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Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on the true story of the building of a bridge on the Burma railway by British prisoners-of-war held under a savage Japanese regime in World War II, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the greatest war films ever made. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Performance (Alex Guinness), for Sir Malcolm Arnold's superb music, and for the screenplay from the novel by Pierre Boulle (who also wrote Monkey Planet, the inspiration for Planet of the Apes). The story does take considerable liberties with history, including the addition of an American saboteur played by William Holden, and an entirely fictitious but superbly constructed and thrilling finale. Made on a vast scale, the film reinvented the war movie as something truly epic, establishing the cinematic beachhead for The Longest Day (1962), Patton (1970) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). It also proved a turning-point in director David Lean's career. Before he made such classic but conventionally scaled films as In Which We Serve (1942) and Hobson's Choice (1953). Afterwards there would only be four more films, but their names are Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984).
On the DVD: Too often the best extras come attached to films that don't really warrant them. Not so here, where a truly great film has been given the attention it deserves. The first disc presents the film in the original extra-wide CinemaScope ratio of 2.55:1, in an anamorphically enhanced transfer which does maximum justice to the film's superb cinematography. The sound has been transferred from the original six-track magnetic elements into 5.1 Dolby Digital and far surpasses what many would expect from a 1950s' feature. The main bonus on the first disc is an isolated presentation of Malcolm Arnold's great Oscar-winning music score, in addition to which there is a trivia game, and maps and historical information linked to appropriate clips.
The second disc contains a new, specially produced 53-minute "making of" documentary featuring many of those involved in the production of the movie. This gives a rich insight into the physical problems of making such a complex epic on location in Ceylon. Also included are the original trailer and two short promotional films from the time of release, one of which is narrated by star William Holden. Finally there is an "appreciation" by director John Milius, an extensive archive of movie posters and artwork, and a booklet that reproduces the text of the film's original 1957 brochure. --Gary S Dalkin
Product Description
Set in Burma during World War II, the story tells of British P.O.Ws who are forced to build a large bridge for the Japanese, while a British Commando team is sent to destroy it. Winner of seven Academy Awards.
Special Features
- 'The Making Of the Bridge On The River Kwai' documentary (60 mins)
- 'On Seeing Film': Movie School Featurette
- 'Build The Bridge' Desktop Game
- Map And History Of The Events Surrounding The Actual Building Of The Bridge
- DVD ROM Features: Script And Screensaver
Technical Details
- Actors
Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, William Holden, Geoffrey Horne, Sessue Hayakawa, Andre Morrell, Percy Herbert & James Donald
- Director
David Lean
- Certificate
PG
- Year
1957
- Screen
Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic
- Languages
English ; French ; German - Dolby Digital (5.1)
- Additional Languages
Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono: French ; German
- Subtitles
Arabic ; Bulgarian ; Czech ; Danish ; Dutch ; English ; French ; Finnish ; German ; Greek ; Hebrew ; Hindi ; Hungarian ; Icelandic ; Norwegian ; Polish ; Swedish
- Duration
2 hours and 35 minutes (approx)
- Region
Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I can't name my favourite book - there are too many. But my favourite film has to be this. Principally I am attached to its depiction of Sri Lanka including waterfalls, rivers and a sense of jungle even if some of the film was filmed in pretend jungle in botanic gardens. I think this film is so incredibly well packaged and the script is so good and the visuals are stunning - that I can return to it again and again.
The criticism is that this film does not relate any reality. Those who want to know about the real Bridge can go to Thailand and do their own research.
This is principally an entertaining "war" film all about face, principles, the British Empire, life in the army with a not unsympathetic portrayal of the Japanese general who in reality would have represented a more brutal oppressor.
Everything about this film resonates with something you can connect with in daily life:
"Without rules commander there would be no civilisation"
"We're under the heel of a man who'll stop at nothing to get his way"
"As for me, I'm just a slave, a living slave"
"someone deserves a medal sir!"
Some excellent speeches and a panoramic look at Life and Sri Lanka, captured at a time a little more pristine than at present. Extraordinary climax at end with tremendous camera shots for a 50s film. Brilliant!
The criticism is that this film does not relate any reality. Those who want to know about the real Bridge can go to Thailand and do their own research.
This is principally an entertaining "war" film all about face, principles, the British Empire, life in the army with a not unsympathetic portrayal of the Japanese general who in reality would have represented a more brutal oppressor.
Everything about this film resonates with something you can connect with in daily life:
"Without rules commander there would be no civilisation"
"We're under the heel of a man who'll stop at nothing to get his way"
"As for me, I'm just a slave, a living slave"
"someone deserves a medal sir!"
Some excellent speeches and a panoramic look at Life and Sri Lanka, captured at a time a little more pristine than at present. Extraordinary climax at end with tremendous camera shots for a 50s film. Brilliant!
