Usually, the correspondence centres on requests for support from the War Office. The film was directed by David Lean and starred William Holding, Jack … MHM’s movie summary, film and plot synopsis of The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) starring William Holden, Alec Guinness, and Jack Hawkins. While Nicholson disapproves of acts of sabotage and other deliberate attempts to delay progress, Toosey encouraged this: termites were collected in large numbers to eat the wooden structures, and the concrete was badly mixed. Nicholson spots the wire and brings it to Saito's attention. The cast includes [36] By October 1960, the film had earned worldwide box office revenues of $30 million. David Lean himself also claimed that producer Sam Spiegel cheated him out of his rightful part in the credits since he had had a major hand in the script. Thanks to the film, the Bridge, situated in the Thai town of Kanchanaburi a couple of hours drive from Bangkok, is one of Thailand’s most popular tourist attractions. swept seven Academy Awards including the award for Best Picture. However, cameraman Freddy Ford was unable to get out of the way of the explosion in time, and Lean had to stop filming. Joyce, manning the detonator, breaks cover and stabs Saito to death. For example, a Sergeant-Major Risaburo Saito was in real life second in command at the camp. “The Bridge of the River Kwai” from 1957, runs 2 hours, 47 minutes, and will be broadcast Saturday, Nov. 14, at 9 p.m. on PBS. It was still highly unusual at that time for a television network to show such a long film in one evening; most films of that length were still generally split into two parts and shown over two evenings. Mitch Miller had a hit with a recording of both marches. Spike from the Burma Railroad. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon, and a team of government dignitaries. Like Robert Graves' World War I memoir, Goodbye to All That, it shows men grimly hanging onto military discipline and pride in their units as a way of clinging to sanity. The British Film Institute placed The Bridge on the River Kwai as the 11th greatest British film. It is as beautiful a film to watch today as it was in 1957, proudly boasting the Cinemascope format that was used to photograph the wilds of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) which stood in for the film… According to Columbia Pictures, they followed an all-new 4K digital restoration from the original negative with newly restored 5.1 audio. Julie Summers, in her book The Colonel of Tamarkan, writes that Boulle, who had been a prisoner of war in Thailand, created the fictional Nicholson character as an amalgam of his memories of collaborating French officers. [33], The Bridge on the River Kwai was a massive commercial success. does not fall onto the plunger, and the bridge suffers only minor damage. "[24], A 1969 BBC television documentary, Return to the River Kwai, made by former POW John Coast,[27] sought to highlight the real history behind the film (partly through getting ex-POWs to question its factual basis, for example Dr Hugh de Wardener and Lt-Col Alfred Knights), which angered many former POWs. Only in 1984 did the Academyrectify the situation by retroactively awarding the Oscar t… He described the music for The Bridge on the River Kwai as the "worst job I ever had in my life" from the point of view of time. Whether via VHS, widescreen VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, or even high-definition Blu-ray, it has long been plagued by an overly contrasty, crushed, murky look that didn’t quash its emotional impact but nonetheless seemed like a missed opportunity, especially given the film’s lush setting. When the bridge was built, the water beneath it was actually the Mae Klong River, although it did join the Khwae Noi River elsewhere. [39], The film initially received generally positive reviews, with Guinness being widely praised for his performance. A Gem of the Silver Screen. [37], The film was re-released in 1964 and earned a further estimated $2.6 million at the box office in the United States and Canada[38] but the following year its revised total US and Canadian revenues were reported by Variety as $17,195,000. He wanders half-dead into a Siamese village, where he is nursed back to health before completing his escape to the British colony of Ceylon. On February 1, 2021, MHM's Film Reviews will only be available on our YouTube Channel. Guinness later said that he subconsciously based his walk while emerging from "the Oven" on that of his eleven-year-old son Matthew,[14] who was recovering from polio at the time, a disease that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. The Bridge on the River Kwai has never been a great-looking film. The march was written in 1914 by Kenneth J. Alford, a pseudonym of British Bandmaster Frederick J. Ricketts. Thank God that I'm starting work tomorrow with an American actor (William Holden)."