I originally did not want to write a review but as my opinion differs so heavily from this films critical acclaim I just feel the need to justify my rating.
Yes it has been more than half a century since its release and audiences have matured in terms of movie reception - I especially have matured with probably a thousand movies I have watched during my lifetime - but that does not account for the gargantuan problem of believability this film has in my opinion. The entire first act made me furious. [Spoiler]The very idea of the Geneva Convention forbidding using officers as workers is so beyond reality. Why the fuck shouldn't they? Even if that is true, which it probably is, it's not even something I support. Plus it's war. They are POWs, how can they make any demands? Which brings me to the next point. They want to tell me that Saito is cruel but nothing is shown that supports that he stands out in any way. Confining a few people to shacks isn't even that cruel to begin with. The prisoners live in this camp like they aren't prisoners at all. There is no harsh treatment shown, they have so many freedoms, it is ridiculous ... All that does not make Saito appear as any serious menace.
Going back to the confinement: Yes being put into a box without food or drink is indeed torture but there again they do not make it believable. So Guiness is put in there for days. Where does he relieve himself? Or is he just such a proud soldier that he can control this for days? If it should be implied that of course he has to shit himself than why the fuck would Saito invite him to dinner without cleaning him up first? Even without excrement he must stink like hell having been fried in the sun for days ...
Thirdly I want to stress the behaviour as POWs again. I don't know whether there simply had not been any education on the truth of war at the time but noone can convince me that the treatment of enemies - prisoners or not - would be so amicable. The Japanese in particular were known to treat people inhumanely. Some prisoner loudmouthing would probably have been beaten in front of everyone else to teach them a lesson. ... I could go on but I think I made myself clear.
I even liked the character arcs of Saito and Nicholson but as I said the whole premise just is not believable for me.
Other factors that influenced my rating are the skillfully captured beautiful landscapes on the one hand and the pacing on the other. It's simple not necessary to repeat scenes like cutting through the thicket three times. There were so many redundancies and especially the setup of the first act could have been done in maybe a third of the time. Basically even in 10 minutes if you use some montages.
Having said all that the very ending was actually quite good - if depressing.[/spoiler]