Interested in advertising on the world's largest website dedicated to all things Britain? Starring Alec Guinness, it depicts the struggles and defiance of Japanese prisoners of war building the fictional Burma railway between 1943-44. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 and scooped up seven Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor. Walk over the steel bridge at the River Kwai, one of the most famous rivers in the world, which gained international fame in the book and film, "Bridge on the River Kwai". For the novel, see, American theatrical release poster, "Style A", A transcript of the interview and the documentary as a whole can be found in the new edition of John Coast's book, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, 11th greatest British film of the 20th century, the highest-grossing film of 1957 in the United States and Canada, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, Best Sound Track Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast, AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition), "Complete National Film Registry Listing", "New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin", "Columbia Earns as It Holds Coin Due Bill Holden on 10% of 'Kwai', "Flashback: A look back at this day in film history (, "Sri Lanka to rebuild bridge from River Kwai movie", "Film locations for David Lean's The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957), in Sri Lanka", "How Father Brown Led Sir Alec Guinness to the Church", "sic - correct spelling is Siegertsz. 19. Thanks to the film, the Bridge, situated in the Thai town of Kanchanaburi a couple of hours drive from Bangkok, is one of Thailand . It had previously belonged to an Indian maharajah and had seen 65 years of active service. Allied soldiers had built a church and a hospital on the site where the cemetery now sits. 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. 26. Tooseys men stated this never happened. David Lean was completely at home in the hot and humid Ceylon jungle. The Bridge on the River Kwai. Subsequent releases of the film finally gave them proper screen credit. Its a charming, idyllic spot, belying the intense horror and suffering the men who built it went through. Just a stone's throw from the Menin Gate, visit our Information Centre to learn more about the CWGC. Saito is expected to commit ritual suicide if he fails to meet the rapidly approaching deadline. 1957 World War II film directed by David Lean, This article is about the film. Nicholson's obsession with the bridge eventually drives him to allow his officers to volunteer to engage in manual labor. POWs and indentured labourers were worked to death while busy constructing the railway simultaneously. Laughton was in his habitually overweight state, and was either denied insurance coverage, or was simply not keen on filming in a tropical location. The key sites containing Thailand and Burma war graves related to Death Railway and the Bridge on the River Kwai are: Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is located a short distance from the former Kanburi POW camp. 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. Search by location, regiment, nationality, and more fields to find the war dead involved in building the blood-soaked Burma-Siam Railway. 16. Boulle nonetheless enjoyed the film version though he disagreed with its climax. [41] According to Variety, the film earned estimated domestic box office revenues of $18,000,000[42] although this was revised downwards the following year to $15,000,000, which was still the biggest for 1958 and Columbia's highest-grossing film at the time. Alec Guiness, William Holden, and Jack Hawkins in front of bridge they built in a scene from the film 'The Bridge On The River Kwai', 1957. Read the response of the CWGC to the findings of the Special Committee. Prisoners, including the sick, were marched to camps further along Death Railway. [46], On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 96% based on 93 reviews, with an average rating of 9.4/10. Put on your marching boots and whistle a jaunty tune as we investigate some behind-the-scenes facts about this enduring war film. Since it first graced the silver screen won the admiration of audiences everywhere and continues to do so. Some of the characters in the film use the names of real people who were involved in the Burma Railway. The film was based on the 1952 novel Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle. Here is 'Minder' telling me to get the timber off the base and start cutting up the dowels. Use our postcode search tool to discover more about the war dead from your local area. : 1942: Boldly advancing through Asia, the Japanese need a train route from Burma going north. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. 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 film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" dramatized the WWII story of the Thailand-Burma Railway, yet it was largely fictional. 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. 