Lean was the undisputed master of the movie epicwith films like river kwai, doctor zhivago, passage to india and lawrence of arabia to his creditand his film version of boulles novel is a mammoth, 2 12 hour, panorama. In order to ride on the fame, the river was actually renamed in the 1960s to kwai. The line heads northwest to kanchanaburi, over the bridge on the river kwai, along the kwae noi little kwai and over the wampo viaduct to nam tok, the. Bridge over the river kwai kanchanaburi 2020 all you need. The bridge on the river kwai 1957 adaptation of the pierre bouelle novel about pows in burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their japanese captors. If youd searched alta vista for bridge on the river kwai and march, bun, youd have found the answer at the very first site it gave you. The sad consequences of that overweening confidence are chronicled brilliantly by david lean in films ranging from a passage to india to the bridge on the river kwai. The primary purpose of this location is so the japanese can use the labor of the p. Everything i know about leadership, i learned from. 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.
The book was awarded the prix saintebeuve prize in france, which. I suppose most have at least seen or heard of the film starring alec guinness and william holden. The film plays out as two separate battles of wills, both of which converge under the shadow of a railroad bridge being constructed for the. Stunning set pieces and production design such and effort was put into this. However, the true history of what really happened during the building of the bridge over the river kwai has almost been erased by the popularity of the movie. The bridge on the river kwai 1957, the memorable, epic world war ii adventureaction, antiwar drama, was the first of director david leans major multimillion dollar, widescreen superspectaculars his later epics included lawrence of. However, the true history of what really happened during the building of the bridge over the river kwai has.
The bridge on the river kwai thailand for visitors. The film uses the historical setting of the construction of the burma railway in 19421943. After the 1957 movie came out and people began coming to kanchanaburi in search of the bridge, the local authorities renamed a section of the mae klong to kwai yai. The bridge on the river kwai is one of those famous films that suffers a little from overfamiliarity, from repeated television showings, ripoffs and parodies. Notes about the bridge on the river kwai, 1957, directed by david lean, with william holden, alec guinness, jack hawkins, available from turner classic movies. The bridge on the river kwai 1957 cinema essentials. The wampo tiered viaduct built along the edge of the kwai noi river.
The senior officer of the capitulated brigade, colonel nicolson, conflicts with saito over the order, which obliges the british officers to perform work on the bridge as well. We recommend booking bridge over the river kwai tours ahead of time to secure your spot. Malcolm arnold the bridge on the river kwai 1958, vinyl. The war museum is one of two war museums about the death railway built in 1942 1943. But like all great films, and most of david leans work, its a film thats worth returning to again and again. Like robert graves world war i memoir, goodbye to all that, it shows men grimly hanging onto military discipline and pride in their units as a way of clinging to sanity. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. As a work of art, bridge tends to be overshadowed by another of leans later forays into the epic genre, lawrence of arabia, but its significance is.
The real bridge on the river kwai train from bangkok to. See all 87 bridge over the river kwai tours on tripadvisor. The bridge on the river kwaialec guinness second from left in the bridge on the river kwai 1957, directed by david lean. The death railway starts at nong pladuk, a junction on the bangkok to singapore main line some 80km west of bangkok. Like the best of david leans films, the bridge on the river kwai is sweeping but personal, a formal masterwork that ultimately operates to deepen the moral ambiguity and humanity of its primary characters. The original parts of the bridge are now displayed in the war museum. The bridge on the river kwai 1957, the memorable, epic world war ii adventureaction, antiwar drama, was the first of director david leans major multimillion dollar, widescreen superspectaculars his later epics included lawrence of arabia 1962 and doctor zhivago 1965. The bridge on the river kwai 1957 plot summary imdb. Sites like sparknotes with a the bridge over the river kwai study guide or cliff notes. Also includes sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of pierre boulles the bridge over the river kwai. Most war movies are either for or against their wars.
The line heads northwest to kanchanaburi, over the bridge on the river kwai, along the kwae noi little kwai and over the wampo viaduct to nam tok, the current terminus for passenger trains. May 15, 2008 notes a bit late on river kwai by jerry tallmer the bridge on the river kwai was one of those exceptional movies that seemed to please everybody ingroup, outgroup, the film. The bridge on the river kwai, kanchanaburi, thailand travel. The bridge on the river kwai 48 movie clip a lot to. The bridge they build will become a symbol of service and survival to one prisoner, colonel nicholson, a proud perfectionist. In one word epic the bridge on the river kwai bluray.
The present bridge has two of its central spans rebuilt. Bridge over the river kwai kanchanaburi all you need to. The bridge on the river kwai holds not only a special place in director david leans filmography, but also among the history of film as a whole. In burma during world war ii, a group of british prisoners of war is commanded by the warden of the japanese camp theyre being held captive in, colonel saito, to build a bridge over the river kwai. The bridge on the river kwai 1957 is one of the few that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals. The bridge on the river kwai 1957 david lean synopsis. The story is fictional but uses the construction of the burma railway, in 19421943, as its historical setting. David leans the bridge on the river kwai 1957 is a brilliant triple character study set during world war ii. A product of its times written in 1954, kwai is both stereotypical and stiff in the telling of a 1942, wwii, pacific theatre event. Thanks to the film, the bridge, situated in the thai town of kanchanaburi a couple of hours drive from bangkok, is one of thailands most popular tourist attractions.
