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He'd just been through a costly divorce from actress Ann Todd. But whats the real story? Best time to visit Bridge Over The River Kwai (preferred time): 09:00 am - 01:00 pm. In the film, Lt. Col Nicholson is seen collaborating with his captors, even under duress. The Bridge on the River Kwai Facts for Kids. After the final scene was shot, producer Sam Spiegel shipped the movie footage on five different planes to minimize the risk of loss. The bridge in the movie was near Kitulgala. Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson have written the screenplay for this film. He was a huge star, drawing a weekly salary of $5000 in 1915 (adjusted for inflation: $119,000) and appearing in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1924. Omissions? Explore the CWGC Archive through our online portal. (He didn't attend the Oscars, either.) The negative itself manifested many of the kinds of issues one would expect from a film of this vintage: torn frames, embedded emulsion dirt, scratches through every reel, colour fading. The Kwai River Bridge was part of the meter-gauge railway constructed by the Japanese during World War Two. Imperial Japanese Army Command deemed this unacceptable. He served as an adviser during the making of the movie. A real train rode over the bridge as it blew up. Have a question about us or our work? As it opens, two POWs, the American navy commander Shears (William Holden) and an Australian, are digging graves for their companions. A Cholera epidemic swept through Nieke Camp between May-June 1943. [18] The bridge in the film was near Kitulgala. Shears, who is a British commando officer like Warden in the novel, became an American sailor who escapes from the POW camp. Thanbyuzayat is in Myanmar. No visit to the Western Front is complete without a trip to The CWGC Visitor Centre. Madness! 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. We hadn't much breath left for whistling. They remain standing at attention throughout the day. Jun 7, 2011 - New on Blu 6-7-11: Studios unload nearly 70 titles. Geoffrey Horne saved his life. Lambs sister received a letter from him in September 1943, saying he was in excellent health and being treated well by his captors. 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. Before the US began rolling up Japanese possessions throughout the Pacific, and the British really started gaining momentum in Burma, Japan had carved out a large empire. He wanders into a Burmese village, is nursed back to health, and eventually reaches the British colony of Ceylon. It was released in the US on December 14, 1957, taking in a reported $17M+, which made it the highest-grossing film of 1957. Kwai River Bridge history. In particular, they objected to the implication presented in the film that Japanese military engineers were generally unskilled at their profession and lacked proficiency. For one sunset scene, David Lean specifically traveled 150 miles to capture it. Lean only got $150,000 himself, but he always said Holden was worth it. Cast the Expert: Percy Herbert, who played the role of a prisoner of war in the film, actually spent four . [10], Although Lean later denied it, Charles Laughton was his first choice for the role of Nicholson. This page was last modified on 6 February 2023, at 06:05. The movie starring William Holden, Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins was shot at more than 1 locations. Lean insisted that Laughton could lose weight before shooting began, but Columbia Pictures' insurance underwriters refused to cover him, saying he was too unhealthy to endure several months on location in the jungles of Ceylon. [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]. The adventure war film The Bridge on the River Kwai may have swept the board of awards and attracted acclaim as one best films of the 20th century, but the War Office was very nervous "it would . Its this structure, Bridge 277, that still stands and is a famous local tourist attraction. Wrote Guinness: "I felt like turning around and getting back on the plane and paying my own fare home!" For many, its their first exposure to the horrors prisoners of wars suffered in the Far East. The film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" dramatized the WWII story of the Thailand-Burma Railway, yet it was largely fictional. But he'd never made anything on an epic scale, wasn't well known outside of England, and wouldn't have been considered for The Bridge on the River Kwai if it weren't for Katharine Hepburn, the star of his 1955 film Summertime. 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. Roger Ebert focused on the symbolism of the bridge in this 1999 description: "[The war] narrows down to a single task, building a . [40], The Bridge on the River Kwai was a massive commercial success. In fact, there were two: one a wooden railway bridge and the other a ferroconcrete structure built using imported bridge sections from Japanese-controlled Java. The elephants employed in helping build the bridge would take breaks every four hours and lie around the water, whether the crew wanted them to or not. One of the biggest causes of ire was the treatment of Toosey. By the way, the real Kwai River was just a trickle near Burma, where Boulle set his bridge; the actual bridge had been built 200 miles away, near Bangkok. "[47] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". 