The Bridge on the River Kwai
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The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 World War II film based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942-43 for its historical setting. It was directed by David Lean and stars Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Hawkins and William Holden.
In 1997, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress National Film Registry.
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[edit] BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI - 1957 Clip 1
[edit] Plot
Two prisoners of war are burying a corpse in the graveyard of a Japanese World War II prison camp in southern Burma. One, American Navy Commander Shears (William Holden), routinely bribes guards to ensure he gets sick duty, which allows him to avoid hard labour. A large contingent of British prisoners arrives, marching in defiantly whistling the Colonel Bogey March under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness).
The Japanese camp commander, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), addresses them, informing them of his rules. He insists that all prisoners, regardless of rank, will work on the construction of a bridge over the Kwai River as part of a railroad that will link Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma.
The next morning, when Saito orders everyone to work, Nicholson commands his officers to stand fast. He points out that the Geneva Conventions state that captured officers are exempt from manual labour. Saito is infuriated, but Nicholson refuses to back down, even after Saito has a machine gun set up and threatens to have the officers shot. Saito is dissuaded by Major Clipton (James Donald), a British medical officer, who warns of an inquiry and scandal should Saito carry through with his threat; instead, the Japanese commander leaves Nicholson and his officers standing in the intense heat. As the day wears on, one of them collapses, but Nicholson and the rest are still standing defiantly at attention when the men return from the day's work. The British officers are placed in a punishment cage and Nicholson is locked into his own box to suffer in the heat.
Nicholson, however, refuses to budge, telling Clipton, "If we give in now, there'll be no end to it." In the meantime, construction of the railroad bridge falls far behind schedule, due in part to "accidents" arranged by the British prisoners.
Should Saito fail to meet his deadline, he would be obliged to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). Finally, he reluctantly releases Nicholson, using the anniversary of Japan's great victory in the Russo-Japanese War as an excuse to exempt the officers from work. Upon their release, Nicholson and his officers proudly walk through a jubilant reception. Saito for his part breaks down in tears in private.
Nicholson sets off on an inspection of the bridge and is shocked to find disorganization, shirking and outright sabotage. He orders Captain Reeves (Peter Williams) and Major Hughes (John Boxer) to come up with designs for a proper bridge, despite its military value to the Japanese. He wants to demonstrate the superiority of British ingenuity and also to keep his men busy to maintain morale.
Meanwhile, Shears and two other men attempt to escape. The others are killed; Shears is shot, falls into the river and is swept downstream. After many days in the jungle, he stumbles into a Siamese village, whose residents help him get to the British. Shears is shipped to a hospital in Colombo, Ceylon.
Major Warden (Jack Hawkins), a member of the British Special Forces, blackmails Shears into joining his mission to destroy the bridge. Warden knows that Shears is not Shears at all, but an enlisted man masquerading as him. The two men had survived the sinking of their ship. When the officer was killed by a Japanese patrol, "Shears" switched dog tags with him, hoping to get preferential treatment in captivity. It didn't work, but he then had no choice but to continue the impersonation. In return for his services, Shears will not be charged with impersonating an officer, an offense punishable by death. They are joined by the untested Lieutenant Joyce ( Geoffrey Horne) and a fourth commando.
Back in the camp, Clipton watches in bewilderment as Nicholson maniacally drives his men to complete the project by the deadline. Ironically, the colonel even volunteers his junior officers to assist with the physical labour, the cause of his original standoff with Saito - provided that the Japanese officers are willing to pitch in as well. As the Japanese engineers had chosen a poor site, the original bridge is abandoned and construction of a whole new bridge is commenced 400 yards downriver.
Meanwhile, the commandos parachute in. The fourth man is killed in a bad landing. The rest make their way to the river, assisted by native women porters and their village chief, Yai (M.R.B. Chakrabandhu). In an encounter with a Japanese patrol, the inexperienced Joyce freezes and Warden gets shot in the foot as a result. Nonetheless, the trio make their way to the bridge.
As the prisoners celebrate the completion of the bridge, Shears and Joyce wire explosives to it under cover of darkness. The next day, a Japanese train full of soldiers and important officials is scheduled to be the first to use the bridge; Warden wants to blow it up just as the train passes over.
As dawn approaches, the trio are horrified to see that the wire to the explosives has been exposed by the receding river. Making a final inspection, Nicholson spots the wire and brings it to Saito's attention. As the train is heard approaching, the two men frantically hurry down to the riverbank, pulling up and following the wire towards Joyce, who is waiting by the detonator. When they get too close, Joyce breaks cover and stabs Saito to death. Nicholson yells for help and then tries to stop Joyce (who cannot bring himself to kill Nicholson) from getting to the detonator. A firefight erupts. When Joyce is hit, Shears swims across the river to finish the job, but he too is shot just before he reaches Nicholson.
Recognizing Shears, Nicholson suddenly comes to his senses and exclaims, "What have I done?" Warden desperately fires his mortar, killing Shears and mortally wounding Nicholson. The colonel stumbles over to the detonator plunger and falls on it as he dies, just in time to blow up the bridge and send the train hurtling into the river. (A full-sized bridge and a real train were used, probably the first time this had been done without model shots since 1952's The Big Trees. Buster Keaton's The General included an almost identical scene.)
Warden responds to the shocked stares of the women porters by pleading, "I had to do it! They might have been taken alive! It was the only thing to do!" Meanwhile, Major Clipton has witnessed the carnage unfold; he shakes his head incredulously and utters, "Madness! ... Madness!"
[edit] Cast
- William Holden as U.S. Navy Commander Shears
- Alec Guinness as Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson
- Jack Hawkins as Major Warden
- Sessue Hayakawa as Colonel Saito
- James Donald as Major Clipton
- Geoffrey Horne as Lieutenant Joyce
- André Morell as Colonel Green
- Peter Williams as Captain Reeves
- John Boxer as Major Hughes
- Percy Herbert as Private Grogan
- Harold Goodwin as Private Baker
