The Classic World War II Epic Led By A Star Wars Legend, Stream Without Netflix
The 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai is an outstanding production that features two exceptional actors playing polar opposite roles. Long before he played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, Sir Alec Guinness played British Col. Nicholson while William Holden played a U.S. soldier named Shears, and they both are prisoners of war. Their Japanese captors used the prisoners of war as slave labor to build a railroad bridge over the River Kwai to enable supplies to reach Japanese troops in Burma.
Sir Alec Guinness Goes To War
Col. Nicholson is a by-the-book career officer in the British Army and does his best to keep his men and others mindful of military discipline. Shears is more of a maverick who isn’t big on taking orders, but Nicholson outranks him. Their clashing personalities and Nicholson’s insistence on maintaining military discipline and protocol while they are prisoners of war cause some animosity between the two men.
The antagonist is Col. Saito, who initially brutalizes the prisoners in his haste to complete the railroad bridge on the River Kwai. Unfortunately, his military engineers lacked experience and chose a poor location for the bridge, which wasn’t structurally sound. Nicholson sees it as an opportunity to build a proper bridge using experienced British engineers while giving the POWs something to focus on.
The Bridge Isn’t A Metaphor
Saito agrees to treat the prisoners with more respect and feed them properly in exchange for a soundly built bridge. Nicholson intends to deliver that bridge, but Shears wants out. Eventually, he escapes and manages to make it back to Allied lines, but his superiors want to send him back while leading a select group of men to destroy the bridge before it becomes active.
One Of the Greatest War Movies In Hollywood History
Shears’ knowledge of the area and the bridge’s location makes him an indispensable part of the mission to destroy the bridge on the River Kwai. He reluctantly agrees, and the stage is set for an adventurous journey through the Burmese jungle to reach the bridge.
It’s a journey fraught with danger, but they have the assistance of several locals, many of whom are women. The finish is one of the most memorable in the history of film.
Based On A Novel
The outstanding movie is based on the 1952 novel by Pierre Boulle entitled The Bridge Over the River Kwai. Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson adapted the screenplay, and director David Lean filmed the 161-minute film in color with a budget of $2.8 million. It generated $30.6 million at the box office, which was the most of any film in 1957. which affirms it was a commercial success.
Streaming On Amazon Prime Video
REVIEW SCORE
The Bridge on the River Kwai also is a critical success and earned eight Academy Awards, including for Best Picture in 1958. David Lean won an Oscar for Best Director while Alec Guinness won the gold statue for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Sessue Hayaka won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Other Oscar wins were for the screenplay, cinematography, film editing, and musical score.
The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress added the film to its list of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” films. It qualifies on all three counts with outstanding cinematography, storytelling, and telling a compelling story based on true events. You can stream The Bridge on the River Kwai on Amazon Prime Video.
