A towering work.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:8
Fresh:7
Rotten:1
Average Rating:8.4/10
Consensus: This complex war epic asks hard questions, resists easy answers, and boasts career-defining work from star Alec Guinness and director David Lean.
Runtime: 2 hrs 47 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: One of the all-time great war films, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO). The film is an outstanding, psychologically... One of the all-time great war films, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO). The film is an outstanding, psychologically complex adaptation of Pierre Boulle's 1952 novel, a classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson (a fabulous Alec Guinness), the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans. Although credited to screenwriter Carl Foreman, the script was actually written by blacklisted writer Michael Wilson. The film garnered seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Guinness). The climax is one of the great finales in film history. [More]
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne, Andre Morell, Peter Williams, Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Ann Sears, K. Katsumoto, Henry Okawa
Director: David Lean
Director: David Lean
Screenwriter: Michael Henry Wilson, Carl Foreman
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Composer: Malcolm Arnold
Reviews for The Bridge on the River Kwai
Lean achieves a fine balance of creating complex characters from a fine cast, while keeping the pace up throughout this long movie.
It is a whale of a story, and in the telling of it, British Director David Lean does a whale of a job.
A gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments.
Brilliant is the word, and no other, to describe the quality of skills that have gone into the making of this picture.
Most war movies are either for or against their wars. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the few that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals.
Latest News for The Bridge on the River Kwai
October 25, 2007:
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Newsweek critic David Ansen has courageously revealed the more quietly kept secret of every cinephile: his lifelong, bordering-on-eccentric, meticulous obsession with movies.... More...
June 22, 2007:
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Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
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