[13]. Subsequent releases of the film finally gave them proper screen credit. [42] Ebert notes that the film is one of the few war movies that "focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals", but commented that the viewer is not certain what is intended by the final dialogue due to the film's shifting points of view. On another occasion, they argued over the scene where Nicholson reflects on his career in the army. [15] Guinness later reflected on the scene, calling it the "finest piece of work" he had ever done. Boulle based his novel, published in 1952, on his … Nicholson yells for help, while attempting to stop Joyce from reaching the detonator. David Lean's epic war drama The Bridge On The River Kwai is a film that succeeds in keeping the "epic" relatively small scale. In particular, they objected to the implication presented in the film that Japanese military engineers were generally unskilled and unproficient at their professions. [10][11], The film was an international co-production between companies in Britain and the United States. [18], British composer Malcolm Arnold recalled that he had "ten days to write around forty-five minutes worth of music" - much less time than he was used to. [33] Boulle had never been to the bridge. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma. Some of the characters in the film use the names of real people who were involved in the Burma Railway. The commandant, Colonel Saito, informs them that all prisoners, regardless of rank, will work on the construction of a railway bridge over the River Kwai that will connect Bangkok and Rangoon. We worked at bayonet point and under bamboo lash, taking any risk to sabotage the operation whenever the opportunity arose. The adventure war film The Bridge on the River Kwai may have swept the board of awards and attracted acclaim as one best films of the 20th century, but … In March 1958, The Bridge on the River Kwai swept seven Academy Awards including the award for Best Picture. Although the 1957 film was set on the Death Railway of Burma, where British PoWs built a real bridge over a real River Kwai in Thailand, it was filmed in Sri Lanka. Saito threatens to have them shot, but Nicholson refuses to back down. He knew that the railway ran parallel to the Kwae for many miles, and he therefore assumed that it was the Kwae which it crossed just north of Kanchanaburi. Lean had a lengthy row with Guinness over how to play the role of Nicholson; Guinness wanted to play the part with a sense of humour and sympathy, while Lean thought Nicholson should be "a bore." War film directed in 1958 by David Lean, and starring William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, James Donald, Sessue Hayakawa, André Morell, Geoffrey Horne, Peter Williams, John Boxer, Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Ann Sears, Heihachiro Okawa… Madness! Warden is wounded in an encounter with a Japanese patrol and has to be carried on a litter. With William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa. When the Japanese launched their lightning attacks in December 1941, they not only targeted the American fleet and its island bases, but … British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors, not knowing that the allied forces are planning to destroy it. The filming location for Bridge on the River Kwai is today indicated by a discreet, rusted piece of metal on which directions to the area have been painted. He created the railroad. Lean shouted at them, 'For God's sake, whistle a march to keep time to.' During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. When Joyce is mortally wounded by Japanese fire, Shears swims across the river, but is himself shot. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a British 1957 movie from Columbia Pictures, based on Pierre Boulle's 1952 book The Bridge over the River Kwai (French: Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai).The movie was mainly filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and also in England.. This entry was posted in Asia Travel, Movie Locations and tagged bridge on the river kwai, Bridge On The River Kwai filming locations, how to get to Peradeniya Botanic Gardens by local bus, kitulgala, Mount Lavinia Hotel, obi-wan kenobi, Things to do in Colombo, where was bridge on the river kwai filmed?. [50][51], The film was restored in 1992 by Columbia Pictures. [21], A memorable feature of the film is the tune that is whistled by the POWs—the first strain of the march "Colonel Bogey"—when they enter the camp. [9], Many directors were considered for the project, among them John Ford, William Wyler, Howard Hawks, Fred Zinnemann, and Orson Welles (who was also offered a starring role). The 1957 award winning British-American war film The Bridge on the River Kwai was based on the novel Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai (1952) which brought these struggles of the survivors to light. In early 1943, British POWs arrive at a Japanese prison camp in Burma. Thailand's Kanchanaburi. For him, its completion will exemplify the ingenuity and hard work of the British Army. It was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. Both bridges were destroyed by Allied bombers on 2 April 1945, although they had been damaged and repaired several times before. