The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Director:

David Lean

Writer (WGA):

Pierre Boulle (novel)

Release Date:

2 October 1957 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

It spans a whole new world of entertainment!

Plot:

After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors - while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.

Plot Keywords:

Bridge | British | Construction | Japanese | Torture

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

William Holden	...	Shears
Alec Guinness	...	Colonel Nicholson
Jack Hawkins	...	Major Warden
Sessue Hayakawa	...	Colonel Saito
James Donald	...	Major Clipton
Geoffrey Horne	...	Lieutenant Joyce
André Morell	...	Colonel Green (as Andre Morell)
Peter Williams	...	Captain Reeves
John Boxer	...	Major Hughes
Percy Herbert	...	Grogan
Harold Goodwin	...	Baker
Ann Sears	...	Nurse
Heihachirô Ôkawa	...	Captain Kanematsu (as Henry Okawa)
Keiichiro Katsumoto	...	Lieutenant Miura (as K. Katsumoto)
M.R.B. Chakrabandhu	...	Col. Broome Yai

Also Known As:

A Ponte do Rio Kwai (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Bron över floden Kwai (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Die Brücke am Kwai (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
El puente sobre el río Kwai (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Le pont de la rivière Kwai (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Broen over floden Kwai (Denmark) [da]
De brug over de rivier Kwai (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
El pont sobre el riu Kwai (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Híd a Kwai folyón (Hungary) [hu]
Ha-Gesher Al Nahar Kwai (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
I gefyra tou potamou Kwai (Greece) [el]
Il ponte sul fiume Kwai (Italy) [it]
Kwai köprüsü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Kwai-joen silta (Finland) [fi]
Most na reci Kvai (Serbia) [sr]
Most na rzece Kwai (Poland) [pl]
Most pres reku Kwai (Czech Republic) [cs]
The Bridge on the River Kwai (Hungary) [hu]

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild war violence. (1991 reissue)

Runtime:

161 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Japanese | Thai

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (RCA Sound System) | Dolby SR (re-release) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | USA:Approved | USA:PG (re-rating) (1991) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Spain:T | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (w) | Sweden:15 | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Ambepussa, Sri Lanka

Company:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Trivia:

John Gielgud was the first choice to play Major Warden (played by Jack Hawkins in the film) but rejected the role, saying it was "anybody's part".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie credits have only one 'n' in Alec Guinness' name (this has been corrected in the "restored" version).

Quotes:

Colonel Saito: I hate the British! You are defeated but you have no shame. You are stubborn but you have no pride. You endure but you have no courage. I hate the British!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Farscape: Mental as Anything (#4.15)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Colonel Bogey March

Nothing less than a masterpiece...

About as Oscar-worthy as any film made in the '50s is David Lean's gripping BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. Based loosely on a real-life incident, it tells the story of an imprisoned British officer (Alec Guinness) who loses sight of his mission when forced to build a bridge for the Japanese that will enable the enemy to carry supplies by train through the jungle during World War II. Guinness plays the crisp British officer to perfection, brilliant in all of his scenes but especially in his confrontations with Sessue Hayakawa. William Holden has a pivotal role as one of the prisoners who escapes and enjoys his freedom for awhile before being asked to return with a small squadron to destroy the bridge. Jack Hawkins and Geoffrey Horne have colorful roles too and all are superb under David Lean's direction.

The jungle settings filmed in Ceylon add the necessary realism to the project and there is never a suspension of interest although the story runs well over two-and-a-half hours. The film builds to a tense and magnificent climax with an ending that seems to be deliberately ambiguous and thought provoking. Well worth watching, especially if shown in the restored letterbox version now being shown on TCM.

Some of the best lines go to William Holden and he makes the most of a complex role--a mixture of cynicism and heroism in a character that ranks with his best anti-hero roles in films of the '50s. He brings as much conviction to his role as Alec Guinness does and deserved a Best Actor nomination that he did not get.