Bridge over the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. However, in 1943 a railway bridge was built by Allied POWs over the Mae Klong river renamed Khwae Yai in the 1960s as a result of the film at Tha Ma Kham, five kilometres from Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Its a charming, idyllic spot, belying the intense horror and suffering the men who built it went through. The movie garnered seven Academy Awards, including that for best picture, as well as three Golden Globe Awards and four BAFTA awards. Lean wanted Holden, a big star and recent Oscar winner (for Stalag 17), to play American prisoner Major Shears, over the objections of producer Spiegel, who wanted Cary Grant. But in 1966, the film aired on American . Some Thailand River cruises begin in Bangkok and lead along the Mekong River to destinations in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Neither of them got credit, though, as The Bridge on the River Kwai was released during the three-year period when people who'd ever been Communists (or who refused to answer questions about it before Congress) were ineligible for Academy Awards. The Bridge on the River Kwai. Despite the nightmarish conditions, and equipped only with the most basic of tools, the POWs pulled off an amazing feat of engineering. In 1941 the Japanese Army invaded Thailand. The Kwai River Bridge was part of the meter-gauge railway constructed by the Japanese during World War Two. Wrote Guinness: "I felt like turning around and getting back on the plane and paying my own fare home!" This was an incorrect assumption. Around the time that he was offered the movie, David Lean had little money, as he was in the middle of a financially ruinous divorce, and was very much in need of a new project. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 World War II POW film directed by David Lean, about the construction of the bridges over the River Kwai, although it's heavily fictionalised.It's based on the French novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle, of Planet of the Apes fame; Boulle, who could neither read nor write English, was also credited for the screenplay adaptation due to . You can also take a boat down the Kwai River . Copyright 2020 Tons Of Facts. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a work of fiction, but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942 to 1943 for its historical setting. Around 3,100 Commonwealth Burma war graves can be found at Thanbyuzayat, alongside roughly 620 Dutch burials. Although the Death Railway has never again reached the Myanmar border, a shorter stretch was reopened by Thailand's railway authorities between 1949 and 1958, and trains on this modern-day line cross the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai. Everywhere in the jungle, the graveyards made their appearance; starting in a small way they gradually grew bigger, until when the railway was completed at the end of the year, thousands of bodies lay in the jungle from one end to the other.. He described the music for The Bridge on the River Kwai as the "worst job I ever had in my life" from the point of view of time. He shows a rare sense of humor and a feeling for the poetry of situation; and he shows the even rarer ability to express these things, not in lines but in lives. David Leans 1957 epic Bridge on the River Kwai is regarded as one of the all-time great war films. train on the bridge over the river kwai in kanchanaburi, thailan - bridge over the river kwai stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images FLOATING HOUSES ON THE RIVER KWAI, KANCHANABURI, THAILAND. In fact, the cemetery is the original burial ground started by the prisoners themselves. Read our FAQs or send a question to our customer service team. In a 1988 interview with Barry Norman, Lean confirmed that Columbia almost stopped filming after three weeks because there was no white woman in the film, forcing him to add what he called "a very terrible scene" between Holden and a nurse on the beach. For the scenes where William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Geoffrey Horne and the native girls had to wade through swamps, they were wading through specially created ones. His first epic was his twelfth film: The Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness and William Holden as P.O.W. Bus Bangkok - Kanchanaburi $ 7.19 3h 30m. Disease was a huge killer among railway workers, but so was brutality. 20. Harry Cohn, the vulgar (but successful) man who ran Columbia Pictures at the time, was furious when he read the script and saw no love interest. 3. [43] By October 1960, the film had earned worldwide box office revenues of $30 million. The film won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) at the 30th Academy Awards. 11. Omissions? Interested in advertising on the world's largest website dedicated to all things Britain? But Laughton, a fine actor with such credits as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) on his resume, was in poor physical shapegreat for playing the corpulent Henry VIII in Young Bess (1953), not so great for playing a British military officer in a prison camp. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is an epic World War II adventure/action, anti-war drama. Be the first one to write a review. [12], William Holden's deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving $300,000 plus 10% of the film's gross receipts. [31][32] Some consider the film to be an insulting parody of Toosey. He was a huge star, drawing a weekly salary of $5000 in 1915 (adjusted for inflation: $119,000) and appearing in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1924. The Japanese did indeed force British, Dutch, Australian, and American prisoners to build the Burma Railway, resulting in some 13,000 POW deaths and at least 80,000 civilian deaths. The Hitchhiker's Guide has this to say about John Rabon: When not pretending to travel in time and space, eating bananas, and claiming that things are "fantastic", John lives in North Carolina. Warden tells the Siamese women that he had to prevent anyone from falling into enemy hands, and leaves with them. British people of Anglotopia, what do you make of the whole anglophile thing ? Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. [35], Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey of the British Army was the real senior Allied officer at the bridge in question. Forced labourers were labourers taken from the populations of Japan-conquered territories. The cemetery itself is located just outside the town of Kanchanaburi at the point where the Kwai splits into the Mae Khlong and Kwai Noi rivers. 