Approximately 5 kilometres north of Kanchanaburi there were two bridges that were built by POWs during the war. Madness!" So go the tragic final words of David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), a spectacular and deeply-moving WWII adventure film that still entertains and challenges over sixty years later. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Along with 1,250 other POWs, he died while in transit from Singapore to Japan aboard the Rakuyo Maro transport ship after it was torpedoed by a US submarine. A make-up man was also badly injured in the same accident. 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 Rivire Kwai). "[53], Among retrospective reviews, Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, noting that it 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. But whats the real story? The Burma-Siam Railways construction necessitated construction of over 670 bridges and numerous cuttings. His first epic was his twelfth film: The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness and William Holden as P.O.W. But I am writing a factual account, and in justice to these menliving and deadwho worked on that bridge, I must make it clear that we never did so willingly. 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. When Joyce is wounded by Japanese fire, Shears swims across, but is himself shot. The Bridge of the River kwai It is a tourist attraction of Kanchanaburi. 28. A real train rode over the bridge as it blew up. To enjoy Thailand River cruises, you need to understand a little about the geography of Thailand and its river system. [56] Warren Buffett said it was his favorite movie. His career was hurt by the advent of sound, and then by increasing anti-Japanese sentiment in America. 20. Supplying it by ship was the only practical solution. Thousands of Asian workers and POWs (prisoners of war) died while working on the project. Showing the impact of disease on the workforce, Kanchanaburi contains two graves holding the ashes of 300 Cholera victims. Its construction came about because Japan needed another supply route to link Singapore and Malaysia to its possessions in Burma following Singapores fall in February 1942. The Bridge over the River Kwai (French: Le Pont de la rivire Kwa) is a novel by the French novelist Pierre Boulle, published in French in 1952 and English translation by Xan Fielding in 1954. 17. It begins with British troops being marched into the prison camp after their surrender to the Japanese at Singapore. Let's talk about British Food! The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Imperial Japanese Army Command deemed this unacceptable. Did he really want the enemy to come in across it? Over a muddy jungle river called Kwai, a Japanese colonel, Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), must complete a railroad bridge vital to Japan's war effort. [50] William Holden was also credited for his acting for giving a solid characterization that was "easy, credible and always likeable in a role that is the pivot point of the story". But the unusual move paid off for ABCthe telecast drew huge ratings with a record audience of 72 million[60] and a Nielsen rating of 38.3 and an audience share of 61%. The film originally made thirty million dollars over its three million dollar budget and was rereleased in theaters just after Lean and Spiegel's Lawrence of Arabia came out. The trials of Australian Army Lieutenant George Hamilton Lamb reflected the mens awful experience building the Burma-Siam Death Railway. [38] Some Japanese viewers also disliked the film for portraying the Allied prisoners of war as more capable of constructing the bridge than the Japanese engineers themselves were, accusing the filmmakers of being unfairly biased and unfamiliar with the realities of the bridge construction, a sentiment echoed by surviving prisoners of war who saw the film in cinemas. They were calling it the Death Railway. It stars Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins and William Holden. The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. After Saito cuts a ceremonial ribbon, Nicholson spots a detonator wire. Save up to 50% on Thailand River Cruises August 2024. Thanbyuzayat was originally a POW administration headquarters and base camp. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon, and a team of government dignitaries. "[50] Kaplan further praised the actors, especially Alec Guinness, later writing "the film is unquestionably" his. 25 March 1995. "[57], Some Japanese viewers have disliked the film's depiction of the Japanese characters and the historical background presented as being inaccurate, particularly in the interactions between Saito and Nicholson. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. David Lean, director of such landmark epics as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, didn't always make giant movies. The movie is best known for the "Colonel Bogey March", the song that is whistled by the POWs. "[47] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Brigadier Varley would survive the hellish building work along the Burma-Siam Railway but not the war. Their taskmasters were relentless. He'd just been through a costly divorce from actress Ann Todd. As it opens, two POWs, the American navy commander Shears (William Holden) and an Australian, are digging graves for their companions. [44], 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[45] but the following year its revised total US and Canadian revenues were reported by Variety as $17,195,000. WILLIAM HOLDEN JACK HAWKINS 1957 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 8X10 PHOTO. ", Warden fires a mortar, killing Shears and Joyce and fatally wounding Nicholson. He served as an adviser during the making of the movie. Copyright 2020 Tons Of Facts. But he'd never made anything on an epic scale, wasn't well known outside of England, and wouldn't have been considered for The Bridge on the River Kwai if it weren't for Katharine Hepburn, the star of his 1955 film Summertime. True Grit, Sanctum, Green Lantern and Superman. Guinness, however, had his own reservations. This Oscar-winning epic is part of movie folklore and widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever so I really wanted to see the area where director David Lean shot it way back in 1957. Be the first one to write a review. 