Spiegel had it refurbished completely and then had one mile of railway track laid for it. The rail link, however, would . The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. Prisoners, including the sick, were marched to camps further along Death Railway. David Lean is taken that story and directed it in 1957. Bought 4 and 6 mm dowel wood for bridge piers. Unique to this film, in some ways, were other issues related to poorly made optical dissolves, the original camera lens and a malfunctioning camera. Despite the nightmarish conditions, and equipped only with the most basic of tools, the POWs pulled off an amazing feat of engineering. Lean wanted to use the tune in Kwai, figured those lyrics wouldn't pass the censors (or the approval of the composer's widow), and opted to have the troops whistle it instead. Lean liked that draft even less. It was repaired in time to be blown up the next morning, with Bandaranaike and his entourage present. The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. Interested in advertising on the world's largest website dedicated to all things Britain? [43] By October 1960, the film had earned worldwide box office revenues of $30 million. [38] Some Japanese viewers also disliked the film for portraying the Allied prisoners of war as more capable of constructing the bridge than the Japanese engineers themselves were, accusing the filmmakers of being unfairly biased and unfamiliar with the realities of the bridge construction, a sentiment echoed by surviving prisoners of war who saw the film in cinemas. [63], The film was restored in 1985 by Columbia Pictures. The Colonel Bogey strain was accompanied by a counter-melody using the same chord progressions, then continued with film composer Malcolm Arnold's own composition, "The River Kwai March", played by the off-screen orchestra taking over from the whistlers, though Arnold's march was not heard in completion on the soundtrack. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. [23], British composer Malcolm Arnold recalled that he had "ten days to write around forty-five minutes worth of music" much less time than he was used to. As Australian Brigadier Arthur Varley put it: The Japanese will carry out their schedule and do not mind if the line is dotted with crosses.. He also didn't like hearing that he was Lean's second choice for the role, a fact made more awkward when he arrived in Ceylon and Lean greeted him with, "Of course, you know I really wanted Charles Laughton." About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Harry Cohn, the vulgar (but successful) man who ran Columbia Pictures at the time, was furious when he read the script and saw no . Explore the story of the CWGC, from our formation during the First World War to our work today. Tooseys men stated this never happened. Copyright 2020 Tons Of Facts. Bandaranaike, then Prime Minister of Ceylon, and a team of government dignitaries. . While Nicholson disapproves of acts of sabotage and other deliberate attempts to delay progress, Toosey encouraged this: termites were collected in large numbers to eat the wooden structures, and the concrete was badly mixed. The prisoners of war who had . It worked. Once Spiegel relented, he realized Holden was a box office draw and offered him a great deal: $300,000 salary (about $2.5 million in 2016 dollars), plus 10 percent of the gross. He insisted that Lean add a scene where Shears, the American played by William Holden, cozies up to a nurse (Ann Sears). She retired Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. comment. [66] The original negative for the feature was scanned at 4k (four times the resolution in High Definition), and the colour correction and digital restoration were also completed at 4k. This meant that some of the British prisoners were actually natives of the region wearing make-up to appear Caucasian. It was filmed in Kitulgala which is 60 . The process of adapting Pierre Boulle's French-language novel Le Pont de la Riviere Kwai was difficult (more on that later), but the two writers ultimately responsible for it were Carl Foreman (High Noon) and Michael Wilson (A Place in the Sun). The screenplay was instead credited to the novelist, Boullewhich was quite a feat, since he didnt speak or read English. For example, a Sergeant-Major Risaburo Saito was in real life second in command at the camp. Save up to 50% on Thailand River Cruises August 2024. Ironically, Allied bombing raids of the region between March and June 1943 contributed to casualties sustained around Thanbyuzayat. A regiment of British prisoners arrives, whistling the Colonel Bogey March, under the command of Colonel Nicholson (Sir Alec Guinness). The actual bridge on the River Kwai is located in Thailand, and stretches over a part of the Mae Klong river, which was renamed Khwae Yai (Thai for big tributary). Work on the bridge proceeds badly, due to both the faulty Japanese engineering plans and the prisoners' slow pace and deliberate sabotage. The commandoes arrive for their mission as the finishing touches are being put on the bridge. A sketch of that bridge was used as the basis for the fictional one. Toosey in fact did as much as possible to delay the building of the bridge. 19. They are joined by approximately 1,850 Dutch casualties and one non-war grave. 