No.
... there has been technological advancement, but how little man himself has changed.
Nope. I have a few issues with the film, but that wasn't close to being one of them.
shareThe whistling was a bit overdone, but a very necessary evil. Perfect for putting one in a popcorn frame of mind. Just sit back and enjoy the historical fantasy. The entrance of the British POWs in SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE is done much, much better and feels more true.
shareMe. Real old fashioned "Tommy" cliché, all the jolly two-dimensional soldiers who you can't imagine having a life outside this movie.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher.
The whistling is equally important as the title of the film imo. They go hand in hand.
shareIt's annoying, but effective, especially considering the conventions of filmmaking in the 1950's.
shareI whistle this tune, actually it's a March, often.
"It's the system, Lara. People will be different after the Revolution."
Google 'colonel bogey march lyrics' and you'll see why they had to be whistled instead of sung in 1957.
Hitler --- has only got one ball
Goering --- has two but very small
Himmler --- has something simmler
And poor old Goebbels has no balls at all
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Guacamole in my choos
arbilab, we had an Irish singer play the local clubs around here 20 years ago and he sang those lyrics but the tune he used sounded nothing like the march. Interesting.
"It's the system, Lara. People will be different after the Revolution."
I had no idea there were lyrics to that march haha, those were beautiful thanks for the heads-up.
As for the OP's question, no, the whistling never bothered me. It showed that the troops were trying to keep their spirits high despite being defeated, and also showed that they were naive to the horrors that awaited them in the Japanese camp (the whistling was cheerful and innocent, the opposite of what the forced labour camp had in store for them).
In a way the whistling was setting up the entire story, as expectations are set-up again and again, and then defeated again and again throughout the film. Nothing in this movie, story or characters, turns out the way you would expect it to. "There's always the unexpected, isn't there?".