The official credit was given to Pierre Boulle (who did not speak English), and the resulting Oscar for Best Screenplay (Adaptation) was awarded to him. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Bridge On The River Kwai Trivia: Fun And Interesting . 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. 60,000 or so Allied prisoners of war, including British, Australian, Dutch and some US troops, alongside more than 200,000 civilian labourers were pressed into service. BANGKOK TO BRIDGE ON RIVER KWAI: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW - A Million Travels See details. Chungkai War Cemetery is something of a sister site to Kanchanaburi. In 1942 Japan seized Myanmar from British control and quickly decided to build a rail link to Thailand in order to maintain a secure supply route to their forces. Bridge On The River Kwai is an Epic war-based film. River Kwai Bridge | TakeMeTour 18. That evening, the officers are placed in a punishment hut, while Nicholson is beaten and locked in an iron box. The Bridge on the River Kwai | Plot, Cast, Awards, & Facts The Burma-Siam Railway was 250 miles of railway constructed by Allied prisoners of war alongside forced Asian labourers. While Nicholson disapproves of acts of sabotage and other deliberate attempts to delay progress, Toosey encouraged this: termites were collected in large numbers to eat the wooden structures, and the concrete was badly mixed. Instead of the five year predicted completion, the bridge on river Kwai, was completed in 16 months. His first epic was his twelfth film: The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness and William Holden as P.O.W. Workers died at a rate of 20 men per day. [66] The original negative for the feature was scanned at 4k (four times the resolution in High Definition), and the colour correction and digital restoration were also completed at 4k. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - IMDb Clipton objects, believing this to be collaboration with the enemy. The trials of Australian Army Lieutenant George Hamilton Lamb reflected the mens awful experience building the Burma-Siam Death Railway. Spiegel sent the screenplay to the Japanese government ahead of time, hoping to get their cooperation with the production. Cutting the base board 1190 x 160 x 12 mm. . 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 train crashed into a generator on the other side of the bridge and was wrecked. Within 16 months the bridge was completed but it took another two years to complete the entire rail line. [31][32] Some consider the film to be an insulting parody of Toosey. This is now known as the Death Railway. 25. Around 90,000 forced labourers are thought to have died building Death Railway. The Burma-Siam Railroad and the Bridge over the River Kwai Guide The weather is good, not hot The train passes at 10 AM and the train returns at 4 PM. Leadership Analysis: The Bridge On The River Kwai. After the final scene was shot, producer Sam Spiegel shipped the movie footage on five different planes to minimize the risk of loss. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Jun 7, 2011 - New on Blu 6-7-11: Studios unload nearly 70 titles. Although the obvious link was by sea, Allied submarines controlling the region made it too treacherous. Begun in October 1942, using prisoner of war (POW) labour, it was completed and operational by early February 1943. So Spiegel hired another writer, Calder Willingham, to give it a crack. Japanese guards were known for their cruelty and would frequently torture and assault their prisoners. Like thousands of other POWs, Lamb was kept in degrading conditions, refused medical treatment and barely fed. WILLIAM HOLDEN JACK HAWKINS 1957 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 8X10 PHOTO. Laughton would die (of cancer) five years later, at the age of 63. WILLIAM HOLDEN JACK HAWKINS 1957 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 8X10 PHOTO | eBay Put on your marching boots and whistle a jaunty tune as we investigate some behind-the-scenes facts about this enduring war film. Guinness had appeared in Lean's Dickens films but had since made a name for himself doing goofy comedies like The Lavender Hill Mob (1951). The Bridge on the River Kwai - filming locations - SCEEN IT What's your favorite? A Cholera epidemic swept through Nieke Camp between May-June 1943. 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. Toosey later defended him in his war crimes trial after the war, and the two became friends. Updates? 13. Initial estimates from Japanese engineers suggested it would take five years. The Bridge on the River Kwai - Anzac Portal Its a charming, idyllic spot, belying the intense horror and suffering the men who built it went through. [31] He strongly denied the claim that the book was anti-British, although many involved in the film itself (including Alec Guinness) felt otherwise.[36]. You carry it in your pack like the plague. [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. It was more of a transit hub where prisoners were moved to other work areas along the railway route. The movie, based on the novel Le Pont de la rivire Kwa (1952) by French novelist Pierre Boulle, was adapted for the screen by Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman, who were both at the time on the Hollywood blacklist. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. Despite this, he won an Oscar and a Grammy. Its telling that the railway workers had to see to their own medical care. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon, and a team of government dignitaries. The story about this bridge has also been made into a Hollywood movie such as "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957), which is based on the novel of the same name and another movie . [31], On a BBC Timewatch programme, a former prisoner at the camp states that it is unlikely that a man like the fictional Nicholson could have risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and, if he had, due to his collaboration he would have been "quietly eliminated" by the other prisoners. It would be a massive undertaking. Spiegel had it refurbished completely and then had one mile of railway track laid for it. 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. "[47] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". At the POW camp, Nicholson not only requires officers to work on the bridge but also pulls men from the hospital in order to meet Saitos deadline for the project. After Guinness was done with the scene, Lean said, "Now you can all fuck off and go home, you English actors. In reality, Japanese engineers proved to be just as capable at construction efforts as their Allied counterparts.[58][59]. The Kanchanaburi Memorial sits with the cemetery grounds. Saito is expected to commit ritual suicide if he fails to meet the rapidly approaching deadline. Goering The camp commander, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), informs the prisoners that they will all begin working on the building of a railway bridge the following day. Lean liked that draft even less. [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. 14. rainy day Therefore, there are not many people. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 World War II POW film directed by David Lean, about the construction of the bridges over the River Kwai, although it's heavily fictionalised.It's based on the French novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle, of Planet of the Apes fame; Boulle, who could neither read nor write English, was also credited for the screenplay adaptation due to . Bridges beyond the River Kwai | Michigan Today 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. 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. A make-up man was also badly injured in the same accident. All Rights Reserved. Of course, he could not save many of his men from expiring, but he did their best to make conditions more comfortable. The story is fictional but uses the construction of the Burma Railway, in 1942-1943, as its historical setting, and is partly based on Pierre Boulle's own life experience working in Malaysia rubber . 7. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is an epic World War II adventure/action, anti-war drama. Bridge over the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Log in. Thanbyuzayat is in Myanmar. Brigadier Varley would survive the hellish building work along the Burma-Siam Railway but not the war. [5][6] It has been included on the American Film Institute's list of best American films ever made. Shears and two others escape. The Bridge On The River Kwai | Film Locations 27. Realising he has no choice, Shears volunteers. One of a number of Allied POW"s . In 1984 the Academy Board of Governors voted posthumous Oscars to Foreman and Wilson, and their names were included on prints of the film beginning in the 1990s. Death Railway was bombed heavily by the Allies from 1943 onwards. : 1942: Boldly advancing through Asia, the Japanese need a train route from Burma going north. 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. They are joined by approximately 1,850 Dutch casualties and one non-war grave. Shears is enjoying his hospital stay in Ceylon unwittingly within a commando school referred to as "Force 316" (likely based on the real world Force 136 of the Special Operations Executive (SOE)). Save up to 50% on Thailand River Cruises August 2024. The plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay were almost entirely fictional. Lean feared Guinness' public persona had changed so much that audiences wouldn't buy him in this very dramatic role, but came around to the idea when the Laughton plan didn't work. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. For example, a Sergeant-Major Risaburo Saito was in real life second in command at the camp. Written 20 October 2021. The actual bridge on the River Kwai is located in Thailand, and stretches over a part of the Mae Klong river, which was renamed Khwae Yai (Thai for big tributary). This page was last modified on 6 February 2023, at 06:05. [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. 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. Image: Bridge 277 aka the real Bridge over the River Kwai, Image: The iconic poster of the 1957 classic. The bridges were quickly repaired with the use of POW labour from the camp at Tha . Have a question about us or our work? Weill you be in London for the Coronation in 2023? Sign-up for free daily emails with the latest news about British culture, heritage, and history! Forced labourers were labourers taken from the populations of Japan-conquered territories. The cemetery itself is located just outside the town of Kanchanaburi at the point where the Kwai splits into the Mae Khlong and Kwai Noi rivers. The movie was mainly filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and also in England. Interested in advertising on the world's largest website dedicated to all things Britain? These issues, running throughout the film, were addressed to a lesser extent on various previous DVD releases of the film and might not have been so obvious in standard definition.