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. Dying, Nicholson stumbles toward the detonator and falls on the plunger, blowing up the bridge and sending the train hurtling into the river. 11. However, in 1943 a railway bridge was built by Allied POWs over the Mae Klong river renamed Khwae Yai in the 1960s as a result of the film at Tha Ma Kham, five kilometres from Kanchanaburi, Thailand. The Bridge on the River Kwai: The explosive bridge (HD CLIP) David Lean was completely at home in the hot and humid Ceylon jungle. 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. Visiting The Bridge On The River Kwai, Kanchanaburi Updates? Sessue Hayakawa considered his performance as Saito as the highlight of his career. But the unusual move paid off for ABCthe telecast drew huge ratings with a record audience of 72 million[60] and a Nielsen rating of 38.3 and an audience share of 61%. The Burma-Siam Railway was 250 miles of railway constructed by Allied prisoners of war alongside forced Asian labourers. The region was seized by the Japanese in 1942, and they then set about making preparations . Spiegel sent the screenplay to the Japanese government ahead of time, hoping to get their cooperation with the production. A Smith article describes bridge on River Kwai, near Kanchanaburi, Thailand, built by Allied POWs during Japanese occupation of Thailand in World War II and subject of famous film The Bridge on . Instead, the Lt. Col would stand up for his men when necessary to try to alleviate some of their hardships. The rail link, however, would . 4. A Cholera epidemic swept through Nieke Camp between May-June 1943. It was filmed in Kitulgala which is 60 . Tonight, enjoy dinner at a hotel restaurant Overnight: Kanchanaburi The Bridge on the River Kwai, commonly referred to as the Railroad of Death or Death Railway, which stands in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, was one of only eight steel bridges of the estimated 688 that were built. Some of the characters in the film use the names of real people who were involved in the Burma Railway. Find out how you can apply to become a CWGC Volunteer. c. 1945. He, Shears, and Joyce reach the river in time with the assistance of Siamese women bearers and their village chief, Khun Yai. Despite this, he won an Oscar and a Grammy. In 1957 the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, premiered in London and became the biggest grossing film of 1958, winning seven academy awards in the process, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Musical Score, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.Not bad for a movie that is largely a work of almost entirely fictional characters and a story which . Wise: "I never heard it in Thailand. The Bridge Over the River Kwai: A Novel - Google Books After Guinness was done with the scene, Lean said, "Now you can all fuck off and go home, you English actors. 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]. (This can be compared to a scene in the 1927 movie, The General, which starred Buster Keaton.). ", The screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, were on the Hollywood blacklist and, even though living in exile in England, could only work on the film in secret. And a bloke called George Siegatz[29] an expert whistlerbegan to whistle Colonel Bogey, and a hit was born.". Warden tells the Siamese women that he had to prevent anyone from falling into enemy hands, and leaves with them. As it opens, two POWs, the American navy commander Shears (William Holden) and an Australian, are digging graves for their companions. Their roles and characters, however, are fictionalised. Some of the Second World War's fiercest battles involved bridges and inspired some riveting accounts - capture of key bridges (Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day"; Stephen. According to one biographer, he was "broke and needed work; he had even pawned his gold cigarette case." The steel bridge was repaired and is still in use today. Its a charming, idyllic spot, belying the intense horror and suffering the men who built it went through. Full scale plan drawing for the main cantilever bridge design. Boulle was given sole credit on the film and was awarded the Oscar for best screenplay. The correct name for the River Kwai is Khwae Noi, meaning small tributary, which merges with Khwae Yai River to create the Mae Kong River. Camps were set up at 100-metre intervals. The separate dialogue, music and effects were located and remixed with newly recorded "atmospheric" sound effects. The movie, based on the novel Le Pont de la rivire Kwa (1952) by French novelist Pierre Boulle, was adapted for the screen by Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman, who were both at the time on the Hollywood blacklist. Questions or feedback on our new site? Death Railway was bombed heavily by the Allies from 1943 onwards. The film"s story was loosely based on a true World War II incident, and the real-life character of Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Bridge On The River Kwai is the World War II Oscar winner about an Army colonel (Alec Guinness) obsessed with proving British superiority over his Japanese captors by showing that his . Has only got one ball! US Navy Commander Shears tells of the horrific conditions. Pay on the train. Burma-Siam Railway labourers and prisoners of war slept in rudimentary bamboo huts on filthy floors. It is a landmark of Kanchanaburi Province. [56] Warren Buffett said it was his favorite movie. The cemetery itself is located just outside the town of Kanchanaburi at the point where the Kwai splits into the Mae Khlong and Kwai Noi rivers. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . He was contracted for $150,000 to be paid in installments. It was set up at the beginning of the Burma-Siams construction. A make-up man was also badly injured in the same accident. 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. Bombing of the Bridge over the River Kwai Historic War Tours THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI: Honor, Duty, and Madness Lean shouted at them, 'For God's sake, whistle a march to keep time to.' The Bridge on the River Kwai | Plot, Cast, Awards, & Facts Kwai River Bridge - History and Facts | History Hit This meant that some of the British prisoners were actually natives of the region wearing make-up to appear Caucasian. But, what about the real men behind the real story of the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway? He insisted that Lean add a scene where Shears, the American played by William Holden, cozies up to a nurse (Ann Sears). 