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The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
2 October 1957 (UK) moreTagline:
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. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Won 7 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 5 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(16 articles)
Geek Deal: Columbia Best Picture Collection for $60 (From Slash Film. 17 September 2009, 11:30 PM, PDT)
'Ryan's Daughter' sequel in the works (IrishCentral)
(From IrishCentral. 4 August 2009, 5:54 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Far Ahead of Its Time more (208 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 | |
| Heihachiro Okawa | ... | Captain Kanematsu (as Henry Okawa) | |
| Keiichiro Katsumoto | ... | Lieutenant Miura (as K. Katsumoto) | |
| M.R.B. Chakrabandhu | ... | Col. Broome Yai |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG for mild war violence. (1991 reissue)Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
161 minColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1 moreSound 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)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Original novelist Pierre Boulle actually had been a prisoner of war in Thailand. His creation of Colonel Nicholson was an amalgam of his memories of various French officers who collaborated with his captors. moreGoofs:
Continuity: In the opening scene, the railway is 5'6" (1.676 m) broad gauge, as used in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the filming location; but when we see tracks on the finished bridge, they're much narrower, about 2' (60 cm). moreQuotes:
Maj. Warden: I belong to a rather rum group called Force 316. Our headquarters is up in the botanical gardens.Commander Shears: Protecting rare plants from the enemy?
more
Soundtrack:
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow moreFAQ
Is this a true story?How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie
A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERS
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more (208 total)
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First off, what is so amazing about this film is that, for the time that it was made, how modern it looks. David Lean certainly had the eye of any modern director and managed to direct a visual masterpiece at a time when many films were still being shot in black and white.
William Holden gives one of his finest performances as a cynic of warfare , citing for us the insanity and absurdity that the combatants often convey. And he hates the war, but he cannot avoid been thrown back into it again and again. We wish he could stay on the beach with his nurse lover, but he is a man destined for a tragic doom for his country, whether he wants to or not.
Alec Guiness also delivers a fine performance as a bold general whose own pride is, at the same time, his most noble quality as well as his greatest fault. He is uncompromising, yet when the Japanese submit to his demands, he begins overseeing the construction of the bridge with great esteem. Eventually, for him, the bridge becomes a manifestation of his belief of the superiority of the British Army, which he follows like a religion. And in putting all his pride into this bridge, he loses sight of even the British's own true agenda. Truly, his sense of overwhelming honor is, at the same time, his downfall in a descent to a loss of morality, and a sense of good and evil.
And yes, by the end of this film, we learn a great lesson of the horrors of war. Not only does it take the lives of many good men, but the utter failure and despair that accompany it make it an unbearable existence. And this message has only recently been re-evaluated with the also-brilliant masterpiece "Saving Private Ryan." But, keep in mind that it took forty years to regain the power that this film inspired so long ago.