The Bridge on the River Kwai Page #2
- PG
- Year:
- 1957
- 161 min
- 2,213 Views
I'm sure a man of Cmdr. Shears'
experience will back me up on that.
I'd say that the odds against a
successful escape are 100 to one.
But may I add another word?
Please.
The odds against survival in this camp
are even worse.
You've seen the graveyard.
They're your real odds.
To give up hope of escape...
means accepting a death sentence.
Why haven't you tried to escape,
commander?
I'm biding my time. Waiting for
the right moment, the right company.
I understand how you feel.
Of course, it's the duty of a
captured soldier to attempt escape.
But my men and I are
involved in a curious legal point...
...of which you are unaware.
In Singapore we were ordered to
surrender by command headquarters.
Ordered, mind you.
Therefore, in our case, escape might
well be an infraction of military law.
Interesting point, sir.
I'm sorry, sir,
You intend to uphold the letter
of the law, no matter what it costs?
Without law, commander,
there is no civilization.
That's just my point.
Here, there is no civilization.
Then we have the opportunity
to introduce it.
I suggest we drop
the subject of escape.
I think we're
clear on the program.
I want everything to go off smoothly
starting tomorrow morning.
And remember this:
Our men must always feel they are
still commanded by us...
...and not by the Japanese.
So long as they have that idea,
they'll be soldiers and not slaves.
Are you with me there, commander?
I hope they can
remain soldiers, colonel.
As for me, I'm just a slave.
A living slave.
Queer bird. Even for an Ameri-
He's been in isolation too long,
poor chap.
Cut off from his unit.
It should be a lesson to all of us.
English prisoners!
Notice I do not say English soldiers.
From the moment you surrendered,
you ceased to be soldiers.
You will finish the bridge
by the twelfth day of May.
You will work under the direction
of a Japanese engineer.
Time is short. All men will work.
Your officers will work beside you.
This is only just...
...for it is they
who betrayed you by surrender.
Your shame is their dishonour.
It is they who told you...
...better to live like a coolie
then die like a hero.
It is they who brought you here,
not I.
Therefore, they will join you
in useful labour.
That is all.
Officer prisoners, collect your tools.
Bradley, back in your place.
I must call your attention,
Colonel Saito...
...to Article 27
of the Geneva Convention.
" Belligerents may employ
prisoners of war...
...who are fit,
other than officers-"
Give me the book.
By all means.
You read English, I take it?
- Do you read Japanese?
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"The Bridge on the River Kwai" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_bridge_on_the_river_kwai_19852>.
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