The Bridge on the River Kwai


The Bridge on the River Kwai

Overview:

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson , the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

Votes 536 (7.7/10)

Runtime: 161 minutes

Release Date 1957-10-02

Budget: $3,000,000.00

Revenue: $33,300,000.00

Tagline: It spans a whole new world of entertainment!

Production company:

  • Columbia Pictures Corporation
  • Horizon Pictures (II)

Production country:

  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America

Genres:

  • Drama
  • History
  • War

Trailer

Further Information

Cmdr. Shears
William Holden
William Holden
Col. Nicholson
Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Maj. Warden
Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Col. Saito
Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa
Maj. Clipton
James Donald
James Donald
Lt. Joyce
Geoffrey Horne
Geoffrey Horne
Col. Green
André Morell
André Morell
Capt. Reeves
Peter Williams
Peter Williams
Major Hughes
John Boxer
John Boxer
Grogan
Percy Herbert
Percy Herbert
Baker
Harold Goodwin
Harold Goodwin
Nurse
Ann Sears
Ann Sears
Captain Kanematsu
Heihachirô Ôkawa
Heihachirô Ôkawa
Lieutenant Miura
Keiichirô Katsumoto
Keiichirô Katsumoto
Siamese Girl
Vilaiwan Seeboonreaung
Vilaiwan Seeboonreaung
Novel
Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle
Screenplay
Carl Foreman
Carl Foreman
Producer
Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel
Original Music Composer
Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold
Director of Photography
Jack Hildyard
Jack Hildyard
Art Direction
Donald M. Ashton
Donald M. Ashton
Sound Designer
John Cox
John Cox
Sound Designer
John W. Mitchell
John W. Mitchell
Director
David Lean
David Lean
Makeup Artist
Stuart Freeborn
Stuart Freeborn
Screenplay
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson

John Chard

Colonel Bogey's Barmy Army. OK! Lets get it out there right away, for historical facts of the real Bridge on the River Kwai story, one should research elsewhere, this film is a fictionalised account of the said events. Sadly there are those out there who simply refuse to judge this purely as a piece of cinematic art - and cinematic art it is. A squad of British soldiers are held in a Japanese POW camp in the Burmese jungle. The respective Japanese and British leaders clash but an understanding is finally reached to build a bridge across the River Kwai. The importance of which could prove crucial in more ways than one... It won 7 Academy Awards and 4 BAFTAS, and it was the film that saw the great David Lean enter his epic period. And what a start it is. Kwai is a masterful piece of cinema, it has a magnificently intelligent and complex screenplay - with tough edged dialogue in the script, is bursting at the seams with high quality performances, and beautifully photographed (filmed in Ceylon). Thematically it's about the folly and psychological madness of war, which in turn is ensconced in sub - plots of genuine worth. It all builds to a tremendous finale, where everything we have witnessed is realised with a deftness of talent from across the board. 10/10

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