The Bridge on the River Kwai
by David Lean
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, James Donald, Sessue Hayakawa, William HoldenDirector: David Lean
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Jack Hildyard
Editor: Peter Taylor
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Writer: Carl Foreman
Writer: Michael Wilson
Writer: Pierre Boulle
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; Portuguese (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 161 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-11-21
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Bridge on the River Kwai
Movie Review: Good Then, Still Good Now
Summary: 5 Stars
This famous film is long (161 minutes), is over 50 years old, and yet still is terrific, still holds up and will forever, I suspect, be considered one of the greatest war movies ever made.
'Kwai' is particularly amazing in that there is very little action in it, yet it consistently entertains. It's as good now as when I saw in the theater as a 12-year-old. I say this to encourage younger people to check this classic-era film out, and give it a chance.
Anyone who is fascinated with character studies also might find this of particular interest regarding Alec Guiness' role in here as "Colonel Nicholson." He was mesmerizing in his role. William Holden, Sessue Hayakawan, Jack Hawkins and the rest of the cast are all excellent, with the four mentioned above perhaps playing the roles of their lives.
The gorgeous countryside of Ceylon is photographed beautifully. David Lean, one of the all-time great directors, did this film, too, so it certainly has good credentials. A winner of seven Oscars, this great movie has stood the test of time.
Summary of The Bridge on the River Kwai
Allied commandos are dispatched deep inside the burmese jungle to blow up a stategic bridge built by british pows. Special features: subtitles in english french spanish portuguese chinese korean and thai: languages in english french spanish and portugues: theatrical trailers and much more. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 11/21/2000 Starring: William Holden Jack Hawkins Run time: 162 minutes Rating: PgDirector 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
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
Stills from The Bridge on the River Kwai (click for larger image)
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Beyond The Bridge on the River Kwai
 The David Lean Collection |  WWII 60th Anniversary Collection |  The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai (History Channel) |
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