This was one of my dad's favorite films, he loved David Lean. He introduced me to this, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars and Star Trek, he planted the seed that blossomed into my love of cinema.
I am a Sri Lankan ( Ceylon) citizen. I have not seen this movie completely. But I've watched last scene of this movie on youtube and I have heard lot of stories about this film. This location is Kithulgala countryside village of Sri Lanka. This river is Kelani River. Now this area is very famous for the white water rafting and other water adventures among local and foreign tourists. still remaining some memorize of the bridge on the river edge on the location of that bridge was built . However this film was supported to bring my country's name and country's natural beauty to the world.
This is one of the best videos that anyone has done on this film. I'm from Sri Lanka (former Ceylon) and there are a few remains of the bridge still on either sides of the river banks. The river (Kitulgala river) is a major tourist attraction by now, and every time when people do white water rafting, they talk about The Bridge on the River Kwai. Anyway, thank you for these videos, I've been enjoying them a lot! Keep em coming.
I remember when it aired on TV in 1966. It was a real event, everyone in school excitedly talked about it. I was not aware that it was an experiment in TV presentation. But then, Tyler's commentaries are uniquely excellent. Thanks.
Fun fact: Lean directed two films that had a delusional character at the center of the action. Colonel Nicholson in Bridge on the River Kwai and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. In both films, the character realizes their mistaken judgement just before they die and they utter the same exact line: "What have I done?"
Have been watching this film for over 50 years... And I still get anxious at the end on whether the bridge will in fact blow up with the train whistle getting louder and louder juxtaposed with the one on one struggles in the river.... It stands the test of time in 2021 and no doubt will still look great in another 50 years... have to call it, it is the greatest movie ever made!
Im from SriLanka. I really like this movie. This was filmed in Kitulgala, Sri Lanka. I'm proud of that. That area is still very beautiful. The elders gave some information about where the bridge was built, but now there are no ruins.
I just saw this brilliant movie an hour ago and this is the most comprehensive and well reserched review I've read.. keep up the good work.. more people should see your videos!
Best analysis I've ever seen or read on The Bridge on the River Kwai. I saw this movie as a nine year old, during its initial run. I've watched it at least a dozen times over the years since then, first on VHS tape and later on DVD and then Blu-Ray. I've great and lifetime interest in Pacific War history. You've done justice to what is otherwise an exceptional movie--with great acting, direction, cinematography, etc. Location shooting was one of the keys in the making of this film, just as you point out. Thank you for your superb presentation! Andrew McKane, 7 January 2023, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii.
It's John Milius' favorite film. He keeps coming back to it again and again. Bridge on the River Kwai was one of the many the inspirations of the futility of war and what it's like to be a soldier in Apocalypse Now.
oddly enough it tends to inspire young men to join up. The idea of a futile and 'stupid' gesture, to go out early, die young and for a cause is always used for propaganda films. This movie has it all, youth, vigor, old men striving to make a difference in the end. It has pretty young asian women falling in love and who look perfect in the sun. Only the doctor at the end exclaiming 'madness, madness.' makes anyone under the age of 30 think of the inevitable futility of war. Even then it's hardly enough to keep the immortal feeling of youth from bubbling over in the hope that their war, their bridge, will be meaningful and a glorious reason to die.
@@blackbird5634 I'll argue with anyone that United States participation in World War II was "futile." U.S. participation in the Second World War saved humanity from Hitler and his Nazis. Andrew McKane IV, 7 January 2023, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii
The whistling of "Colonel Bogey March" was performed by real British soldiers, the Band of the Irish Guards quartered at Wellington Barracks in London, and their recording was then dubbed into the final soundtrack of the film.
I saw the "Real Story" on a documentary. The Colonel played by Alec Guinness was in fact nothing like the martinet in the movie. His name was Toosey and was a real hero to his men. The Japanese leader was a secret Christian and wrote to Toosey after the war admitting this. The other fiction was that the British knew how to build bridges better than the Japanese. The Japanese were extremely competent engineers
What you have forgot to mention is the American character ( by Sheer) vs the British character (colonel Nicholson) . The cocky America vs the Staunch British upper lip disciplined soldier. That's critical.
I was reading Planet of the Apes in college and took heat from the guys in the dorm who were into Kerouac and the other beat writers. I read them too... but reading about the Apes... I looked like a nerd.
There is cgi, and there is too much. Many many films have unnoticeable cgi. Much of the interior shots of gravity, with it's plethora of odd space station details is all cgi.
