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The
Bridge on the
River Kwai
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Plot
Outline
Cast
Homework
Real Kwai Stories
Music
Links
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The Bridge on the River Kwai is a superb Prisoner of War movie. Set in World War II Thailand,
it's a monumental test of wills between two equally driven officers, one on either side.
Colonel Nicholson (deftly played by Alec Guinness) is dogmatic and rigid, refusing to give
an inch to the demands of the Japanese. Colonel Saito is desperate. The bridge he is
assigned to complete is far behind schedule. All prisoners must work, including the
officers. But Nicholson won't have that. It's a violation of the rules -- and so begins
the conflict between the two. |
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Saito, who firmly believes in the Japanese samurai code of honor, sees the prisoners
as disgraced by the surrender. Yet Nicholson refuses to be broken and, in fact, triumphs
in the test of wills. He then proceeds to build a better bridge than the enemy could have
ever envisioned. Guinness as Nicholson is at his very best. Sessue Hayakawa as Saito is
also first rate, as is the rest of the cast. This film is a wonderful depiction of the
triumph of the human spirt in the madness of war.
For an actual, true story of human spirit, be sure to read the Real
Kwai Stories by Padre J. N.
Duckworth and Fred Seiker.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is
one of five films on this site that cover the tumultuous years of the Second World War.
The others are Patton , The Great Escape, Saving
Private Ryan and Schindler's List.
They are part of the larger History in Film
web site that supports teaching history using popular films. It includes films from Rome
up to the war in Vietnam.
I'd enjoy hearing your comments on this site. Please sign the Guestbook.
I hope you enjoy your visit.
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Film Stats
Historical drama, World War II |
| Stars |
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Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa,
William Holden, Jack Hawkins |
| Director |
David Lean |
| Producer |
Sam Spiegel |
| Year |
1957 |
| Released by |
Columbia Pictures |
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Based on the novel "Le pont de
la rivière Kwai" by Pierre Boulle. |
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the Book |
Buy the Movie
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Teacher Notes
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If you're a teacher who is interested in using this film and you would like these pages
to edit and print as your own, they are all available here as Rich Text Format files in one relatively
small WinZip package. Alternatively, if you only want a few of the files, each page has a
download link for that RTF WinZip file alone (usually 3 or 4 K). If you would like the
short answer essay test that accompanies this film, please E-mail me at the mail box
below. I'd be glad to send it back to you.
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