes, however, they manage to blow it just as the train is crossing. Very tense and suspensful in that part of the film.
Well it does portray the British Colonel as a collaborator, which he wasn’t.
I’m not sure if I am thinking of the book or the film (again, I have read/seen both, but not in a while) but the overwhelming impression that I get is that the Colonel becomes rather carried away with demonstrating the superiority of British engineering/work ethic/military/modes of behaviour, and starts thinking of the bridge as ‘his bridge’.
In the early part of the story he is very concerned to try and force the Japanese to conform to the Hague convention in their treatment of prisoners, and thereafter, he becomes exasperated with their incompetent efforts at designing and building the bridge, and taking advantage of a Engineer amongst his Officers, he has the bridge re-designed and rebuilt in order to prove his point to the Japanese.
I took it to be the story of someone becoming slightly unbalanced under captivity, and perhaps suffering a kind of Stockholm syndrome, but it didn’t seem like collaboration to me.
That said, I might be thinking more of the book than the film, which may have had a different emphasis? :?
In Donovan Webster’s book “The Burma Road” page 6 “the road they fought for and died to build would be deemed obsolete even as it was being finished”
The Burma Road was about supplying China not the actions of the 14th Army.
Even your link said that
To the north, American-trained Chinese troops and American guerrillas under Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill, sustained mainly by airdrops, seized the airfield at Myitkyina in northern Burma in May 1944 and reopened the Burma Road to China in January 1945. However, the total tonnage brought over the road by truck until the end of the war did not equal that flown over the Hump in a single month.
You are clipping your quotes to give the wrong impression or prove your point.
Naughty naughty!
Think this film has been binned but had “The Few” been made, I would think it would claim topspot of worst movie. The Few was going to be about Billy Fiske, an American in the RAF, in real life he flew a Hurricane had two sketchy claims of kills, and over 80% of his landings were buggered. Now call me skeptical but I doubt that movies goers would pay to see Tom Cruise get two sketchy kills on screen and crash pretty often, then finally crash and get severely burned then the next day die, I would more likely expect 2 hours of Mr. Cruise blasting the hun out of the sky with the greatest of ease.
ironamn wrote
It was far more useful than you realize. I understand that you think not, since it was not captured by the British. The capture of ANY enigma material was important, since the codes constantly changed, and the most recent information is highly useful. The boat had 900 lbs. of code books onboard, which provided more information than most U-boats would have. Some of the codes captured on the 505 were key to others used by other U-boats, and helped all Allied efforts to break the enigma codes. It hastened the demise of the German Wolf packs. It allowed for a much more precise determining of the loacation of the U-boats, which enabling allied convoys to ship supplies to Britian with much lower losses. Your country got much needed food, airplane parts, and other supplies it would not have because of it’s capture.
From the BBC site on enigma
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/enigma_05.shtml
By D-Day in June 1944 Ultra was no longer so important. But still no one wanted the Germans to sense that Enigma was being read. When, a few days before the Normandy landings, an American task force captured a German U-boat with its Enigma keys, Admiral Ernest King, US Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, threatened to court-martial the officer in charge for endangering ‘Operation Overlord’, as the plan for the D-Day landings was known.
So may not have been as important as you thought.
I never said that it was tremendously important. Just that it was more important than what someone was saying, which is supported by sources. It did matter and make a difference, as it’s capture allowed the Allies to decipher the U-boat codes for the remainder of the war and insure the completion of the demise of the U-boats and thier effect on Allied shipping, which likely saved hundreds of lives, ships, and supplies.
That is a lot more important than “one more didn’t really matter”.
Ironman can I take it from your reply to my post yesterday that you have not seen the movie Objective Burma. I noticed you did your usual google frenzy but the issue was the movie which failed to acknowlege the participation of any other than US forces.
Merrill did a fine job in Burma using tactics learned form Wingate’s Chindits. But what about the British, ANZAC, Indian and Gurkha regular forces who made up the majority of combatants but were erased from history by the writers of the movie in question.
The movie makers and writers are the issue not their nationality. As I stated when a movie represents fiction as fact it annoy’s the people who did the real job regardless of nationality. The real problem is that far too often viewers accept the fantasy as history not fiction.
Anyone interested in the reality of Bridge on the River Kwai try a google search for Colonel Phillip Toosey(RA) and find out how much of a hatchet job the author of the book Pierre Boulle did on the chacter of a real hero.
Didn’t I say that the British liberated Burma? Didn’t I also say that Hollywood puts out bullshiot? Yea, I did. No poblem though. Please read my posts before replaying to them. It helps to read. BTW, I don’t use Google. I don’t approve of their business practices. Now, since you are so gigantic in the skull and never use a search engine… :roll:
Ironman you also did’nt say you had seen the movie. see it then comment this thread is about movie inaccuracies. Not combat deployment. I at no point used the term Evil and was not having a go at the US, as I mentioned in a previous thread I have seen more of your country than you have. I had the time of my life in the USA and consequently have a soft spot for all things American.