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. In the film, a Colonel Saito is camp commandant. Both bridges were used for two years, until they were destroyed by Allied bombing. Image: British troops surrender at Singapore. They were calling it the Death Railway. Showing the impact of disease on the workforce, Kanchanaburi contains two graves holding the ashes of 300 Cholera victims. "[17], The film was made in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The Burma-Siam Railways construction necessitated construction of over 670 bridges and numerous cuttings. What's happening in this "The Bridge on the River Kwai" movie clip?Warden (Jack Hawkins from Land of the Pharaohs and Ben-Hur) fires a mortar, wounding Nicho. The prisoners of war who had . In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Bridge on the River Kwai the 11th greatest British film of the 20th Century. The film originally made thirty million dollars over its three million dollar budget and was rereleased in theaters just after Lean and Spiegel's Lawrence of Arabia came out. Workers died at a rate of 20 men per day. For the scenes where William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Geoffrey Horne and the native girls had to wade through swamps, they were wading through specially created ones. While the story is fiction, the broader setting--including the construction of the Burmese railway--is based on historical events. It is a landmark of Kanchanaburi Province. 16. The film"s story was loosely based on a true World War II incident, and the real-life character of Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey. 15. Updates? Lean had a lengthy row with Guinness over how to play the role of Nicholson; the actor wanted to play the part with a sense of humour and sympathy, while Lean thought Nicholson should be "a bore." The documentary itself was described by one newspaper reviewer when it was shown on Boxing Day 1974 (The Bridge on the River Kwai had been shown on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1974) as "Following the movie, this is a rerun of the antidote."[37]. [49] Mike Kaplan, reviewing for Variety, described it as "a gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments. Questions or feedback on our new site? (Lean denied ever wanting Laughton for the role, despite abundant documented evidence to the contrary.). To keep costs down, producer Sam Spiegel decided not to hire any extras, using crew members and Ceylon locals instead. 27. 2023 Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Copyright 2020 Tons Of Facts. He succumbed to malaria, dysentery, and malnutrition at Camp Kilo 101 in Thailand. Shears tries to get out of the mission by confessing that he impersonated an officer, hoping for better treatment from the Japanese. The Bridge on the River Kwai. 3. So Spiegel hired another writer, Calder Willingham, to give it a crack. He joined up in 1940 and served in the Middle East with the 2/2nd Pioneer Battalion before transferring back to the Dutch East Indies in early 1942. Kanburi wasnt a work camp as such. Sessue Hayakawa considered his performance as Saito as the highlight of his career. Put on your marching boots and whistle a jaunty tune as we investigate some behind-the-scenes facts about this enduring war film. Has no balls [60] The 167-minute film was first telecast, uncut, in colour, on the evening of 25 September 1966, as a three hours-plus ABC Movie Special. Like Chungkai and Kanchanaburi, Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery was originally part of the camp set up serving the Burma-Siams construction. By this time, the United States and its naval and industrial might had entered the war. Witnessing the carnage, Clipton shakes his head and mutters, "Madness! David Lean was completely at home in the hot and humid Ceylon jungle. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is an epic World War II adventure/action, anti-war drama. 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. These problems resulted in a number of anomalies that were very difficult to correct, like a ghosting effect in many scenes that resembles colour mis-registration, and a tick-like effect with the image jumping or jerking side-to-side. c. 1945. Two bridges were built; one was made of wood, one was made of concrete and steel. During WW II, Japan constructed the meter-gauge railway line from Ban Pong, Thailand to Thanbyuzayat, Burma. The separate dialogue, music and effects were located and remixed with newly recorded "atmospheric" sound effects. Clipton objects, believing this to be collaboration with the enemy. A sketch of that bridge was used as the basis for the fictional one. 's working to build and/or destroy a bridge for the Japanese during World War II. 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. Like thousands of other POWs, Lamb was kept in degrading conditions, refused medical treatment and barely fed. Boulle was given sole credit on the film and was awarded the Oscar for best screenplay. It stretched from Japan, Korea, and China in the north all the way down to Indonesia. The Burma-Siam Railway was 250 miles of railway constructed by Allied prisoners of war alongside forced Asian labourers. The Bridge of the River kwai It is a tourist attraction of Kanchanaburi. Their roles and characters, however, are fictionalised. "[52] Harrison's Reports described the film as an "excellent World War II adventure melodrama" in which the "production values are first-rate and so is the photography. David Lean's 1957 epic Bridge on the River Kwai is regarded as one of the all-time great war films. Toosey would provide the inspiration for Lt. Col Nicholson portrayed by Alec Guinness in the 1957 film. The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. 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. Return trains are 12.55 and 15.15. 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.