16- "You make me sick with your heroics! Lean and his production designer, Donald Ashton, were in Ceylon months ahead of time to construct the film's title character (the bridge, not the river). 21. The Bridge Over the River Kwai. 7. All the filming locations of The Bridge on the River Kwai are listed below. Moreover, Kanchanaburi has an annual "Bridge Over the River Kwai" week, which has a sound show to relive the moments of World War II. 24. The Mount Lavinia Hotel was used as a location for the hospital. The film was based on the 1952 novel Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle. Imperial Japanese Army Command deemed this unacceptable. The adventure war film The Bridge on the River Kwai may have swept the board of awards and attracted acclaim as one best films of the 20th century, but the War Office was very nervous "it would . Guinness had appeared in Lean's Dickens films but had since made a name for himself doing goofy comedies like The Lavender Hill Mob (1951). The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The commandoes arrive for their mission as the finishing touches are being put on the bridge. It was the highest-grossing film of 1957 and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. Chungkai was also a POW worker base camp. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. British English: The Top 50 Most Beautiful British Insults, British Slang: Your Guide to British Police Slang for the Telly Watcher, British Slang: Tea Time British Words for Tea and Tea Related Culture, ltimate List of Funny British Place Names, 101 Budget Britain Travel Tips 2nd Edition, Great Britons Book: Top 50 Greatest Brits Who Ever Lived, Anglotopias Grand Adventure Lands End to John OGroats. Nevertheless, the leeches in the recreated swamps were real. Then he hired Lean to directand Lean didn't like Foreman's version. Nicholson undertakes the construction of a well-made bridge, at first thinking it a good way to improve the morale and discipline of his regiment but gradually coming to regard the structure not as a part of the enemy war effort but as a monument to British ingenuity. Part of this project was building bridges over Thailand's Kwai Yai, at a place named Tamarkan, which is near a town named Kanchanaburi. Starring Alec Guinness, it depicts the struggles and defiance of Japanese prisoners of war building the fictional Burma railway between 1943-44. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 19421943, the plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay are almost entirely fictional. A regiment of British prisoners arrives, whistling the Colonel Bogey March, under the command of Colonel Nicholson (Sir Alec Guinness). The Bridge on the River Kwai is now widely recognized as one of the greatest films ever made. [Ronald Searle, To the Kwai and Back: War drawings 1939-45, London, Collins, 1986, 104] 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' is now the best-known site on the Burma-Thailand railway but its fame is due more to a fictional film than its significance in World War II. Sam Spiegel bought the railroad train from the Ceylonese government. Use our search tools to explore our records and find out about those we commemorate. does not fall onto the plunger, and the bridge suffers only minor damage. 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That evening, the officers are placed in a punishment hut, while Nicholson is beaten and locked in an iron box. In fact, two bridges were built: a temporary wooden bridge and a permanent steel/concrete bridge a few months later. Explore the CWGC Archive through our online portal. Nicholson will not cooperate and finally insists that the bridge can be built only under his command. The bridge cost $250,000 to build. 25 March 1995. Laughton was in his habitually overweight state, and was either denied insurance coverage, or was simply not keen on filming in a tropical location. [55] Slant stated that "the 1957 epic subtly develops its themes about the irrationality of honor and the hypocrisy of Britain's class system without ever compromising its thrilling war narrative", and in comparing to other films of the time said that Bridge on the River Kwai "carefully builds its psychological tension until it erupts in a blinding flash of sulfur and flame. This Week's Toybox is . The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) was the first to conduct air raids on the bridges over the River Kwai between November 1944 and January 1945. The film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Guinness), not to mention a handful of Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and even a Grammy nomination for its soundtrack. While the British prisoners celebrate their accomplishment that night, the commandoes wire the bridge with explosives to be detonated by a plunger operated by a hidden soldier, timed to collapse the bridge just as an inaugural train carrying Japanese dignitaries is crossing it. Clipton objects, believing this to be collaboration with the enemy. The elephants employed in helping build the bridge would take breaks every four hours and lie around the water, whether the crew wanted them to or not. Colonel Saito, the camp commandant, informs the new prisoners they will all work, even officers, on the construction of a railway bridge over the River Kwai that will connect Bangkok and Rangoon. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. For example, a Sergeant-Major Risaburo Saito was in real life second in command at the camp. Lamb, as he was known, had been a politician before calling up, serving the state legislature in Victoria, Australia. Lets examine the history behind the film and the men who made it. 9. It stretched from Japan, Korea, and China in the north all the way down to Indonesia. . The filming of the bridge explosion was to be done on 10 March 1957, in the presence of S.W.R.D. Subsequent releases of the film finally gave them proper screen credit. Kanchanaburi is served by a rail service from Bangkok Noi . By daybreak, however, the river level has dropped, exposing the wire connecting the explosives to the detonator. 