The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

We know, war movies aren’t typically delightful, but most aren’t as deft and transfixing as The Bridge on the River Kwai, a movie that never follows the course you expect.

The war of wills between captured British P.O.W. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness) and his honorable captor, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) is fascinating enough — both men are masterfully written and acted characters, and director David Lean shows stellar show-don’t-tell restraint that is, well, captivating.

But then the film layers on the story of the charming Shears, William Holden, and you have one of the most layered yet elegant war movies of all, with a theme you’ll be whistling for weeks. For our money this is the best of the war movies of the 1950s.