60,000 or so Allied prisoners of war, including British, Australian, Dutch and some US troops, alongside more than 200,000 civilian labourers were pressed into service. The Bridge on the River Kwai was actually one of the reasons movies started becoming prime-time television programming. The river is the Mae Klong River which passes through a valley of the Khwae Noi River (little tributary). $ 3 million (estimated) The Bridge on the River Kwai is a British 1957 movie from Columbia Pictures, based on Pierre Boulle 's 1952 book The Bridge over the River Kwai ( French: Le Pont de la Rivire Kwai ). He was contracted for $150,000 to be paid in installments. The young soldier from Suffolk was dispatched to work on the bridge over the River Kwai, one of the railway's most daunting engineering projects. The Bridge of the River kwai It is a tourist attraction of Kanchanaburi. The Bridge on the River Kwai was selected in 1997 for preservation in the National Film Registry. Construction of the Burma-Siam railway began in October 1942 and would end in October 1943. 1957 World War II film directed by David Lean, This article is about the film. 2. On 16 October 1943, the two ends of the Burma-Thailand railway were joined at Konkoita in Thailand. You carry it in your pack like the plague. [30], A 1969 BBC television documentary, Return to the River Kwai, made by former POW John Coast,[33] sought to highlight the real history behind the film (partly through getting ex-POWs to question its factual basis, for example Dr Hugh de Wardener and Lt-Col Alfred Knights), which angered many former POWs. [18] The bridge in the film was near Kitulgala. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. That evening, the officers are placed in a punishment hut, while Nicholson is beaten and locked in an iron box. The Bridge on the River Kwai poses complex interpretive issues about the vagaries of war and military behavior as conveyed by the Japanese soldiers, Commander Saito, Lt. Col. Nicholson, and the British captives. Both bridges were used for two years, until they were destroyed by Allied bombing. We worked at bayonet point and under bamboo lash, taking any risk to sabotage the operation whenever the opportunity arose. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. The bridges were quickly repaired with the use of POW labour from the camp at Tha . Their taskmasters were relentless. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a classic 1957 British-American war film based upon the 1952 novel Le Pont de la Rivire Kwai by Pierre Boulle. Carl Foreman was the initial screenwriter, but Lean replaced him with Michael Wilson. Its a charming, idyllic spot, belying the intense horror and suffering the men who built it went through. Corrections? The movie garnered seven Academy Awards, including that for best picture, as well as three Golden Globe Awards and four BAFTA awards. [39], The major railway bridge described in the novel and film did not actually cross the river known at the time as the Kwai. Here is 'Minder' telling me to get the timber off the base and start cutting up the dowels. [31][32] Some consider the film to be an insulting parody of Toosey. Nicholson suddenly realizes that his pride in the bridges construction has blinded him to his military duty. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The majority of its smaller components are originals, while a few are post-war replacements. Colonel Saito, the camp commandant, informs the new prisoners they will all work, even officers, on the construction of a railway bridge over the River Kwai that will connect Bangkok and Rangoon. They built a railway to link Bangkok to Rangoon. However, cameraman Freddy Ford was unable to get out of the way of the explosion in time, and Lean had to stop filming. 8. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [61][62], In 1972, the movie was among the first selection of films released on the early Cartrivision video format, alongside classics such as The Jazz Singer and Sands of Iwo Jima. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 in the United States and Canada and was also the most popular film at the British box office that year. Tracy had read the book and told Spiegel emphatically that the part must be played by an Englishman. Nicholson forbids any escape attempts because they were ordered by headquarters to surrender, and escapes could be seen as defiance of orders. The movie was mainly filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and also in England. 28. 7. The events depicted in the film, of a chaotic Commando raid and Lt. Col Nicholsons wounded body falling dramatically on the detonator and blowing the bridge up, are completely false. This was an entertaining story. as soon as he signed, Lean borrowed $2,000 from Columbia Pictures to get his teeth fixed. Shears is enjoying his hospital stay in Ceylon unwittingly within a commando school referred to as "Force 316" (likely based on the real world Force 136 of the Special Operations Executive (SOE)). The Bridge on the River Kwai: Directed by David Lean. Its this structure, Bridge 277, that still stands and is a famous local tourist attraction. Since it first graced the silver screen won the admiration of audiences everywhere and continues to do so. Also, the dense surrounding jungle renders escape virtually impossible. But poor old Goebbels 15. Spiegel finally sent Michael Wilson to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where Lean was in pre-production, and the two worked together to hammer out the final version. The real swamps in Ceylon were deemed to be too dangerous. But in 1966, the film aired on American . Has no balls After the final scene was shot, producer Sam Spiegel shipped the movie footage on five different planes to minimize the risk of loss. Starring Alec Guinness, William Holden, and Sessue Hayakawa, among others, it paints an . Sessue Hayakawa (1889-1973) was a Japanese-born actor who came to Hollywood in the very early days of cinemahis first short, The Typhoon, was made in 1914and quickly became a matinee idol, playing exotic villains and such. 14. Sessue Hayakawa edited his copy of the script to contain only his lines of dialog. Today, he rests alongside his fellow POWs in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery in Burma (Myanmar). "[57], Some Japanese viewers have disliked the film's depiction of the Japanese characters and the historical background presented as being inaccurate, particularly in the interactions between Saito and Nicholson. 