The story centers on a Japanese prison camp isolated deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia, where the remorseless Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) has been charged with building a vitally important railway bridge. His clash of wills with a British prisoner, the charismatic Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), escalates into a duel of honor, Nicholson defying his captor's demands to win concessions for his troops. How the two officers reach a compromise, and Nicholson becomes obsessed with building that bridge, provides the story's thematic spine; the parallel movement of a team of commandos dispatched to stop the project, led by a British major (Jack Hawkins) and guided by an American escapee (William Holden), supplies the story's suspense and forward momentum.

Shot on location in Sri Lanka, Kwai moves with a careful, even deliberate pace that survivors of latter-day, high-concept blockbusters might find lulling--Lean doesn't pander to attention deficit disorders with an explosion every 15 minutes. Instead, he guides us toward the intersection of the two plots, accruing remarkable character details through extraordinary performances. Hayakawa's cruel camp commander is gradually revealed as a victim of his own sense of honor, Holden's callow opportunist proves heroic without softening his nihilistic edge, and Guinness (who won a Best Actor Oscar, one of the production's seven wins) disappears as only he can into Nicholson's brittle, duty-driven, delusional psychosis. His final glimpse of self-knowledge remains an astonishing moment--story, character, and image coalescing with explosive impact.

Like Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai has been beautifully restored and released in a highly recommended widescreen version that preserves its original aspect ratio. --Sam Sutherland

Stills from The Bridge on the River Kwai (click for larger image)

Beyond The Bridge on the River Kwai

The David Lean Collection

WWII 60th Anniversary Collection

The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai (History Channel)

The Bridge on the River Kwai

• Lawrence of Arabia (Single Disc Edition)
• The Great Escape (2-Disc Collector's Set)
• Doctor Zhivago (Two-Disc Special Edition)
• The Guns of Navarone (Special Edition)
• Patton (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• Casablanca
• Ben-Hur
• On the Waterfront (Special Edition)
• The Longest Day (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• The Dirty Dozen

Good movie for any war buff to add to his or hers collection. With William Holden a great actor. He puts these new actors to shame. Great W.W.2 movie. I sure do miss him.

The dvd is an excellent anamorphic transfer of the movie in its original 2.55:1 format, and the picture is incredibly clear. First of all, this is a fantastic movie about British POWs building a bridge in 1940s Burma for the Japanese. The price now stands on Amazon $5.00 more expensive than when I bought it, but I would still recommend purchasing it if you are a fan of classic movies.

It gives all aspects of the war;those who are gung-ho,those that didn't care for the war, the captured, the japanese,and those tortured. It is the true story of this movie. It is a movie that makes you think and just be entertained. I can recommend this movie for everyone. Ps.There is a book called Ship of Ghosts. An excellent movie. There is a bit of violence but it is done with taste.

The movie is great but I just wish the DVD had been mastered properly. I have bought several DVD's released by Columbia. The picture has a soft shake. The movie is just fantastic. All classic movies seem to have the same problem this DVD has.