@@sclogse1 Exactly. CGI has a perception problem, in that when you've seen good CGI, 90% of the time you likely have not even realized you're looking at CGI
When I first saw Jurassic park, I left the cinema convinced that had I not known this was CGI I would be convinced they had actually cloned dinosaurs (I exaggerate, but take it as true). Seeing it now the CGI has dated, not awfully, but definitely dated. I now realsie that early generations probably felt the same about "king Kong", "thief of bagdad" etc. What was once the most believable FX shot , may only be so for a few years,
Nearly ending a film production because there isn't any white women in it is the most absurd thing I've heard all 2017 but this is one of the best video essays I've seen so far this year as well so hats off to you your hard work is much appreciated
Could you imagine if people today demanded that someone be represented in film merely as a token nod to equality? Crazy to think that someone's skin colour and gender were so important back then...
I’ve been subscribed to this channel for awhile. I really appreciate Cinema Tyler taking the time to learn about how these films were made. His comment that the physical effects, using real set doesn’t date the movie, making it timeless in quality is well said, That review opinion is because CT studies how films were made. That’s the approach I also try to use with movies / TV I like a lot.
I have only watched this video now for the first time (after the Apocalypse series I simply had to join your Patreon, you are doing world class work of sublime quality here!) and even six years ago you made one of the best analyses I have ever seen on this film! Bridge has been one of my most favourite movies ever since I first watched it as a kid, both in terms of cinematography, character development and of course acting it remains a masterpiece, and I couldn't agree more with your statement that the amount of work Lean put into crafting this picture has rendered it an absolutely timeless piece of art! Thank you so much for your great work, currently catching up on the Alien series and I cannot wait to watch the rest of your excellent videos!
CinemaTyler: You covered this most excellently. By staying away from the fact that this is entirely fictitious and sticking to your fine essay on the making of this great film, you did justice to yourself and your work. Well done!
I did not watch your entire take on this film, but I will say from what I saw that you understand it. I watched this film with my ten year old grandson recently and told him about my Dad and about old movies (Dad, a WW2 and Korea Vet, and also a projectionist, photographer and film officianato) I'm glad you took the time to highlight this film. First time I saw it was on a pull down screen in my parents' living room in Boston, MA. Dad rented classic 16mm prints and showed them on his Bell and Howell projectors (and kickass Altec Lansing speakers) for mom's "movie club" and for all. Great film, fabulous actors. I told my grandson the history, and Im glad you are telling the history also.
Brilliant essay. Great work. This movie is one of my early favorites. Along such films like "Guns of Navarone" this too is directly responsible for my love of cinema.
The Colonel Bogey March was sung the male students in the movie 'A Separate Peace' originally a book, by Knowles.But also the reference to Hitler having 1 ball was a humourous note in 'Fritz the Kat' cartoon.
The first time I saw the men marching into the camp while whistling, I did something I'd never done before: I burst into tears. That's what staying with the scene until all of the information has been imparted.
Th Bridge of the river kwai is one of the greatest achievement in the history of filmmaking, this one of the first films that makes me love to find out what's the story behind from a movie! i love to read everything about it on imdb page and now in this youtube age, somebody has made a clearer, more informative and more interesting way to tell, thanks Cinema tyler.
Great work again! Your movie analysis videos are by far the most comprehensive ones on RUclips! It's quite apparent you do a TON of research in order to make these videos. Looking forward to the next video!
I wanted to add that we had a college film class that talked about Kwai but you presented a feast of information. I would have loved to have watched your video back then. Again, GREAT JOB!!!!!
I have been watching this move my whole life. between this and The Bridges at Toko-Ri you can learn every life lesson you ever need You did an excellent job on the analysis of this great movie Thank you
Excellent! Watching the old movie Dunkirk, I thought the music rang a bell, and sure enough the score was by Malcolm Arnold, who did the music for Kwai too. Also an eye-opener that that b/w film actually came out after Kwai.
You forgot to mention the incident where the can holding the money shot negative of the bridge blowing up went missing on it's way to England! It was eventually found on the runway of an Egyptian airport, safe and sound.
"After filming was completed on the exploding bridge sequence, which cost an enormous amount of money and time, rumor has it that the footage disappeared somewhere between Ceylon and London. It was finally discovered two weeks later, sitting in the intense heat out on the runway at the airport in Cairo, Egypt. Miraculously, it was undamaged."
According to Egypt Air, the holes in the bottom of the plane are viewing ports. They're supposed to be there. They're so people sitting over the wing, can get a view of the ground. "Or sitting on BOTH wings if it's a newer plane that still has two."
It's remarkable how similar this area of Ceylon was to the real bridge site at Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Two bridges were built at Kanchanaburi: A flat wooden temporary bridge to aid in construction, and the permanent one made with concrete pillars and steel spans. The wooden bridge was destroyed by Allied bombing, the permanent bridge suffered damaged to its central spans, but has been repaired and still stands to this day. To build the bridges, the Japanese engineers used an old American book on railway bridge construction. Re-enactments of the Allied bombings are staged each year at the bridge in November and December, and are best viewed from the far side of the bridge from the main town.