Having cross trained with US forces in the past ( long time ago ) I have the upmost respect for their soidierary, better kit, better food. So put your flag back in you pocket and keep on topic. If you havent seen the movie ( Objective Burma) do so prior to posting further replies
Dude! You’re having a wack attack. Cool down. When I point a finger at you, you will know it. However, I’m gald you respect the US, because I respect Britain.
Seen more of my country than I have eh? I guess geographically that’s possible, although I most seriously doubt it. You really place a lot of stock in assumptions don’t you. Tell me again how many states you’ve lived in, how many flights you’ve taken across thousands of miles of the US, and how many years you’ve spent in the US. I can’t wait to hear how you’ve seen more of the US than I. Now that’s entertainment! 
Flying over dose’nt count. I’ve lived and worked in Denver and Boston, spent plenty of time in NY and LA. Took three months to travel from NY to Miami with stop off’s, crossed trained with US Military, gambled in Vagas, Surfed in California almost married,( Oh Rhynn you could’nt go and I could’nt stay)a US citizen ( female) am older than you, have left my home town/city/country, have been shot at by the target I was aiming at, have deployed whilst obviously drunk but sobered up quick (see previous), Have appeard in two US tv dramas ( ok they where filmed in NZ but they where US productions), been served in a bar (1979) using a false ID ( these days that would be a one way ticket to Gitmo) have been to Gitmo (but not as a detainee), got pished in Honalulu with US servicemen ( narrowly avioding arrest for outraging public decency), have a BSC in Phychology(1995) and a Masters in Social Policy(1999), have romanced (?) woman on every continant ( even Australia, see AAR Banyo tavern Brisbane 1986), served my country with honour(questionable) for eleven years often in real combat situations( you can’t hit restart), have the respect of my parents and siblings, am a godlike figure to my children ( LOL ) and have seen the movie Objective Burma which caused riots when shown in UK and Austrailian cinemas back in 1945 due to its failure to acknowlege that non US Forces participated in the liberation of Burma. Please stay on topic , when you have seen the Movie.
So, you’ve spent 1/400th the amount of time in the US as I! You spent a few days in a few places in the US and you think you’ve seen more of the US than me.
I’ve lived in Montana, Mississippi twice, Louisianna, Alabama twice, Hawaii, Texas, New York, and Florida, several years in each. I’ve flown over 20 other states. I’ve snow skied in numerous places in Colorado, Utah, Montana, and New Mexico. I’ve been on the beaches of California, Hawaii, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. I’ve also visited Wyoming, Georgia, Tennnessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, and Arizona. Oh, and I’ve spent my entire life (43 years) in the US. I’ve walked around on the side of the stage with music stars while photographing them (Kris Kristoferson seemed very personable yet reserved, while the Comodores were the opposite - very outspoken and bolsterous), had dinner with and photographed celebrities, movie and music stars, dignitaries, and I am the personal friend of a number of internationally famous persons with whom I correspond frequently.
It sounds like you’ve done more traveling in the US than most foreigners. But you thought you had seen more of the US than me. Sorry my good man. You are a long way from that. Next you’ll be telling people that you know more about American culture than me too. :lol:
Come on LargeBrew, get a grip for crying out loud !
There is no way you could have seen more of the USA than IRONMAN.
Even if you had only spent three months in the States, (which is not how I read your post by the way,) he’s spent four hundred times that actually living there.
LargeBrew, you should respect your elders more, after all he is one hundred years old.
So, you’ve spent 1/400th the amount of time in the US as I! You spent a few days in a few places in the US and you think you’ve seen more of the US than me.
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I’ve just reread my post from the early hrs, I blame the drink gov honest. Have drawn a spanner from stores and am currently winding my neck in
It’s ok brother. I’ve done that. When it gets the better of me I’m to be found in a PC game cussing out the cheaters with hacked health and autoaim. It’s gotten me banned from a few servers. :oops:
Those bloody cheaters! :evil:
I mentioned this thread this afternoon during a social gathering (piss up) of the local Cricket team of which my father is secretary. One of the team mentioned that his grandfather had signed up in Jamacia and served as ground crewman for 617 Squadron. He claimed that the majority of his grandfathers oppos were Afro- carribean but this fact was omited from the movie " The Dam Busters". My dad confirmed this as he knew the Players (late) grandfather( a former club player) and had seen his photo scrapbook from his time in the RAF.
Alot of the American Propoganda depicts in movies that they did most of the work.
Sure Omaha Beach was a hard battle to overcome, but so was the beaches the english took, and the canadians.
Another thing is, you never hear about the battles the australian fought through the second world war, even in Vietnam australians were ignored.
It was good the americans decided to help fight in world war two instead of stay in their country and carry on with their normal lives as world war 2 raged on, but they can not go making movies about lies can they?