THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
by David Lean
synopsis
During WW II, allied POWs in a Japanese internment camp are ordered to build a bridge to accommodate the Burma-Siam railway. Their instinct is to sabotage the bridge, but under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson they're persuaded the bridge should be built to help morale, spirit. At first, the prisoners admire Nicholson when he bravely endures torture rather than compromise his principles for the benefit of Japanese Commandant Colonel Saito, but soon they realise it's a monument to Nicholson, himself, as well as a form of collaboration with the enemy.
original title: | The Bridge on the River Kwai |
country: | United Kingdom, United States |
year: | 1957 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | David Lean |
film run: | 161' |
release date: | UK 02/10/1957, BE 20/12/1957, FR 20/12/1957, IE 03/01/1958, DE 07/03/1958, GR 07/03/1958, NL 21/03/1958, IT 28/03/1958, SE 18/07/1958, DK 18/08/1958, FI 29/08/1958, AT 05/09/1958, NO 06/10/1958, ES 13/10/1958, PT 28/11/1958, TR 12/03/1962, HU 18/08/1988, CZ 22/01/1998 |
screenplay: | Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson |
cast: | William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins |
cinematography by: | Jack Hildyard |
film editing: | Peter Taylor |
producer: | Sam Spiegel |