The Bridge on the River Kwai

This article is about the film. For the novel, see The Bridge over the River Kwai. For the real bridge, see Burma Railway § Bridge 277: Bridge on the River Khwae.

The Bridge on the River Kwai
American theatrical release poster, "Style A"
Directed byDavid Lean
Screenplay by
Based onThe Bridge over the River Kwai
by Pierre Boulle
Produced bySam Spiegel
Starring
CinematographyJack Hildyard
Edited byPeter Taylor
Music byMalcolm Arnold
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 2 October 1957 (1957-10-02) (London-premiere)
  • 11 October 1957 (1957-10-11) (United Kingdom)
  • 14 December 1957 (1957-12-14) (United States)
Running time
161 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States[1]
LanguagesEnglish
Japanese
Budget$2.8 million[2]
(equivalent to $29 million in 2022)
Box office$30.6 million[2](equivalent to $319 million in 2022)
The film's trailer

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. Boulle's novel and the film's screenplay are almost entirely fictional, but use the construction of the Burma Railway, in 1942–1943, as their historical setting.[3] The cast includes William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa.

It was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to the UK in order to continue working. As a result, Boulle, who did not speak English, was credited and received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; many years later, Foreman and Wilson posthumously received the Academy Award.[4]

The Bridge on the River Kwai is now widely recognized as one of the greatest films ever made. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The film won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) at the 30th Academy Awards. In 1997, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress.[5][6] It has been included on the American Film Institute's list of best American films ever made.[7][8] In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Bridge on the River Kwai the 11th greatest British film of the 20th century.

  1. ^ "The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b Hall, Sheldon (2010). Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History. Wayne State University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0814330081.
  3. ^ "Remembering the railway: The Bridge on the River Kwai Archived 2 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, www.hellfire-pass.commemoration.gov.au. Retrieved 09-24-2015.
  4. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (16 March 1985). "Oscars Go to Writers of 'Kwai'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  6. ^ "New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  7. ^ On the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies lists, in 1998 (#13) and 2007 (#36)
  8. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Great Movies: The First 100". Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.