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. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to England in order to continue working. In the meantime, Shears manages to escape. Neither of them got credit, though, as The Bridge on the River Kwai was released during the three-year period when people who'd ever been Communists (or who refused to answer questions about it before Congress) were ineligible for Academy Awards. During WW II, Japan constructed the meter-gauge railway line from Ban Pong, Thailand to Thanbyuzayat, Burma. [40], The Bridge on the River Kwai was a massive commercial success. In the movie the bridge is destroyed by commandos. The film"s story was loosely based on a true World War II incident, and the real-life character of Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please select which sections you would like to print: Pat Bauer graduated from Ripon College in 1977 with a double major in Spanish and Theatre. Shears and two others escape. The movie was filmed in Ceylon, which is now Sri Lanka. David Lean was completely at home in the hot and humid Ceylon jungle. Sam Spiegel bought the railroad train from the Ceylonese government. [54] Slant magazine gave the film four out of five stars. The finished screenplay had significant contributions from both Wilson and Foreman, though each went to his grave insisting he was the more important contributor. Mitch Miller had a hit with a recording of both marches. Initial estimates from Japanese engineers suggested it would take five years. Despite this, he won an Oscar and a Grammy. (This can be compared to a scene in the 1927 movie, The General, which starred Buster Keaton.). Let's talk about British Food! Some of the characters in the film use the names of real people who were involved in the Burma Railway. The march was written in 1914 by Kenneth J. Alford, a pseudonym of British Bandmaster Frederick J. Ricketts. There were no facilities on the island of Ceylon to process film rushes, so the days filming had to be flown to London to be processed and then flown back out to Ceylon. The Bridge over the River Kwai (French: Le Pont de la rivire Kwa) is a novel by the French novelist Pierre Boulle, published in French in 1952 and English translation by Xan Fielding in 1954. The ending of that was sort of the story of life. Read the response of the CWGC to the findings of the Special Committee. [5][6] It has been included on the American Film Institute's list of best American films ever made. Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. 1. Image: British troops surrender at Singapore. 14- "Be happy in your work.". Rather than draw on their own corps of manpower, which was busy fighting an eventual losing battle against encroaching Allied forces, it would put its legions of POWs and local forced labourers to work. But, what about the real men behind the real story of the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway? The Bridge on the River Kwai was widely praised, winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, at the 30th Academy Awards. This Oscar-winning epic is part of movie folklore and widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever so I really wanted to see the area where director David Lean shot it way back in 1957. Best time to visit Bridge Over The River Kwai (preferred time): 09:00 am - 01:00 pm. 5. Sri Lanka Filming Locations: The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) Posted on July 17, 2017 by tokyofox. Shears, who is a British commando officer like Warden in the novel, became an American sailor who escapes from the POW camp. Moreover, Kanchanaburi has an annual "Bridge Over the River Kwai" week, which has a sound show to relive the moments of World War II. Pitted against the warden, Colonel . In 1941 the Japanese Army invaded Thailand. In a 1988 interview with Barry Norman, Lean confirmed that Columbia almost stopped filming after three weeks because there was no white woman in the film, forcing him to add what he called "a very terrible scene" between Holden and a nurse on the beach. Alec Guiness, William Holden, and Jack Hawkins in front of bridge they built in a scene from the film 'The Bridge On The River Kwai', 1957. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 and scooped up seven Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor. 25 March 1995. You can also take a boat down the Kwai River . When Columbia Pictures read the script for Kwai, it was concerned that the story was too much about men and had no love interest. Like thousands of other POWs, Lamb was kept in degrading conditions, refused medical treatment and barely fed. Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson have written the screenplay for this film. They would work in appalling conditions, given minuscule amounts of food, snatches of sleep, and little to no medical treatment. Nicholson is shocked by the poor job being done by his men and orders the building of a proper bridge, intending it to stand as a tribute to the British Army's ingenuity for centuries to come.