25 March 1995. (This can be compared to a scene in the 1927 movie, The General, which starred Buster Keaton.). By 1944, its operational capacity was being massively hampered by the damage caused by air raids. Surviving veterans consider Toosey one of the finest officers they ever served under. The surviving sections stand as monuments to the men who suffered so much to build them. The film"s story was loosely based on a true World War II incident, and the real-life character of Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey. The railway ran for 250 miles from Ban Pong, Thailand to Thanbyuzayat, Burma and is now known as the Death Railway. (Spiegel got a British military adviser to help with that side of things, too.). In January 1943, a base hospital was organised to care for sick and injured prisoners and labourers. In reality, Risaburo Saito was respected by his prisoners for being comparatively merciful and fair towards them. Did he really want the enemy to come in across it? 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). Bridge On The River Kwai is an Epic war-based film. 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. The place: Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma. Death Railway was bombed heavily by the Allies from 1943 onwards. According to one biographer, he was "broke and needed work; he had even pawned his gold cigarette case." Sign-up for free daily emails with the latest news about British culture, heritage, and history! However, cameraman Freddy Ford was unable to get out of the way of the explosion in time, and Lean had to stop filming. "[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. California Doubling: The film is set in Thailand, but was filmed in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), a distinction the publicity of the time didn't see fit to make clear.Instead, it raved about the movie being shot in Ceylon in a way which implied the real-life River Kwai was located there. [11] Guinness admitted that Lean "didn't particularly want me" for the role, and thought about immediately returning to England when he arrived in Ceylon and Lean reminded him that he wasn't the first choice. 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. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Bridge on the River Kwai the 11th greatest British film of the 20th Century. In many tense, dramatic scenes, only the sounds of nature are used. The movie garnered seven Academy Awards, including that for best picture, as well as three Golden Globe Awards and four BAFTA awards. Warden responds that he already knew and that the US Navy had agreed to transfer him to the British SOE with the simulated rank of Major to avoid embarrassment. Chungkai was also a POW worker base camp. This film is taken from a popular novel written by Pierre Boulle in 1952. Forced labourers were labourers taken from the populations of Japan-conquered territories. It was released in the US on December 14, 1957, taking in a reported $17M+, which made it the highest-grossing film of 1957. She spent most of the next 42 years working as a copy editor and editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. Despite this, he won an Oscar and a Grammy. Begun in October 1942, using prisoner of war (POW) labour, it was completed and operational by early February 1943. All Rights Reserved. Following the raids, Thanbyuzayat was evacuated. Burma-Siam Railway labourers and prisoners of war slept in rudimentary bamboo huts on filthy floors. Showing the impact of disease on the workforce, Kanchanaburi contains two graves holding the ashes of 300 Cholera victims. Around 3,100 Commonwealth Burma war graves can be found at Thanbyuzayat, alongside roughly 620 Dutch burials. Roger Ebert focused on the symbolism of the bridge in this 1999 description: "[The war] narrows down to a single task, building a . They are joined by approximately 1,850 Dutch casualties and one non-war grave. train on the bridge over the river kwai in kanchanaburi, thailan - bridge over the river kwai stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images FLOATING HOUSES ON THE RIVER KWAI, KANCHANABURI, THAILAND. 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 Hitchhiker's Guide has this to say about John Rabon: When not pretending to travel in time and space, eating bananas, and claiming that things are "fantastic", John lives in North Carolina. Once Spiegel relented, he realized Holden was a box office draw and offered him a great deal: $300,000 salary (about $2.5 million in 2016 dollars), plus 10 percent of the gross. 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. The Bridge on the River Kwai: Directed by David Lean. Express 08:30, 10:30. Save up to 50% on Thailand River Cruises August 2024. We want to hear from you! The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British-American epic war movie directed by David Lean and starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, and Alec Guinness, featuring Sessue Hayakawa. It spans crosses the lazily winding Khwae Noi at Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The bridge cost $250,000 to build. Jun 7, 2011 - New on Blu 6-7-11: Studios unload nearly 70 titles. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon, and a team of government dignitaries. 18. [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. The weather is good, not hot The train passes at 10 AM and the train returns at 4 PM. [35], Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey of the British Army was the real senior Allied officer at the bridge in question.
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