The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) UK
The Bridge on the River Kwai Image Cover
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Director:David Lean
Studio:Sony Pictures
Producer:Sam Spiegel
Writer:Pierre Boulle
Rating:4.5
Rated:PG
Date Added:2006-03-28
ASIN:B00004XPPC
UPC:0043396052789
Price:$24.95
Awards:Won 7 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 5 nominations
Genre:Classics
Release:2000-11-20
IMDb:0050212
Duration:162
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:Dolby
Languages:English, Dolby Digital 5.1, English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, Portuguese, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Subtitles:English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
Features:Anamorphic
David Lean  ...  (Director)
Pierre Boulle  ...  (Writer)
 
William Holden  ...  Cmdr. Shears
Jack Hawkins  ...  Maj. Warden
Alec Guinness  ...  Col. Nicholson
Sessue Hayakawa  ...  Col. Saito
James Donald  ...  Maj. Clipton
Geoffrey Horne  ...  Lt. Joyce
André Morell  ...  Col. Green
Peter Williams  ...  Capt. Reeves
John Boxer  ...  Maj. Hughes
Percy Herbert  ...  Pvt. Grogan
Harold Goodwin  ...  Pvt. Baker, Sick List Volunteer
Ann Sears  ...  Nurse at Siamese hospital
Heihachiro Okawa  ...  Capt. Kanematsu (as Henry Okawa)
Keiichiro Katsumoto  ...  Lt. Miura
M.R.B. Chakrabandhu  ...  Yai (as M.R.B. Chakrabandhu {Col. Broome})
Heihachirô Ôkawa  ...  Capt. Kanematsu (as Henry Okawa)
Keiichirô Katsumoto  ...  Lt. Miura (as K. Katsumoto)
Heihachirô Ôkawa  ...  Captain Kanematsu (as Henry Okawa)
Comments: It spans a whole new world of entertainment!

Summary: Director David Lean's masterful 1957 realization of Pierre Boulle's novel remains a benchmark for war films, and a deeply absorbing movie by any standard--like most of Lean's canon, The Bridge on the River Kwai achieves a richness in theme, narrative, and characterization that transcends genre.
The story centers on a Japanese prison camp isolated deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia, where the remorseless Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) has been charged with building a vitally important railway bridge. His clash of wills with a British prisoner, the charismatic Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), escalates into a duel of honor, Nicholson defying his captor's demands to win concessions for his troops. How the two officers reach a compromise, and Nicholson becomes obsessed with building that bridge, provides the story's thematic spine; the parallel movement of a team of commandos dispatched to stop the project, led by a British major (Jack Hawkins) and guided by an American escapee (William Holden), supplies the story's suspense and forward momentum.
Shot on location in Sri Lanka, Kwai moves with a careful, even deliberate pace that survivors of latter-day, high-concept blockbusters might find lulling--Lean doesn't pander to attention deficit disorders with an explosion every 15 minutes. Instead, he guides us toward the intersection of the two plots, accruing remarkable character details through extraordinary performances. Hayakawa's cruel camp commander is gradually revealed as a victim of his own sense of honor, Holden's callow opportunist proves heroic without softening his nihilistic edge, and Guinness (who won a Best Actor Oscar, one of the production's seven wins) disappears as only he can into Nicholson's brittle, duty-driven, delusional psychosis. His final glimpse of self-knowledge remains an astonishing moment--story, character, and image coalescing with explosive impact.
Like Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai has been beautifully restored and released in a highly recommended widescreen version that preserves its original aspect ratio. --Sam Sutherland