6 Interesting And Awesome Facts About Dondokomon From Digimon, 20 Amazing And Fun Facts About San Bernardino, California, United States, 26 Fun And Fascinating Facts About The Gods Of Egypt Movie, 15 Interesting And Fun Facts About Napa, California, United States, 20 Interesting And Amazing Facts About National City, California, United States, 15 Interesting And Fascinating Facts About Needles, California, United States, 15 Interesting And Amazing Facts About Nevada City, California, United States, 15 Amazing And Interesting Facts About Newark, California, United States. The destruction of the bridge as depicted in the film is also entirely fictional. Desperate, he uses the anniversary of Japan's 1905 victory in the Russo-Japanese War as an excuse to save face; he announces a general amnesty, releasing Nicholson and his officers and exempting them from manual labour. Boulle nonetheless enjoyed the film version though he disagreed with its climax. 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. See details. Only he survives, though he is wounded. Harry Cohn, the vulgar (but successful) man who ran Columbia Pictures at the time, was furious when he read the script and saw no . We want to hear from you! The movie garnered seven Academy Awards, including that for best picture, as well as three Golden Globe Awards and four BAFTA awards. [21] Guinness later reflected on the scene, calling it the "finest piece of work" he had ever done. Joyce, manning the detonator, breaks cover and stabs Saito to death. Lets examine the history behind the film and the men who made it. "[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. The telecast of the film lasted more than three hours because of the commercial breaks. The screenplay was instead credited to the novelist, Boullewhich was quite a feat, since he didnt speak or read English. Pride, Fatalism, and Human Connection in 'The Bridge on the River Kwai Chungkai War Cemetery is something of a sister site to Kanchanaburi. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a British 1957 World War II film by David Lean based on the novel The Bridge Over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI takes place in Japan-occupied Siam (later Thailand) in 1943, after the Imperial Japanese Empire has conquered vast territories of Asia. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 World War II POW film directed by David Lean, about the construction of the bridges over the River Kwai, although it's heavily fictionalised.It's based on the French novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle, of Planet of the Apes fame; Boulle, who could neither read nor write English, was also credited for the screenplay adaptation due to . [43] By October 1960, the film had earned worldwide box office revenues of $30 million. The Bridge on the River Kwai - filming locations - SCEEN IT Initial estimates from Japanese engineers suggested it would take five years. The railway route, which ran through Burma and Thailand, had been planned by the British. The site's critical consensus reads, "This complex war epic asks hard questions, resists easy answers, and boasts career-defining work from star Alec Guinness and director David Lean. Or maybe you have a story for us or would like to work together. 938 Bridge Over The River Kwai Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images 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. [26], A memorable feature of the film is the tune that is whistled by the POWsthe first strain of the "Colonel Bogey March"when they enter the camp. However, cameraman Freddy Ford was unable to get out of the way of the explosion in time, and Lean had to stop filming. [27] Gavin Young[28] recounts meeting Donald Wise, a former prisoner of the Japanese who had worked on the Burma Railway. Supplying it by ship was the only practical solution. [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. David Lean is taken that story and directed it in 1957. Persuaded that the film would be about the horror and folly of war, the Japanese government sent a military adviser to help with the camp scenes. Recognising Shears, Nicholson exclaims, "What have I done? Since it first graced the silver screen won the admiration of audiences everywhere and continues to do so. He was listed as missing in action in June 1943. We hadn't much breath left for whistling. [51] Time magazine praised Lean's directing, noting he demonstrates "a dazzlingly musical sense and control of the many and involving rhythms of a vast composition. US $4.49 Standard Shipping from outside US. The Kwai Bridge: The Reel and the Real - The New York Times 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. For example, a Sergeant-Major Risaburo Saito was in real life second in command at the camp. Bridge over the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma. Bangkok-Kanchanaburi, by train or private transport, for the Bridge on River Kwai; Kanchanaburi-Nam Tok, by train or private transport, for Death Railway and Hellfire Pass; You can book your bus tickets online and in advance here. The line passing through the scenic Three Pagodas Pass runs for 250 miles. 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. 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. 19. Thanks to the film, the Bridge, situated in the Thai town of Kanchanaburi a couple of hours drive from Bangkok, is one of Thailand . 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. The deaths of the Asian workers and the prisoners were real events, but most of the book and the movie are not true. Use our postcode search tool to discover more about the war dead from your local area. Starring Alec Guinness, it depicts the struggles and defiance of Japanese prisoners of war building the fictional Burma railway between 1943-44. 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. Real Bridge on the River Kwai | New Scientist Take a look below for 28 more fun and interesting facts about The Bridge on the . The building of Bridge 277, the eponymous bridge that gave Leans film its name, was overseen by 2,000 British and Dutch prisoners of war. "[50] Kaplan further praised the actors, especially Alec Guinness, later writing "the film is unquestionably" his. Ironically, Allied bombing raids of the region between March and June 1943 contributed to casualties sustained around Thanbyuzayat. The Bridge On The River Kwai Film Facts. 