To End All Wars is a film by David L. Cunningham based on the Autobiographical novel, "Through the Valley of the Kwai". It takes place in one of many P.O.W camps run by the Japanese in Thailand during World War II. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Robert Carlyle, Ciarán McMenamin, as well as actors from Akira Kurosawa 's troupe such as Sakae Kimura and Masayuki Yui.
Has the examples of:
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Because the majority of the actors and extras would have been unable to endure the conditions of the real camp, they look a fair bit healthier than they should have.
- Anachronism Stew: Not really a stew, but if the Bamboo Technology wheelchair seemed unrealistic, it is. This is because the person the character in the wheelchair is based on actually died after he was beaten in real life.
- Author Filibuster The narrator (who is also the main character and author of the book, Ernest Gordon), opines about mercy, justice, and forgiveness a fair bit.
- Disproportionate Retribution A missing shovel results in someone being beaten to paralysis. As it turns out, the person who was beaten initially wasn't even responsible for the shovel being lost. It was a miscount. The miscounter did not go unpunished.
- The Empire: World War II era Japan, of course.
- Fat Slob: Noguchi, in contrast with noble samurai Ito.
- POW Camp: All but about 7 or 8 minutes of the film take place in one.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: There were some composite characters to save money on casting, and one character Spared By Adaptation because the violence of the initial cut was
too intense for viewers to take in the message. - Well-Intentioned Extremist: Ito is shown to be brutal, but noble. He does not take part in partying or use of the comfort women, and when he mistakenly beats the wrong man for the shovel incident, he is visibly shaken. He also sheds a tear after crucifying Dusty, when the latter took the place of Ian Campbell.