They are expected to construct a bridge over the river kwai a vital component of a railway that the japanese are building from singapore. The bridge on the river kwai opens in a japanese prisonerofwar camp in burma in 1943, where a battle of wills rages between camp commander colonel saito sessue hayakawa and newly arrived. This bridge was immortalised in the novel and 1957 film of the same name. It is a short stretch of a bridge, but one trip that every visitor must make, to get a good feel of the railway, and to. The bridge on the river kwai or is it river mae klong. The bridge on the river kwai is a british 1957 movie from columbia pictures, based on pierre boulles 1952 book the bridge over the river kwai french. After the 1957 movie came out and people began coming to kanchanaburi in search of the bridge, the local authorities renamed a. The bridge over the river kwai summary and analysis like. The bridge on the river kwai escaped planned bombing, and remains in place in kanchanaburi as a tourist attraction and functioning railway bridge over which trains pass daily.
A ledge had to be carved out of the cliff face to form a base for the bridge and embankment construction. The majority of its smaller components are originals, while a few are postwar replacements. My parents have suggested that we stay an extra night and do a day trip to see the bridge over the river kwai they have explained that the bridge is nothing special, but the day trip and the war graves are good. Amazing direction, and the whole approach to making this film is timeless a study in being ahead of its time. See all 83 bridge over the river kwai tours on tripadvisor. He escaped in 1944, was picked up by a british plane, and served in the special forces in calcutta for the rest of the war. Find books like the bridge over the river kwai from the worlds largest community of readers. The cliffhugging tracks and the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains and valleys are well captured in the david lean movie. The track is developed into a walkway with side platforms.
He infiltrated indochina as a guerilla where he was captured in 1943. The two main viaducts followed the bottom of the cliff for some distance. The bridge river kwai became famous all over the world, when it was featured in movies and books. The bridge on the river kwai simple english wikipedia, the. The bridge on the river kwai is a prinonerofwar drama at its best, masterfully directed by david lean. As the bridge on the river kwai opens, the audience sees a train with gunmen aboard arriving at the.
We are staying in bangkok in february for 3 nights. A perfect example of this often foolproof formula is david leans brilliant the bridge on the river kwai. Mar 01, 2000 the sad consequences of that overweening confidence are chronicled brilliantly by david lean in films ranging from a passage to india to the bridge on the river kwai. In the setting of world war ii, a defeated unit british soldiers is marched into a japanese prison camp in western thailand, with the purpose of constructing a bridge over the river kwai to carry a new railway line to invade burma. The museum is located in the grounds of a temple at the junction of the kwai yai and kwai noi rivers. The action of the movie takes place in a japanese prisonerofwar pow camp in burma during world war ii. Notes a bit late on river kwai by jerry tallmer the bridge on the river kwai was one of those exceptional movies that seemed to please everybody ingroup, outgroup, the film. Dec 12, 2008 bridge on the river kwai theme from the movie. The bridge on the river kwai, kanchanaburi, thailand.
Taking a fictionalized approach to the pow experience in. Three stars for the bridge over the river kwai by pierre boulle. The death railway ran parallel to the kwai noi river but never crossed it. It is located only 300 metres from the bridge on the river kwai in kanchanaburi. We follow the engaging alec guinness as he masterfully and stubbornly manipulates and debates with a japanese colonel, while another man escapes their prison camp to only return to blow up the bridge the british pows forced to construct. Watch the bridge on the river kwai online 1957 movie yidio. The bridge people flock to see is really over the mae klong river.
Book your tickets online for bridge over the river kwai, kanchanaburi. In a prison camp, british pows are forced into labor. Goodreads members who liked the bridge over the river kwai. True story of the bridge on the river kwai 1996 survivors of the death railway as they describe the 250mile bangkokrangoon railroad constructed by the japanese during ww ii, were shocked by the images portrayed in the hollywood movie.
His first novel to be published in the united states was the bridge on the river kwai. Jerry tallmer blows up river kwai the village voice. Immediately download the the bridge on the river kwai summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching the bridge on the river kwai. The bridge on the river kwai sits in infamy as a classic world war two movie. The bridge on the river kwai won best picture and six other oscar nods from the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences at the 1958 academy awards. The movie was mainly filmed in ceylon now sri lanka and also in england. This study guide consists of approximately 24 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the bridge on the river kwai.
David leans 1957 film classic the bridge on the river kwai, based on the book of the same name by pierre boulle, concerns a group of british world war ii prisoners of war who are marched into a japanese prison camp deep in the jungle of southeast asia. Boldly advancing through asia, the japanese need a train route from burma going north. Review of pierre boulles the bridge over the river kwai. Although the death railway has never again reached the myanmar border, a. Jun 21, 2011 like the best of david leans films, the bridge on the river kwai is sweeping but personal, a formal masterwork that ultimately operates to deepen the moral ambiguity and humanity of its primary characters. It is unquestionably one of the greatest movies ever made. Three sections of bridge river kwai were destroyed. Ive been thinking the matter over and have decided to put majors and above in administrative duties, leaving only the duty. What the film did not win was the respect and admiration from members of the far east prisoners of war fepow due to the fictitious portrayal of events. What is the whistling song in the bridge over the river kwai called in english usage. Oct 25, 2012 the bridge on the river kwai opens in a japanese prisonerofwar camp in burma in 1943, where a battle of wills rages between camp commander colonel saito sessue hayakawa and newly arrived. The bridge on the river kwai opens in a japanese prisonerofwar camp in burma in 1943, where a battle of wills rages between camp commander colonel saito sessue hayakawa and newly arrived british colonel nicholson alec guinness.