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.. Read our Cookie Policy, Terms & Conditions and Data Protection & Privacy Policy. Return trains are 12.55 and 15.15. Only in 1984 did the Academy rectify the situation by retroactively awarding the Oscar to Foreman and Wilson, posthumously in both cases. Lets find out. "[47] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Image: British troops surrender at Singapore. The filming of the bridge explosion was to be done on 10 March 1957, in the presence of S.W.R.D. 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. It was 425 feet long, 90 feet high, and cost $52,085 out of the film's $2 million budget. Written 20 October 2021. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. Also, in the novel, the bridge is not destroyed: the train plummets into the river from a secondary charge placed by Warden, but Nicholson (never realising "what have I done?") Tracy had read the book and told Spiegel emphatically that the part must be played by an Englishman. [49] Mike Kaplan, reviewing for Variety, described it as "a gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments. [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. They are joined by approximately 1,850 Dutch casualties and one non-war grave. Train crossing the wooden bridge which spanned the Mae Klong River (renamed Kwai Yai River in 1960). The Bridge on the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand - Travel Allied bombers struck the wooden bridge and its concrete counterpart in February 1945 with one of the earliest uses of guided bombs in history. At the POW camp, Nicholson not only requires officers to work on the bridge but also pulls men from the hospital in order to meet Saitos deadline for the project. Shears tries to get out of the mission by confessing that he impersonated an officer, hoping for better treatment from the Japanese. Both bridges stood for two years and were destroyed by bombers in 1945. Commonwealth war graves commission Caring for the fallen, Commonwealth war graves foundation Our charity site. The Bridge on the River Kwai. 20. Pierre Boulle, a Frenchman, who had experienced great hardship after being captured by the Vichy French on the Mekong River, wrote a novel called 'Le Pont de la rivire Kwa' - The Bridge of the . At all. The Bridge Over The River Kwai: The Real Story - Travel Happy Over a muddy jungle river called Kwai, a Japanese colonel, Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), must complete a railroad bridge vital to Japan's war effort. A real train rode over the bridge as it blew up. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KHWAI - FACT, FICTION AND FANCY - Diwerent [44], The film was re-released in 1964 and earned a further estimated $2.6 million at the box office in the United States and Canada[45] but the following year its revised total US and Canadian revenues were reported by Variety as $17,195,000. This story is retold in: Anecdotal Tit Bits: Making "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "links for research, Allied POWs under the Japanese", "The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the Bridge on the River Kwai", "The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the, "Once-Stupendous-Now-Modest $2,700,000 Budget Kept Secret; 'River Kwai's' Sockfull Gross", "Screen: 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' Opens", "Film Reviews: The Bridge on the River Kwai", "Balu Mahendra, who made his visuals speak, dies at 74", "Warren Buffett carries an American Express card and about $400 in cash", "How Cartrivision's 1972 VCR ForesawAnd ForfeitedThe Time-Shifted Future", "Movies | Disc & Digital | Sony Pictures", "Wayne and Shuster Show, The Episode Guide (19541990) (series)", Lost and Found: The Story of Cook's Anchor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama, National Board of Review Award for Best Film, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Bridge_on_the_River_Kwai&oldid=1138405911, Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance, Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance, Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award, Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award, Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award, Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe, Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award, Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award, Films with screenplays by Michael Wilson (writer), United States National Film Registry films, World War II films based on actual events, Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Best DVD Original Retrospective Documentary/Featurette, Online Film & Television Association Awards, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 14:21. : 1942: Boldly advancing through Asia, the Japanese need a train route from Burma going north. The True Story of the Bridge over the River Kwai | CWGC 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. Sessue Hayakawa edited his copy of the script to contain only his lines of dialog. In reality, Japanese engineers proved to be just as capable at construction efforts as their Allied counterparts.[58][59]. Lean and his production designer, Donald Ashton, were in Ceylon months ahead of time to construct the film's title character (the bridge, not the river). Sri Lanka Filming Locations: The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957) Posted on July 17, 2017 by tokyofox. Despite the discomfort the rest of the crew were experiencing, Lean was thrilled about the shoot and never complained about his living conditions. Save up to 50% on Thailand River Cruises August 2024. Work on the bridge proceeds badly, due to both the faulty Japanese engineering plans and the prisoners' slow pace and deliberate sabotage. 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. Its construction came about because Japan needed another supply route to link Singapore and Malaysia to its possessions in Burma following Singapores fall in February 1942. 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). Construction of the Burma-Siam railway began in October 1942 and would end in October 1943. Leadership Lessons from The Bridge Over the River Kwai - LinkedIn Search by location, regiment, nationality, and more fields to find the war dead involved in building the blood-soaked Burma-Siam Railway. The prisoners of war who had . "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. Also, the dense surrounding jungle renders escape virtually impossible. 15. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 19421943, the plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay are almost entirely fictional.