When British P.O.W.s build a vital railway bridge in enemy-occupied Burma, Allied ... more
commandos are assigned to destroy it in David Lean's epic World War II adventure THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. Spectacylarly produced, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI captured the imagination of the public and won seven 1957 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Alec Guinness), and Best Director. Even it's theme song, an old WWI whistling tune, the 'Colonel Bogey March', became a massive worldwide hit. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI continues today as one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of all time.
Production Year: 1970 - War - Director: Brian G. Hutton - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Gavin MacLeod
Advantages: Alec Guinness is mesmerising, direction exceptional, support cast great Disadvantages: None
Heralded by many as a classic, this David Lean directed film sees a group of prisoners of war in a Japanese camp ordered to build a bridge over the riverKwai to be used to transport Japanese weaponry. Led by colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) the men seek to build a better bridge than the Japanese could proving that the British resolve is stronger than any other nations. In the meantime, American POW Shears (William Holden) is persuaded to go back to the camp where he was held in order to blow up the bridge. To his surprise he finds resolute defence of the bridge by Nicholson who it would seem has gone mad through his shear desire to maintain British appearances.
This is a terrifying and thought provoking film (especially if you are a Brit...). The portrayal of British stiff upper lip by Guinness is I believe one of the most ...
Advantages: : A war film that isn't a war film!! Disadvantages: None
the small piece of film from 1957 - "Rise And Fall Of A Jungle Giant" this was about the actual making of the bridge.
I haven't in all honesty watched all the features on the DVD, which include
The "Making Of" Bridge on the RiverKwai (60 minutes)
Three Featurettes
Photo Gallery
"Build The Bridge" Set-top Game
Set-top Map and History of Events
Isolated Soundtrack
Screensavers
Original Theatrical Trailer
I will eventually get round to watching it all but I can say the pieces I have seen have all been very interesting.
I would say that this DVDversion is probably far better than the version people watched in the cinema over forty years ago!!
Film Length: 155min
UK Certification: PG
CONCLUSION
From the fantastic atmosphere that Lean got from shooting in the steamy, colourful, dense tropical jungles ...
Advantages: Brilliant story, direction and cast. It won 7 oscars. Disadvantages: None
Made in 1957 and shot in colour this in my opinion is the legendary David Lean's finest piece of directorial work. It stars Alec Guinness, William Holden, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins and Geoffrey Horne.
It won an incredible 7 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing, Best Music Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography. This i made even more remarkable because it was up against Twelve Angry Men that year in some of the main categories and furthermore the late 1950s was a very strong period in cinematic history.
The story itself is fictitious but is based on some general accuracies regarding prisoner of war camps in Thailand during the second world war, the treatment of prisoners by the Japanese and the building of various railway bridges by the Japanese army using prisoners of war as labourers.
The running ...
English POWs in Burma ARE 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.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Best Screenplay Based On Material Previously Produced Or Published 1958 (Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson)
Professional reviews
Review
It's certainly weathered well thanks to its novel and ingenious approach to presenting multiple perspectives of the Second World War.. (Total Film, 05/09/2006)
DVD Description
One of the all-time great war films, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO). The film is an outstanding, psychologically complex adaptation of Pierre Boulle's 1952 novel, a 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 (a fabulous Alec Guinness), the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans. Although credited to screenwriter Carl Foreman, the script was actually written by blacklisted writer Michael Wilson. The climax is one of the great finales in film history.
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