WINNER OF 7 ACADEMY AWARDS, including Best Picture!
The Bridge on the River Kwai opens in a Japanese prisoner-of-war 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). Saito insists that Nicholson order his men to build a bridge over the river Kwai, which will be used to transport Japanese munitions. Nicholson refuses, despite all the various “persuasive” devices at Saito’s disposal. Finally, Nicholson agrees, not so much to cooperate with his captor as to provide a morale-boosting project for the military engineers under his command. The colonel will prove that, by building a better bridge than Saito’s men could build, the British soldier is a superior being even when under the thumb of the enemy. As the bridge goes up, Nicholson becomes obsessed with completing it to perfection, eventually losing sight of the fact that it will benefit the Japanese. Meanwhile, American POW Shears (William Holden), having escaped from the camp, agrees to save himself from a court martial by leading a group of British soldiers back to the camp to destroy Nicholson’s bridge. Upon his return, Shears realizes that Nicholson’s mania to complete his project has driven him mad. Filmed in Ceylon, Bridge on the River Kwai won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary British filmmaker David Lean, and Best Actor for Guinness. It also won Best Screenplay for Pierre Boulle, the author of the novel on which the film was based, even though the actual writers were blacklisted writers Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, who were given their Oscars under the table.
Directed by David Lean
Starring Alec Guiness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
PG-13 | USA | 1957 | 2h 41m
About 100 YEARS OF MOVIES
This series presents films from every decade the Strand has been in operation, chosen for how they represented the filmmaking style and perspectives of their time. In addition to well-known films, the titles will include lesser-known, high quality releases that have been overlooked, as well as underrepresented movies and directors. The films were curated by Alicia Malone, a host on Turner Classic Movies (TCM); and Strand House Manager Liz McLeod, also a film historian. Each film will be introduced by Malone or McLeod, or a special guest presenter.
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