The Bridge on the River Kwai
1957 World War II film directed by David Lean / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay are almost entirely fictional.[3] The cast includes William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, and Sessue Hayakawa.
| The Bridge on the River Kwai | |
|---|---|
.jpg) American theatrical release poster, "Style A" | |
| Directed by | David Lean |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle |
| Produced by | Sam Spiegel |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
| Edited by | Peter Taylor |
| Music by | Malcolm Arnold |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 161 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom United States[1] |
| Languages | English Japanese |
| Budget | $2.8 million[2] |
| Box office | $30.6 million[2] |
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.