Awesome / The Bridge on the River Kwai

• The conference definitely qualifies. The British officers go through the paces of planning a bridge properly... or was that humiliating Saito properly?
• Nicholson's walk across the compound after his final release from the Punishment Box. Alec Guinness said he based his stiff gait on that of his polio-stricken son when the child was beginning to walk again.^note Matthew Guinness recovered completely.
• Major Clipton points out to Colonel Nicholson that their building the bridge can be interpreted as working with the enemy. Nicholson doesn’t argue against this, but he answers with a simple Armor-Piercing Question: “If Clipton had to operate on Saito, would he do so or let him die?” This not only shuts up Clipton effectively, but captures perfectly the Honor Before Reason trope that Nicholson embodies and gives him a measure of dignity.
• The film's composer, Malcolm Arnold, had only ten days to compose the entire soundtrack (45 minutes of music)— and won an Academy Award for Best Score.