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Warden fires a mortar, wounding Nicholson. As the Japanese engineers chose a poor site, a new bridge is begun downstream. Over the protests of some of his officers, he orders Captain Reeves and Major Hughes to build a proper bridge, in order to maintain his men's morale and pride in their professionalism. Although the Kelani River was a slower-moving waterway during the film’s shooting than it is today, David Lean (the director of the movie) is said to have nearly drowned when the river swept him away during a break from filming. On this, its 60th birthday, The Bridge on the River Kwai has lost none of its majesty. But in Bangkok I was told that David Lean, the film's director, became mad at the extras who played the prisoners—us—because they couldn't march in time. Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa. [16], Lean nearly drowned when he was swept away by the river current during a break from filming.[17]. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to the UK in order to continue working. Boulle nonetheless enjoyed the film version though he disagreed with its climax. [41], Roger Ebert gives the film four out of four stars. IT WAS LOOSELY BASED ON REAL EVENTS. Realising he has no choice, Shears "volunteers". Witnessing the carnage, Clipton shakes his head, muttering, "Madness! The documentary itself was described by one newspaper reviewer when it was shown on Boxing Day 1974 (The Bridge on the River Kwai had been shown on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1974) as "Following the movie, this is a rerun of the antidote."[32]. The Bridge On The River Kwai – 1957 – English. Attention! The movie was based on the 1952 novel by Pierre Boulle. [29] According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. This was an incorrect assumption. Nicholson erects a sign commemorating the bridge's construction by the British Army. [49] The 167-minute film was first telecast, uncut, in colour, on the evening of 25 September 1966, as a three hours-plus ABC Movie Special. Arnold won an Academy Award for the film's score. The fourth film in our blog series is ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ (1957) directed by David Lean. At the morning assembly, Nicholson orders his officers to remain behind when the enlisted men march off to work. The official credit was given to Pierre Boulle (who did not speak English), and the resulting Oscar for Best Screenplay (Adaptation) was awarded to him. It stresses the importance of duty, but Kwai is quick to show how adherence to duty for the wrong reasons (pride, for example) can tempt disaster.This film may look like another glossy World War II film from the late 1950s, but it is in a class all by itself. The bridge in the film was near Kitulgala. [25] He strongly denied the claim that the book was anti-British, although many involved in the film itself (including Alec Guinness) felt otherwise. The Bridge on the River Kwai is an epic World War II film directed by David Lean and based on the novel by Pierre Boulle. The bridge that was used to shoot the movie in 1956 and 1957 no longer exists, as it was dismantled once filming had concluded in order to protect the ecology of the surrounding environment. Visit Kitulgala during the peak season of January to March, as the climate is cooler and with less rainfall; it’s the ideal time to partake in a variety of water sports in the area. Two are shot dead, but United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Shears gets away. Did he really want the enemy to come in across it?”[46], Some Japanese viewers disliked the film's depiction of the Japanese characters present in the movie and the historical background presented as being inaccurate, particularly in the interactions between Saito and Nicholson. [42], Slant Magazine gave the film four out of five stars. Recently, the Tourist Board of Sri Lanka has considered installing a replica of the bridge from the film to promote further interest in Kitulgala and its surrounding rainforests to visiting tourists. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. "[40] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Desperate, he uses the anniversary of Japan's 1905 victory in the Russo-Japanese War as an excuse to save face and announces a general amnesty, releasing Nicholson and his officers and exempting them from manual labour. Toosey in fact did as much as possible to delay the building of the bridge. When the shipment failed to arrive in London, a worldwide search was undertaken. To the producers' horror, the film containers were found a week later on an airport tarmac in Cairo, sitting in the hot sun. David Lean’s 1957 The Bridge On The River Kwai is an epic anti-war film. After Guinness was done with the scene, Lean said, "Now you can all fuck off and go home, you English actors. Under cover of darkness, Shears and Joyce plant explosives on the bridge towers. ABC, sponsored by Ford, paid a record $1.8 million for the television rights for two screenings in the United States. It is best to watch the movie first before you visit the area, so you can reimagine how the set would have looked like. In many tense, dramatic scenes, only the sounds of nature are used. This was an entertaining story. [43] Slant stated that "the 1957 epic subtly develops its themes about the irrationality of honor and the hypocrisy of Britain's class system without ever compromising its thrilling war narrative", and in comparing to other films of the time said that Bridge on the River Kwai "carefully builds its psychological tension until it erupts in a blinding flash of sulfur and flame. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 in the United States and Canada and was also the most popular film at the British box office that year. However, in 1943 a railway bridge was built by Allied POWs over the Mae Klong river – renamed Khwae Yai in the 1960s as a result of the film – at Tha Ma Kham, five kilometres from Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The negative itself manifested many of the kinds of issues one would expect from a film of this vintage: torn frames, embedded emulsion dirt, scratches through every reel, colour fading. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” won Best Picture and six other Oscar nods from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences at the 1958 Academy Awards. Discover this hidden gem set away from the crowds. Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The site's critical consensus reads, "This complex war epic asks hard questions, resists easy answers, and boasts career-defining work from star Alec Guinness and director David Lean. Ordinarily, the film would have been taken by boat to London, but due to the Suez crisis this was impossible; therefore the film was taken by air freight. The steel bridge was repaired and is still in use today. The conditions to which POW and civilian labourers were subjected were far worse than the film depicted. The filming of the bridge explosion was to be done on 10 March 1957, in the presence of S.W.R.D. The Bridge on The River Kwai. The official credit was given to Pierre Boulle (who did not speak English), and the resulting Oscar for Best Screenplay (Adaptation) was awarded to him. Although it was not exposed to sunlight, the heat-sensitive colour film stock should have been hopelessly ruined; however, when processed the shots were perfect and appeared in the film. Discussions over building a replica of the bridge are currently underway. The Bridge on the River Kwai, British-American war film, released in 1957 and directed by David Lean, that was both a critical and popular success and became an enduring classic. The telecast of the film lasted more than three hours because of the commercial breaks. In a 1988 interview with Barry Norman, Lean confirmed that Columbia almost stopped filming after three weeks because there was no white woman in the film, forcing him to add what he calls, "a very terrible scene" between William Holden and the nurse on the beach. Bookmark the permalink. Nicholson forbids any escape attempts because they were ordered by headquarters to surrender, and escapes could be seen as defiance of orders. The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. Bridge on the River Kwai was the highest-grossing film of 1957 and received overwhemingly positive reviews from critics. For the novel, see, 1957 World War II film directed by David Lean, American theatrical release poster, "Style A", A transcript of the interview and the documentary as a whole can be found in the new edition of John Coast's book, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, 11th greatest British film of the 20th century, the highest-grossing film of 1957 in the United States and Canada, Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, Best Sound Track Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition), "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress", "New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin", "Flashback: A look back at this day in film history (, "How Father Brown Led Sir Alec Guinness to the Church", "links for research, Allied POWs under the Japanese", "The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the, "Once-Stupendous-Now-Modest $2,700,000 Budget Kept Secret; 'River Kwai's' Sockfull Gross", "Balu Mahendra, who made his visuals speak, dies at 74", "Warren Buffett carries an American Express card and about $400 in cash", The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the Bridge on the River Kwai, "Movies | Disc & Digital | Sony Pictures", "Wayne and Shuster Show, The Episode Guide (1954–1990) (series)", Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, National Board of Review Award for Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai&oldid=992497779, Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance, Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance, Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award, Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award, Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe, Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award, Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award, Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award, United States National Film Registry films, Films with screenplays by Michael Wilson (writer), Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, $30.6 million (worldwide rentals from initial release), Best DVD Original Retrospective Documentary/Featurette, This page was last edited on 5 December 2020, at 16:08. 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