7. Tracy had read the book and told Spiegel emphatically that the part must be played by an Englishman. Civilian workmen suffered terribly too, with their casualties far outstripping the military personnel. The weather is good, not hot The train passes at 10 AM and the train returns at 4 PM. [40], The Bridge on the River Kwai was a massive commercial success. Shears and two others escape. Goering Witnessing the carnage, Clipton shakes his head and mutters, "Madness! Full scale plan drawing for the main cantilever bridge design. Commonwealth war graves commission Caring for the fallen, Commonwealth war graves foundation Our charity site. Showing the impact of disease on the workforce, Kanchanaburi contains two graves holding the ashes of 300 Cholera victims. Bridge Over The River Kwai Timing: 24-hrs. The negative itself manifested many of the kinds of issues one would expect from a film of this vintage: torn frames, embedded emulsion dirt, scratches through every reel, colour fading. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. Instead, the Lt. Col would stand up for his men when necessary to try to alleviate some of their hardships. Today, he rests alongside his fellow POWs in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery in Burma (Myanmar). Victims were cremated and their remains are buried in the aforementioned graves. The screenplay was based on French author Pierre Boulle"s 1954 novel of the same name. The railway route, which ran through Burma and Thailand, had been planned by the British. Image: Bridge 277 aka the real Bridge over the River Kwai, Image: The iconic poster of the 1957 classic. [3] Since it was not a documentary, there are many historical inaccuracies in the film, as noted by eyewitnesses to the building of the real Burma Railway by historians.[30][31][32][33]. Bridge Over The River Kwai Address: Tha Makham, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Check here to see our open positions and volunteer roles. A photo of Kitulgala, Sri Lanka in 2004, where the bridge was made for the film. The movie is based on the novel "Le Pont de la Riviere Kwai" by Pierre Boulle. Parts of the Burma-Siam railway still stand. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a British 1957 World War II film by David Lean based on the novel The Bridge Over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. Saito leaves the officers standing all day in the intense heat. [26], A memorable feature of the film is the tune that is whistled by the POWsthe first strain of the "Colonel Bogey March"when they enter the camp. Death Railway was bombed heavily by the Allies from 1943 onwards. The year: 1943. A Smith article describes bridge on River Kwai, near Kanchanaburi, Thailand, built by Allied POWs during Japanese occupation of Thailand in World War II and subject of famous film The Bridge on . The Bridge On The River Kwai was the first of David Lean's five epic films and the third of six movies that he made with Alec Guinness. His career was hurt by the advent of sound, and then by increasing anti-Japanese sentiment in America. The Colonel Bogey March" was composed in 1914 by Kenneth Alford, a military band conductor. As Ashton explained, it was so cheap because "we used local labor and elephants; and the timber was cut nearby.". Its construction came about because Japan needed another supply route to link Singapore and Malaysia to its possessions in Burma following Singapores fall in February 1942. Initial estimates from Japanese engineers suggested it would take five years. The movie was mainly filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and also in England. The plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay were almost entirely fictional. It would be a massive undertaking. (There were other verses, too, which treated in more depth the number, location, and status of Hitler's anatomy, but you get the idea.) All but a small section of the route was built in dense, malarial jungles, in sweltering heat and monsoon rains. [64] The image was restored by OCS, Freeze Frame, and Pixel Magic with George Hively editing. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In a prison camp, British POWs are forced into labor. The Bridge on the River Kwai. To counter the Allies tightening grip on supply lines, the Japanese army resurrected an old idea first mooted by regional powers in the late 19th century: to build a railway between Myanmar and Siam. 13. It spans crosses the lazily winding Khwae Noi at Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Read more. [50] William Holden was also credited for his acting for giving a solid characterization that was "easy, credible and always likeable in a role that is the pivot point of the story". By 1944, its operational capacity was being massively hampered by the damage caused by air raids. They were soon sent to Thailand to begin labouring on the Death Railway. They are joined by approximately 1,850 Dutch casualties and one non-war grave. Take a look below for 28 more fun and interesting facts about The Bridge on the . Spiegel, the producer, bought the film rights to the book (the English version of which was called The Bridge Over the River Kwai) and hired Carl Foreman to write the script. Camps were set up at 100-metre intervals. Workers died at a rate of 20 men per day. Work on the bridge proceeds badly, due to both the faulty Japanese engineering plans and the prisoners' slow pace and deliberate sabotage. comment. [30], A 1969 BBC television documentary, Return to the River Kwai, made by former POW John Coast,[33] sought to highlight the real history behind the film (partly through getting ex-POWs to question its factual basis, for example Dr Hugh de Wardener and Lt-Col Alfred Knights), which angered many former POWs. It also won the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay. Updates? He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial, Malaysia. He created the railroad. Like thousands of other POWs, Lamb was kept in degrading conditions, refused medical treatment and barely fed. The Bridge on the River Kwai, British-American war film, released in 1957 and directed by David Lean, that was both a critical and popular success and became an enduring classic. 19. As it opens, two POWs, the American navy commander Shears (William Holden) and an Australian, are digging graves for their companions. The casualties of the Burma-Siam railway were often buried in camp burial grounds located close to where they originally fell. She retired Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. From iconic memorials to local churchyards, there is unique heritage to explore across Great Britain. Kanburi wasnt a work camp as such. Despite the discomfort the rest of the crew were experiencing, Lean was thrilled about the shoot and never complained about his living conditions.