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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:
(14 articles)
Schindler's List wins war movie poll voted for by veterans (From BoxWish. 28 April 2009, 3:52 AM, PDT)
Yahoo’s 100 Movies to See Before You Die
(From toxicshock. 25 March 2009, 12:00 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Ageless and all but perfect moreCast
(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:
The film was edited in Paris as David Lean was facing punitive divorce costs from the dissolution of his marriage to Ann Todd at the time in his native England. moreGoofs:
Factual errors: Throughout the film the Japanese use British weapons: Enfield rifles, Sten submachine guns and Vickers (not Browning as stated elsewhere) machine guns. moreQuotes:
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! moreSoundtrack:
God Save the King moreFAQ
A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERSWhat Does Warden (Jack Hawkins) Mean By "I Had To Do It"?
Is this a true story?
more
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Of all war movies this is the one with the best idea behind it. Think how easy it is to make a bad war movie. A group of people must blow up a bridge, and this is the story of their quest ... Actually, that DID serve as the premise for a film: it was called `Force Ten from Navarone', and it was dire. Or how about this one: we see close up the brutalities of war. (Then we see them again. Then we see some more of the brutalities of war. Then we see the credits.) Or how about this: a humble American soldier, with the pragmatism native to his breed, rejects his superiors' highfalutin talk of honour and glory and asserts his basic humanity in trying to stay alive. Or this one: we see English prisoners of war maintain their dignity in the face of Japanese brutality.
They're all present, in a sort of a way: but ALSO present is a magnificent, long, suspenseful, tight story, around which these apparent clichés wrap naturally. If the clichés don't wrap naturally then they, not the story, are bent out of shape. Just when we think that the American pragmatist will turn out to be the hero, we see him cut a rather shabby figure, and it seems that there really WAS something to that highfalutin talk of honour and glory, after all. But then we discover that he has standards of his own, and they appear to be better ones. But THEN it seems that ... I could go on indefinitely, since there are many people here with something to be said for them, and it requires some thought to see who has the most to be said for him in the end.
There's almost no need to mention the excellent performances, photography and music. The only thing one might have qualms about is historical accuracy. Nothing like this ever happened. Still, that makes the movie much less dishonest than those that base themselves on historical events, and then proceed to get them all wrong. You can only be misled by `The Bridge on the River Kwai' if you don't know that it's pure fiction. Well - you know now.