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
After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors--while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
Spectacularly produced, and the winner of seven Academy Awards' (1957) including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Alec Guinness), The Bridge on the River Kwai continues to be one of the most memorable cinematic experiences of all time. Now, for the first time on Blu-rayTM, following an extensive all-new 4K digital restoration from the original negative with newly re-mastered 5.1 audio, experience director David Lean's masterpiece as you never have before.
New Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Features
- William Holden and Alec Guinness on The Steve Allen Show
- The Bridge on the River Kwai Premiere, Narrated by William Holden
- Crossing the Bridge: Picture-in-Graphics Track: Includes information on the progression of the bridge’s construction, the challenges of creating a bridge in the jungle during wartime, the real POW experience, and a book to screen comparison.
- Original Trailers
Plus - BD Live
More Special Features
- Four Featurettes
- Making of The Bridge on the River Kwai
- USC short film introduced by William Holden
- “An Appreciation” by Filmmaker John Milius
- “Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant”
- Photo Gallery
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