The Bridge on the River Kwai

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The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)@andreseloy5811001d

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The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 film directed by David Lean. and the screenplay adapted from the play of the same name written by Pierre Boulle was by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson.

Set during World War II, the story focuses on a group of British prisoners of war who are forced by their Japanese captors to build a bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand.

The film explores themes of honour, duty and the absurdity of war.

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It features outstanding performances by Alec Guinness, who plays Colonel Nicholson, the British officer obsessed with building the bridge and maintaining military honour and discipline, regardless of the absurd consequences of his actions.

Other standout performances include William Holden as Major Shears, an American POW who escapes from the camp and then returns with a mission to destroy the bridge, and Sessue Hayakawa as Colonel Saito, the Japanese commander who orders the POWs to build the bridge and who is challenged by Colonel Nicholson.

These actors bring their characters to life in a film that explores the conflict between loyalty, duty and the struggle for survival in the midst of war.

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It was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for David Lean, and Best Actor for Alec Guinness, who took home the award.

In addition to Guinness' award, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" won six Academy Awards in total, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography. The film seems to have been recognised for its technical quality.

It also received several BAFTA awards and other international accolades,

The film cost $3 million to produce and grossed over $30 million at the box office.

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›CLASSIC REVIEW: The Bridge on the River Kwai@jeremiahcustis2137d

If you've never seen or heard of this film it maybe because it was released in 1957. The only person you are likely to recognize is Obi-Wan Kenobi himself or a 42-year-old Alec Guinness.

How good are your Roman numerals reading skills? I remember being bored to death as a kid during Catholic Mass looking at these strange ancient numbers and self-taught myself how to read them. MCMLVII is 1957.

This is a fictional story based on true events. The Japanese had allied prisoners they put to work connecting Thailand to Burma. Alec Guinness as Colonel Nicholson refuses to put his officers to work based on the international laws of the Geneva Convention while Colonel Saito has his Japanese honor at stake and a deadline to finish the bridge.

Colonel Nicholson is a true British soldier through and through. He stands tall in defiance of his Japanese captors even when about to be shot down with a machine gun.

Lieutenant Commander Shears is the only American in the film. I love what Colonel Nicholson says about him, "Queer bird... even for an American."

They called it the Death Railway because so many POWs died working on it. You can visit the bridge today in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The graves are still there and they have a museum to commemorate the poor soldiers who died there.

The British send a special team of soldiers to find and blow up the bridge. The Japanese took all of the Siamese men from the village so they use local women to carry the gear.

I know they are going on a secret mission and need to camouflage themselves, but did they need to use blackface?

This is still a great film six decades later. I saw it the first time in 1999 on VHS and never forgot about it. It won 8 Academy Awards including best picture. I embedded the Amazon link below, but you can easily find it on torrent sites too. Amazon will sell anything to make a buck, but if people feel that this needs to be shared on torrents even today, it's a sign that it's a quality film.

I can still do the whistling of the British soldiers as they marched. It's a catchy tune. Thanks for looking back at this classic film with me today. Remember that all work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

Resources

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3jdRM4x

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai

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›The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) by David Lean (REVIEW)@lost1082694d
A military classic movie by the director David Lynn, legal according to Pierre Bull's book for a group of English prisoners of war in a Japanese camp.

The role is played by Alec Guinness and William Holden An interesting tweet is that Alec Guinness wanted to give up the role, but somehow persuaded him, stayed worth it - won the Oscar.

William Holden again with the film financially edited for a lifetime - and this was a nice life . In the deal, he wrote that he would receive 10 percent of the cinema's earnings of the film. Every year a beautiful coin was stuck in his account.

The location for filming the film was also considered by then Yugoslavia.
[Source](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59e512ddf43b55c29c71b996/t/59ece7a914fd83f0bbe3497b/1508701445658/The-Bridge-on-the-River-Kwai.jpg)
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›The Bridge on the River Kwai@apkdl3030d

II. David Lean, a 1957 film about the bondage between Japanese and British soldiers during World War II. of course, there is a naivete from the anti-war stance of the years in which he was drawn, but he never stops to slap him when he gets there. The name of the castle in the castle is the main subject to build bridges over the Kwai River.

Who likes: those who like friendship, peace, the emphasis on fraternity, those who follow works on human psychology.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212/?ref_=nv_sr_1

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