[67]. [citation needed], Julie Summers, in her book The Colonel of Tamarkan, writes that Boulle, who had been a prisoner of war in Thailand, created the fictional Nicholson character as an amalgam of his memories of collaborating French officers. The movie starring William Holden, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins was shot at more than 1 locations. There's a stench of death about you. does not fall onto the plunger, and the bridge suffers only minor damage. Although the Death Railway has never again reached the Myanmar border, a shorter stretch was reopened by Thailand's railway authorities between 1949 and 1958, and trains on this modern-day line cross the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai. Kanburi wasnt a work camp as such. The Bridge on the River Kwai. [18] The bridge in the film was near Kitulgala. He, Shears, and Joyce reach the river in time with the assistance of Siamese women bearers and their village chief, Khun Yai. Warden tells the Siamese women that he had to prevent anyone from falling into enemy hands, and leaves with them. Both bridges stood for two years and were destroyed by bombers in 1945. [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 railway route, which ran through Burma and Thailand, had been planned by the British. A picture of the actual bridge over the River Kwai in June 2004. The Bridge on the River Kwai: Fact and fiction - Sentinelassam (This can be compared to a scene in the 1927 movie, The General, which starred Buster Keaton.). Showing the impact of disease on the workforce, Kanchanaburi contains two graves holding the ashes of 300 Cholera victims. [26], A memorable feature of the film is the tune that is whistled by the POWsthe first strain of the "Colonel Bogey March"when they enter the camp. 2023 Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The majority of its smaller components are originals, while a few are post-war replacements. [14][15], The film was an international co-production between companies in Britain and the United States. Lean wanted Charles Laughton (who'd starred in his 1954 film Hobson's Choice) to play Colonel Nicholson, the role that ultimately went to Alec Guinness. In fact, the cemetery is the original burial ground started by the prisoners themselves. The Bridge on the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand - Travel [34] According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. He'd just been through a costly divorce from actress Ann Todd. Over a muddy jungle river called Kwai, a Japanese colonel, Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), must complete a railroad bridge vital to Japan's war effort. - Colonel Saito, 'The Bridge on the River Kwai '. [9], The film was relatively faithful to the novel, with two major exceptions. To enjoy Thailand River cruises, you need to understand a little about the geography of Thailand and its river system. Camps were set up at 100-metre intervals. He created the railroad. This article is part of our Classic Film Throwback series - By Sam Hendrian - "Madness. This story is retold in: Anecdotal Tit Bits: Making "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "links for research, Allied POWs under the Japanese", "The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the Bridge on the River Kwai", "The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the, "Once-Stupendous-Now-Modest $2,700,000 Budget Kept Secret; 'River Kwai's' Sockfull Gross", "Screen: 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' Opens", "Film Reviews: The Bridge on the River Kwai", "Balu Mahendra, who made his visuals speak, dies at 74", "Warren Buffett carries an American Express card and about $400 in cash", "How Cartrivision's 1972 VCR ForesawAnd ForfeitedThe Time-Shifted Future", "Movies | Disc & Digital | Sony Pictures", "Wayne and Shuster Show, The Episode Guide (19541990) (series)", Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama, National Board of Review Award for Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai&oldid=1138405911, Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance, Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance, Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award, Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award, Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award, Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe, Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award, Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award, Films with screenplays by Michael Wilson (writer), United States National Film Registry films, World War II films based on actual events, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Best DVD Original Retrospective Documentary/Featurette, Online Film & Television Association Awards, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 14:21. British English: The Top 50 Most Beautiful British Insults, British Slang: Your Guide to British Police Slang for the Telly Watcher, British Slang: Tea Time British Words for Tea and Tea Related Culture, ltimate List of Funny British Place Names, 101 Budget Britain Travel Tips 2nd Edition, Great Britons Book: Top 50 Greatest Brits Who Ever Lived, Anglotopias Grand Adventure Lands End to John OGroats. Pitted against the warden, Colonel . In particular, they objected to the implication presented in the film that Japanese military engineers were generally unskilled at their profession and lacked proficiency. 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. Sri Lanka Filming Locations: The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) He served as an adviser during the making of the movie. The Bridge on the River Kwai / Trivia - TV Tropes