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is simply THE BEST MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE. It is the example that all directors should seek to adhere to. Its complex characters, outstanding screenplay and cinematography make this film PERFECT. Alec Guiness is so good that there are no words to describe him. Moreover, thanks to the producers of this excellent DVD, "Bridge" has never looked and sounded better. The image quality is absolutely STUNNING! The documentary on disc two is very interesting, and it's a delight to be able to watch the original 1957 trailer. Very charming how they promoted films 44 years ago. Don't worry about the fact that it's a WW II drama. It focusses on characters and story, not action scenes, and could therefore be set in any period or location. It deserves the 7 Oscars it got in 1958, and it's really a DVD you will want to have in your collection. But don't put it together with your other DVDs, put it somewhere where it's well stored and where people can see it. It'll make YOU look good!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a an exceptional film, which both entertains and moves you. There is little action -- everything is based on character on careful plotting -- although the action filled finale is blisteringly intense. The characters here are instantly likable. Even the awful Japanese general becomes less tyrannical, once you get to know what drives him and see that he is willing to work alongside the allies. It isn't historically accurate, but as a human story it works perfectly.
I found after watching this, that I questioned todays standards. Everything today is about epic special effects and artistic achievement. What happened to simple, humble, honest characters, the like of which are here in abundance? It sounds cheesy, but when they march into camp whistling the famous tune, you can't fail but to feel moved by the human spirit. The same when the troop start singing 'For he's a jolly good fellow' when their leader (superb Alec Guinness) is put into the box, for refusing to make his officers do manual labor.
All in all, I cannot recommend this enough. It isn't flashy or full of action, but is at least as good as anything today and the acting is of the highest standard. One disappointment, the extras mention an isolated score. I expected this to be something you could listen to, but it just means you have can only listen to the music when it happens in the film, so have to watch the film with some very large spaces of silence before any music starts again. It seems pretty pointless to me.
Apart from that minor quibble, I'd recommend this to anyone who can watch a film without special effects. As good a story, drama and war film as I've ever seen.
I found after watching this, that I questioned todays standards. Everything today is about epic special effects and artistic achievement. What happened to simple, humble, honest characters, the like of which are here in abundance? It sounds cheesy, but when they march into camp whistling the famous tune, you can't fail but to feel moved by the human spirit. The same when the troop start singing 'For he's a jolly good fellow' when their leader (superb Alec Guinness) is put into the box, for refusing to make his officers do manual labor.
All in all, I cannot recommend this enough. It isn't flashy or full of action, but is at least as good as anything today and the acting is of the highest standard. One disappointment, the extras mention an isolated score. I expected this to be something you could listen to, but it just means you have can only listen to the music when it happens in the film, so have to watch the film with some very large spaces of silence before any music starts again. It seems pretty pointless to me.
Apart from that minor quibble, I'd recommend this to anyone who can watch a film without special effects. As good a story, drama and war film as I've ever seen.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Good but overatted film about the British Class System
In a strange way a bit like the BBC classic comedy, Dads Army, this was about 'class' with the war as its back story. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Barry Wom
A David Lean classic
David Lean's "The Bridge on the River Kwai" made in 1957 and now on DVD from 2000 is another Lean classic and one which those who have seen it will agree it certainly leaves sits... Read more
Published 5 months ago by RR Waller
I Do Like A Bit Of Guinness
The acting performances in this film are very good, but I personally think that Alec Guinnes steals the film, with his brilliant performance as Colonel Nicholson which he won best... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mrs. Marilyn A. Rice
Bridge over the River Kwai - which version?!
Bridge on River Kwai [Blu-ray] [1957] [US Import]
Be sure you know what you're buying. The picture and title are of the US blu-ray version. Read more
Be sure you know what you're buying. The picture and title are of the US blu-ray version. Read more
Published 13 months ago by B. Kumar
Great classic film; pretty good Blu-ray transfer.
"The Bridge on the River Kwai" has long, and rightly, been regarded as a cinema classic. David Lean's masterly direction, the outstanding performances by the cast and spectacular... Read more
Published 15 months ago by James the Cinema Man
Prison style neglect of the UK public
What an excellent new issue of this classic British film, and shame on the distributors of the new blu ray medium that it had to be accessed from the USA. Read more
Published 16 months ago by filmraconteur
Classic DVDs
Wonderful to still be able to buy and watch such a rememberable film. Worth every penny.
Published 19 months ago by PeeBee
I don't understand
I have never understood what the attraction is with this film. In reality the Japanese were extremly brutal captors. Read more
Published 21 months ago by England
good war film
just got back from Thailand and vivisting the river kwai and walked over the bridge so couldnt wait to see the film
arrived quickly and in good condition
arrived quickly and in good condition
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by Ms. V. Hyde
A haands down classic!
They just don't make them like this any more.
The double disc edition has a fascinating documentary about the making of the film too.
Ticks all the boxes.
The double disc edition has a fascinating documentary about the making of the film too.
Ticks all the boxes.
Published on 4 Jan 2010 by O Hooligan
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