close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

    • James Carville strengthens his tenacity by repeatedly viewing “The Bridge on the River Kwai”
    aecifo

    James Carville strengthens his tenacity by repeatedly viewing “The Bridge on the River Kwai”

    Umito Posted on

    At 80, political strategist and author James Carville shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He notably served on several key Democratic campaigns before helping Bill Clinton win the presidency in 1992. Since then, he has maintained a familiar presence on cable news channels as a political pundit. He also co-hosts the podcast Political War Room alongside journalist Al Hunt. And you can get a lot more insight into what makes him tick with Matt Tyrnauer’s new documentary. Carville: Winning is everything, stupid. The film highlights Carville’s important behind-the-scenes role in the Democratic Party and his impact on this year’s presidential campaign.

    More: James Carville and filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer explain Winning is everything, stupid (The treatment2024)

    More: Former Democratic campaign manager explains how Harris needs to step up her efforts (Press Play2024)

    For his Treat, Carville reveals why he watches the opening of the 1957 classic The bridge over the River Kwai almost every evening. The film won several Academy Awards, including Best Director for David Lean and Best Actor for star Alec Guinness. This epic war film is based on Pierre Boulle’s 1952 novel and follows British prisoners of war forced to build a railway bridge for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma. Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness, emerges as a provocative figure, embodying the spirit of resistance that resonates with Carville. He says the film inspires him because it shows that no one can own you – circumstances be damned.

    More: The Ragin’ Cajun comes to Hollywood (The company2006)

    This segment has been edited and condensed for clarity.

    Almost every evening I watch the opening of The bridge over the River Kwai. And why am I doing this? Because of the defiance on (Colonel) Nicholson’s face and the back and forth between (him) and the commander. You look at that and you say, “This motherfucker doesn’t give up, man, he’s defiant.” And I always liked it. I loved the theme, you know, it was a British soldiers movie but it was (basically) I don’t belong to you..

    I’ve probably seen it, I don’t know how many times, but that opening scene, to me, was… I don’t belong to you. You may have all the power in the world over me, but I don’t belong to you. And I mean, if you think about real people who changed the world… Nicholson (the character) was a grumpy old British upper class guy, but he had this real challenge, like people do and that inspires me .

    You know the movie is good if you’re sort of 20% in favor of the other side. You didn’t really hate the guy. He just did it, he received a lot of pressure from Tokyo. He had to bridge the gap. He had to, you know, he was afraid. You could just see that it was a very human thing.

    The reason I was inspired is because no matter where you are, how much shit you’ve taken, how much power you have over you – there are some people who are just plain defiant. That’s what this film told me.

    Umito
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like