23. It was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. [51] Time magazine praised Lean's directing, noting he demonstrates "a dazzlingly musical sense and control of the many and involving rhythms of a vast composition. [16], Director David Lean clashed repeatedly with his cast members, particularly Guinness and James Donald, who thought the novel was anti-British. 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 movie won seven Academy Awards, one for Best Picture. [Ronald Searle, To the Kwai and Back: War drawings 1939-45, London, Collins, 1986, 104] 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' is now the best-known site on the Burma-Thailand railway but its fame is due more to a fictional film than its significance in World War II. [10], Although Lean later denied it, Charles Laughton was his first choice for the role of Nicholson. [9], The film was relatively faithful to the novel, with two major exceptions. For all the death and misery caused by its building, the Burma-Siam Railway only ever carried two Japanese divisions and 500,000 tons of supplies before VJ Day brought the war in Asia to a close. Despite the nightmarish conditions, and equipped only with the most basic of tools, the POWs pulled off an amazing feat of engineering. The Bridge on the River Kwai was widely praised, winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, at the 30th Academy Awards. [3] The cast includes William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa. Realising he has no choice, Shears volunteers. Only in 1984 did the Academy rectify the situation by retroactively awarding the Oscar to Foreman and Wilson, posthumously in both cases. While the British prisoners celebrate their accomplishment that night, the commandoes wire the bridge with explosives to be detonated by a plunger operated by a hidden soldier, timed to collapse the bridge just as an inaugural train carrying Japanese dignitaries is crossing it. Shears, who is a British commando officer like Warden in the novel, became an American sailor who escapes from the POW camp. On 16 October 1943, the two ends of the Burma-Thailand railway were joined at Konkoita in Thailand. (Lean denied ever wanting Laughton for the role, despite abundant documented evidence to the contrary.). Pay on the train. 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. Starring Alec Guinness, it depicts the struggles and defiance of Japanese prisoners of war building the fictional Burma railway between 1943-44. [12], William Holden's deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving $300,000 plus 10% of the film's gross receipts. According to Columbia Pictures, they followed an all-new 4K digital restoration from the original negative with newly restored 5.1 audio. Bangkok-Kanchanaburi, by train or private transport, for the Bridge on River Kwai; Kanchanaburi-Nam Tok, by train or private transport, for Death Railway and Hellfire Pass; You can book your bus tickets online and in advance here. Omissions? At all. [23], 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. [19], Guinness later said that he subconsciously based his walk while emerging from "the Oven" on that of his eleven-year-old son Matthew,[20] who was recovering from polio at the time, a disease that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. The surviving sections stand as monuments to the men who suffered so much to build them. Allied bombers struck the wooden bridge and its concrete counterpart in February 1945 with one of the earliest uses of guided bombs in history. 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 the War Office was very nervous "it would . Civilian workmen suffered terribly too, with their casualties far outstripping the military personnel. In reality, Risaburo Saito was respected by his prisoners for being comparatively merciful and fair towards them. Take a look below for 28 more fun and interesting facts about The Bridge on the . Toosey was very different from Nicholson and was certainly not a collaborator who felt obliged to work with the Japanese. The real swamps in Ceylon were deemed to be too dangerous. Written 20 October 2021. [22], Lean nearly drowned when he was swept away by the river current during a break from filming.[23]. The movie garnered seven Academy Awards, including that for best picture, as well as three Golden Globe Awards and four BAFTA awards. Warden tells the Siamese women that he had to prevent anyone from falling into enemy hands, and leaves with them. 10. A temporary wooden bridge was completed at the beginning of 1943 and a few months later the steel bridge (which can be seen today) was finished. [50] Edwin Schallert of the Los Angeles Times claimed the film's strongest points were for being "excellently produced in virtually all respects and that it also offers an especially outstanding and different performance by Alec Guinness. Goering [48], Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised the film as "a towering entertainment of rich variety and revelation of the ways of men". English / Japanese / Thai. The Bridge on the River Kwai: Directed by David Lean. It is close to, but not over the country's border with Myanmar. They were soon sent to Thailand to begin labouring on the Death Railway. Best time to visit Bridge Over The River Kwai (preferred time): 09:00 am - 01:00 pm. Chandran Rutnam and William Holden while shooting The Bridge on the River Kwai. The Bridge over the River Kwai met its fate in 1945. The film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Guinness), not to mention a handful of Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and even a Grammy nomination for its soundtrack. The telecast of the film lasted more than three hours because of the commercial breaks. Sri Lanka Filming Locations: The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) Posted on July 17, 2017 by tokyofox. Japanese engineers had been surveying and planning the route of the railway since 1937, and they had demonstrated considerable skill during their construction efforts across South-East Asia. (He didn't attend the Oscars, either.) Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). They built a railway to link Bangkok to Rangoon. 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. [27] Gavin Young[28] recounts meeting Donald Wise, a former prisoner of the Japanese who had worked on the Burma Railway. Contact us, Image: Rows of graves at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Image: Kanchanaburi Dutch Memorial commemorates Dutch POWs who died building Death Railway, Image: Chungkai War Cemetery's Cross of Sacrifice, Image: The Pavilion at Chungkai War Cemetery, Image: The cemetery's horticulture gives Chungkai a sense of serenity, Image: The Stone of Remembrance at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Image: Headstones and horticulture at Thanbyuzayat, Get the latest CWGC news and see some of our recent work, Report of the Special Committee to review historical inequalities in Commemoration, Discover world war casualties who lived in your area, The True Story of the Bridge over the River Kwai, Why and how were restoring the Menin Gate: What you need to know about this amazing project, A push through the desert: How The Allies Captured Jericho in 1918, Visit Commonwealth war graves in Arras, France. As the train approaches, Nicholson frantically pulls up the wire, following it to find the detonator. 3. This page was last modified on 6 February 2023, at 06:05. 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. So Spiegel hired another writer, Calder Willingham, to give it a crack. The plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay were almost entirely fictional. He didn't like the next draft of the screenplay, either, because it made Nicholson "a blinkered character." Check out where to stay in Kanchanaburi and book an accommodation of your choice. Answer (1 of 7): David Lean made some excellent films His Dickens films of the 1940's are classic black and white versions of OLIVER TWIST and GREAT EXPECTATIONS He discovered color and the wide screen in the 1950's and 1960's Besides BRIDGE, Lean also did LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and DR ZHIVAGO Peo. Sessue Hayakawa (1889-1973) was a Japanese-born actor who came to Hollywood in the very early days of cinemahis first short, The Typhoon, was made in 1914and quickly became a matinee idol, playing exotic villains and such. The real River Kwai, and its bridge, is in what was then Siam, now Thailand.The name 'River Kwai' refers to the Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai rivers in western Thailand, which converge to become the Mae Klong river at Kanchanaburi, about 70 miles northwest of Bangkok, and it was across the Mae Klong that the infamous bridge was built. Take a look below for 28 more fun and interesting facts about The Bridge on the River Kwai. Has two but they are small. Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The US was beginning to control the sea lanes, making it increasingly difficult for Japanese shipborne cargo to reach the army dotted across the Pacific. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. As shown in the movie, Guinness played the scene without flinching. David Leans 1957 epic Bridge on the River Kwai is regarded as one of the all-time great war films. Major Warden of SOE invites Shears to join a commando mission to destroy the bridge just as it is completed. Their roles and characters, however, are fictionalised. He succumbed to malaria, dysentery, and malnutrition at Camp Kilo 101 in Thailand. This is now known as the Death Railway. Updates? The action of the movie takes place in a Japanese prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Burma during World War II. The commandoes arrive for their mission as the finishing touches are being put on the bridge. 22. They included Chinese, Malayan, Burmese, Thai, Indonesian and Singaporean people. The bridges were quickly repaired with the use of POW labour from the camp at Tha . Image: British troops surrender at Singapore. Casualties commemorated at Chungkai are mostly men who died in the field hospital set up by prisoners. A small tourist train offers rides across the bridges span, while pedestrians can also travel over it on foot. To counter the Allies tightening grip on supply lines, the Japanese army resurrected an old idea first mooted by regional powers in the late 19th century: to build a railway between Myanmar and Siam. Cutting the base board 1190 x 160 x 12 mm. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Sign-up for free daily emails with the latest news about British culture, heritage, and history! In 1985, the Academy officially recognized Foreman and Wilson as the screenwriters and posthumously awarded the Oscar to them. The cast includes William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and . Image: Bridge 277 aka the real Bridge over the River Kwai, Image: The iconic poster of the 1957 classic. 19. The cemetery was established by the Army Graves Service to hold casualties made along the railways southern Bangkok to Nieke section. [18] The bridge in the film was near Kitulgala. The majority of its smaller components are originals, while a few are post-war replacements. POWs and indentured labourers were worked to death while busy constructing the railway simultaneously. Spiegel, the producer, bought the film rights to the book (the English version of which was called The Bridge Over the River Kwai) and hired Carl Foreman to write the script. Nicholson is shocked by the poor job being done by his men and orders the building of a proper bridge, intending it to stand as a tribute to the British Army's ingenuity for centuries to come. In early 1943, a contingent of British prisoners of war, led by Lt. 27. 