Synopsis
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
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Cast
- William HoldenCmdr. Shears
- Alec GuinnessCol. Nicholson
- Jack HawkinsMaj. Warden
- Sessue HayakawaCol. Saito
- James DonaldMaj. Clipton
- Geoffrey HorneLt. Joyce
- André MorellCol. Green
- Peter WilliamsCapt. Reeves
- John BoxerMajor Hughes
- Percy HerbertGrogan
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
The story in the jungle moves ahead neatly, economically, powerfully. - 100
Empire
Possibly Lean's most complicated movie, Kwai is a towering work. - 100
Variety
A gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments. Its potency stems only partly from the boxoffice draw of William Holden and, to a lesser degree, Alec Guinness. What elevates “Kwai” to the rank of an artistic and financial triumph for producer Sam Spiegel is the engrossing entertainment it purveys, including some scenes which will be listed as among the best of film memorabilia. - 100
The New York Times
Brilliant is the word, and no other, to describe the quality of skills that have gone into the making of this picture, from the writing of the script out of a novel by the Frenchman Pierre Boulle, to direction, performance, photographing, editing and application of a musical score. - 100
Slant Magazine
Whereas Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago feel more pictorial than cinematic, The Bridge on the River Kwai carefully builds its psychological tension until it erupts in a blinding flash of sulfur and flame. - 100
ReelViews
The post-World War II cinematic landscape is littered with big-budget movies about the conflict and the toll it took upon those who participated. Some of those pictures have become timeless classics and some are nearly forgotten. Few, if any, are as simultaneously thrilling, awe-inspiring, and tragic as The Bridge on the River Kwai - 100
New York Daily News
Brilliant performances are to be credited to Alec Guinness, as the British colonel, who insists on sticking to the rules of the Geneva Conference governing prisoners of war, and Sessue Hayakawa as the stubborn, cruel, proud Japanese officer. - 100
TV Guide Magazine
This intelligent and exciting WWII tale, masterfully helmed by Lean (at the start of his "epic" period), features a splendid performance from Guinness as Col. Nicholson, a British officer who has surrendered with his regiment to the Japanese in Burma in 1943.
