The Bridge on the River Kwai
WWII drama from director David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia) – winner of seven Academy Awards in 1957 (including Best Film) and named the 11th Best British movie ever by the BFI in 1999.
Story follows a squad of Brit soldiers at a Japanese POW camp in the Burmese jungle. After clashing with the camp commander, a British colonel (Alec Guinness, in an Oscar winning performance) agrees to oversee his men’s construction of a railway bridge for their captors. Meanwhile, the Allies plan a mission to blow-up the bridge before it can be used.
- Director:
- David Lean ('Lawrence of Arabia', 'A Passage to India', 'Doctor Zhivago')
- Writer:
- Michael WilsonCarl Foreman
- Cast:
- William HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsSessue HayakawaJames DonaldGeoffrey Horne
Reviews & comments
David Lean: The Undisputed King of the Epic
While this movie is largely a work of fiction, David Lean's World War II epic is a grandiose spectacle. It is arguably Lean's most complicated work, amplifying its compelling narrative. The concept of war is not examined as such but rather the internal influences and unpredictable forces which ultimately lead to conflict. Lean carefully provokes subtle...
Variety
pressA gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments.
Roger Ebert
pressMost war movies are either for or against their wars. This is one of the few that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals.
Variety
pressA gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments.
Roger Ebert
pressMost war movies are either for or against their wars. This is one of the few that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals.
David Lean: The Undisputed King of the Epic
While this movie is largely a work of fiction, David Lean's World War II epic is a grandiose spectacle. It is arguably Lean's most complicated work, amplifying its compelling narrative. The concept of war is not examined as such but rather the internal influences and unpredictable forces which ultimately lead to conflict. Lean carefully provokes subtle...
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