The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) | |
| Director(s) | David Lean |
| Producer(s) | Sam Spiegel |
| Top Genres | Action, Adventure, Drama, Epic, Film Adaptation, War |
| Top Topics | Book-Based |
Featured Cast:
The Bridge on the River Kwai Overview:
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel.
The film was based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai written by Pierre Boulle published in 1952.
SYNOPSIS:
Directed by the now-legendary David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is an epic WWII war film starring Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa and William Holden. The film was adapted from the 1952 best-selling novel, Le Pont de la Riviere Kwai, by?Pierre Boulle, which, although largely fictitious, was based on Boulle's own war experiences and also pulls historical context from the construction of the POW-built 1942-43 Burma-Siam railway.
The film is set in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma (filmed in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka), where camp commandant Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) and newly-arrived prisoner, British officer Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), clash over Saito's insistence that POW officers work as laborers to build a railway bridge. This begins an intense battle of wills that ultimately leads to an ironic outcome as Nicholson tasks himself, and his men (officers included), with building the bridge - not only a bridge, but a 'proper bridge' - to raise morale and showcase British superiority to the Japanese. Meanwhile, American prisoner, Commander Shears (William Holden), manages to escape the un-escapable camp, but is later coerced into joining a British-led commando team that must return to the camp and destroy the bridge. Now, I don?t want to spoil the ending of this exquisite and powerful film for you, so suffice it to say, that the iconic last line of the movie captures it all: "Madness! Madness!"
(Source: article by Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
.The Bridge on the River Kwai was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1997.
Academy Awards 1957 --- Ceremony Number 30 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actor | Alec Guinness | Won |
| Best Supporting Actor | Sessue Hayakawa | Nominated |
| Best Cinematography | Jack Hildyard | Won |
| Best Director | David Lean | Won |
| Best Film Editing | Peter Taylor | Won |
| Best Music - Scoring | Malcolm Arnold | Won |
| Best Picture | Sam Spiegel, Producer | Won |
| Best Writing | Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman, Pierre Boulle | Won |
BlogHub Articles:
The Bridge on the River Kwai: Honor, Duty, and Madness
By Annmarie Gatti on Dec 14, 2019 From Classic Movie Hub BlogThe Bridge on the River Kwai: Honor, Duty and Madness – an Unforgettable Film even 62 Years Later… In honor of the anniversary of the US theatrical release of The Bridge on the River Kwai on December 14, 1957, a mere 62 years ago today, I am reprinting an article that I wrote for Sony... Read full article
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
By Beatrice on Jun 28, 2016 From Flickers in TimeThe Bridge on the River Kwai Directed by David Lean Written by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson (both uncredited) from a novel by Pierre Boulle 1957/UK/USA Columbia Pictures Corporation/Horizon Pictures Repeat viewing/Netflix rental #340 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die David Lean makes... Read full article
The Bridge on the River Kwai
By Michael on May 24, 2011 From Le Mot du CinephiliaqueThe Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957) The Bridge on the River Kwai is a widely popular and acclaimed film from one of the most famous British directors of all-time: David Lean. With 7 Oscars and a #83spot on the not-so-viable IMDb Top 250, the movie should at least ring a bell to anyone. ... Read full article
The Bridge on the River Kwai
By Alyson on Nov 9, 2010 From The Best Picture ProjectIn a Japanese POW camp, prisoners are overworked and the death rate is extremely high. ?We first meet Shears (William Holden) as he?s digging a grave, by the time he?s finished he can?t even remember who he just buried. ?He has seen so many men arrive and die in this camp his spirit is nearly broken... Read full article
See all The Bridge on the River Kwai articles
Quotes from
Maj. Clipton: Madness! Madness!
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!
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Facts about
Sessue Hayakawa was 68 years old when he was cast as Saito. Having limited command of the English language, he focused only on those pages of the script in which he had dialog - the rest of the pages he tore out. The complete script was about one inch thick; Hayakawa's with the pages torn out was about an eighth of that.
William Holden, then a major star, was brought into the project to provide "box office appeal" after Cary Grant turned down the role. He received $300,000 up front, and was guaranteed a 10% share of the profits, to be paid at the rate of $50,000 a year. This is one reason why Holden sued to stop the first American TV showing of the film in 1966, claiming it would hurt future box office receipts, on which he was dependent (The lawsuit was unsuccessful). Because the film made so much money, his shares eventually accumulated to the point where the studio was making more off the interest on the unpaid balance than Holden was paid per year. A settlement was reached where Holden was paid a lump sum, and any future payments were willed to a motion picture relief fund.
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