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. You can also take a boat down the Kwai River . Two bridges were built; one was made of wood, one was made of concrete and steel. They were supported by an unknown number of Malaysian labourers. When, the next morning, Saito orders all the British prisoners to begin building the bridge under the command of a Japanese engineer, Nicholson and the other officers refuse, even when Saito threatens to kill them. The screenplay was based on French author Pierre Boulle"s 1954 novel of the same name. $ 3 million (estimated) 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 Rivire Kwai ). The prisoners of war who had . The Bridge on the River Kwai was selected in 1997 for preservation in the National Film Registry. It had previously belonged to an Indian maharajah and had seen 65 years of active service. American casualties were repatriated back to the United States. Read the response of the CWGC to the findings of the Special Committee. [65], On 2 November 2010 Columbia Pictures released a newly restored The Bridge on the River Kwai for the first time on Blu-ray. Express 08:30, 10:30. When the sun rises, the commandoes realize that the water level in the river has fallen, exposing the explosives and wiring. She recommended Lean to producer Sam Spiegel, who'd been turned down by Fred Zinnemann, William Wyler, and Carol Reed, and offered the directing job to Lean as a last resort. But, what about the real men behind the real story of the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway? They would work in appalling conditions, given minuscule amounts of food, snatches of sleep, and little to no medical treatment. Sessue Hayakawa really did accidentally strike Alec Guinness hard enough to draw blood in one scene. The real Bridge on the River Kwai. Desperate, he uses the anniversary of Japan's 1905 victory in the Russo-Japanese War as an excuse to save face; he announces a general amnesty, releasing Nicholson and his officers and exempting them from manual labour. Spiegel sent the screenplay to the Japanese government ahead of time, hoping to get their cooperation with the production. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, wining seven -- including Best Picture . It was filmed in Kitulgala which is 60 . There are tourist trains to Nam Tok stopping at stations in between daily from the River Kwai Bridge station at 06.05, 11.00 and 14.30. Lets examine the history behind the film and the men who made it. Witnessing the carnage, Clipton shakes his head and mutters, "Madness! 7. It worked. The Japanese Railway Regiment forced thousands of allied POWs and natives to build the . It was repaired in time to be blown up the next morning, with Bandaranaike and his entourage present. Clipton objects, believing this to be collaboration with the enemy. [64] The image was restored by OCS, Freeze Frame, and Pixel Magic with George Hively editing. British and American intelligence officers conspire . A regiment of British prisoners arrives, whistling the Colonel Bogey March, under the command of Colonel Nicholson (Sir Alec Guinness). David Lean is taken that story and directed it in 1957. The conditions to which POW and civilian labourers were subjected were far worse than the film depicted. [21] Guinness later reflected on the scene, calling it the "finest piece of work" he had ever done. In 1957 the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, premiered in London and became the biggest grossing film of 1958, winning seven academy awards in the process, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Musical Score, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.Not bad for a movie that is largely a work of almost entirely fictional characters and a story which . Assistant director John Kerrison was killed in a car crash on the way to one of the locations. [55] 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. ", The screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, were on the Hollywood blacklist and, even though living in exile in England, could only work on the film in secret. An example of this is when commandos Warden and Joyce hunt a fleeing Japanese soldier through the jungle, desperate to prevent him from alerting other troops. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Bridge on the River Kwai the 11th greatest British film of the 20th Century. The Bridge On The River Kwai Trivia: Fun And Interesting Facts About The Bridge On The River Kwai: Fascinating Facts About The Bridge on the River Kwai - Kindle edition by Randolph, Amanda. The destruction of the bridge as depicted in the film is also entirely fictional. Nicholson advises Saito that the officers cannot be required to do manual labour according to the Geneva Convention. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942-43 for its historical setting. does not fall onto the plunger, and the bridge suffers only minor damage. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Concurrently, Shears, after a harrowing journey in which he nearly loses his life more than once, is rescued by the British and then required to lead a group of commandoes headed by Major Warden (Jack Hawkins) back to the POW camp that he escaped from in order to blow up the bridge. 1957 World War II film directed by David Lean, This article is about the film. 7. A train carrying important dignitaries and soldiers is scheduled to be the first to cross the bridge the following day, and Warden wants to destroy both. Some Thailand River cruises begin in Bangkok and lead along the Mekong River to destinations in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. When Columbia Pictures read the script for Kwai, it was concerned that the story was too much about men and had no love interest. The young soldier from Suffolk was dispatched to work on the bridge over the River Kwai, one of the railway's most daunting engineering projects. One of the iconic war films of its time, the Bridge on the River Kwai has shone a spotlight on POWs suffering.

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