Sir Alec Guinness, RIP

Alec Guinness, who is probably best known to folks today for his portrayal of Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi in the Star Wars movies, has passed on.

While most will remember him for his Kenobi character, the impression that will last in my mind will be his Oscar-winning role as Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. If you haven't seen this movie, make sure you go out and rent it! It's not exactly a Saturday-night-drinking-with-one's-buddies movie, but it's very well put together, with powerful performances by Guiness, William Holden (as the American, Shears, who escapes and ends up leading a commando team back to the bridge site), and Sessue Hayakawa (as Col. Saito, the Japanese commandant of the POWs).

If for nothing else, I'll remember Guinness for his insightful delivery of the following lines, said while Col. Nicholson stands with Saito on the completed bridge:

But there are times when suddenly, you realize you're nearer the end than the beginning...and you wonder - you ask yourself - what the sum total of your life represents...what difference your being there at any time made to anything...or if it made any difference at all, really...particularly in comparison with other men's careers. I don't know whether that kind of thing's very healthy, but I must admit I have some thoughts on those lines from time to time.

Cheers...