Fantastic video with great insights on production of Bridge on River Kwai... one of my all time favorite films by one of the truly legendary directors -- David Lean. Been to the River Kwai many times but never to the shooting location in Sri Lanka. On the bucket list
As many have stated here, you do earnest, excellent work on your videos and communicate your love and enthusiasm for a film marvelously. The abundance of background information and "making of" cuts and interviews is staggering. I would only say that you missed a pivotal scene - one of my favorites - the planning meeting between Saito's and Nicholson's staff where Nicholson completely subsumes Saito's authority by relocating the bridge, insisting that meals be served while they all plan together, and ultimately, where he (Nicholson) states that his officers will do manual labor. All the while, Saito mumbles compliantly, "I have already given the order*.
Thanks!! I really enjoyed your breakdown. I saw the movie on TV in '66 and remember it fondly. I still haven't seen it a second time but I have placed it very high on my "to see" list, mostly because of your review.
CinemaTyle - your videos are fantastic, I watched your review of Bridge on the River Kwai and French Connection and have a totally new and richer perspective on these great movies - I'll surely watch these classics again soon. Beautiful job - well done!!
I remember the1966 special show on TV - it was a big deal and one of the few times my parents allowed us to stay up and watch it until the end. I was always impressed by the movie and now am really impressed by what it took to make it.
I am impressed that you have an eye for the narrative, and other key elements that go into making an epic film. Too man films consist of too few elements to carry them, action, drama, or special effects. The truly timeless one have a bulletproof narrative which is further embellished by many of these other element to create a masterpiece! Thanks agin for your comprehensive look at one of my favorites, as well!
Gosh. I'm a bit breathless after that. What a wonderfully open, enlightening, brilliantly narrated and beautifully produced treatment of a film I love and revisit over and over again. Now I know why :) I'm just sorry I've only discovered your superb, life-enhancing work three years after its conception.
You did far better than I did. I didn't discover this review (or the reviewer himself) until today, 7 January 2023. Andrew McKane, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii.
njaneardude. The bridge on the river Kwai is in Kanchanaburi Thailand, 3 hours north of Bangkok, I’m suggesting you to come to Thailand visit the cemetery and the museum beside it and then go and see the bridge while you having lunch very close to the bridge, afterwards get on the train and travel for about 1hour towards Myanmar before you make any comments; you will find, is all a lie and a typical British propaganda, that bridge is very far from the truth and so is the history they never told you, 60000 Thai people died during the construction of the railway, but not only on the bridge, but what is afterwards and they never mention any of it, Typical British bullshit, it’s a very good experience to go through it and learn the history of it, unfortunately they lie so much that the people that didn’t have the experience to see it they think is true and the bridge and a lot of other things in history they make people believe it’s a fact,couldn’t be any feather from the truth, typical Hollywood and Anglo Saxon bullshit propaganda. Come over and see it for yourself and enjoy and learn. Have a nice day.
A mere historical observation about Bogart and "African Queen." He and Huston's actual drink of choice was Scotch: Bogart later said, “All I ate was baked beans, canned asparagus, and Scotch whiskey. Whenever a fly bit Huston or me, it dropped dead.”
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 SPECTACULAR JOB BY THE NARRATOR AND ALL THE PRODUCTION TEAM. THIS WAS MY DAD'S FAVORITE MOVIE. HE HAD SERVED AS A MARINE IN WWII. THANKS TO YOUR FANTASTIC BACKGROUND HISTORICAL CONTEXT ABOUT THE PRODUCERS, WRITERS, THE HOLLYWOOD POLITICAL EVENTS, ETC., NOW I UNDERSTAND MY DAD'S PASSIONATE APPRECIATION FOR THE FILM. WAS AWESOME WATCHING ALEC FROM WAY BACK THEN, THE GREATEST ACTOR OF EPIC STORIES RIGHT UP TO OUR TIME, WHEN HE BREATHED LIFE INTO THE SOUL OF "STAR WARS", WHICH I SAW 50 TIMES JUST TO STUDY HIS GENIUS.
I remember watching this film in the theater when I was about 4 or 5 years old and then again when it aired on TV - I was about 7 years old at the time. Since then I've seen it at least a half dozen times; this is, for me also, one of my all time favorite movies.
This has been my favorite movie since I was about 10, 40 yrs ago. I've seen it about 10 times. This video about the movie taught me things I never knew. Some I kinda wish I didnt learn. But the most important point is how it was so realistic. WW2 has nearly limitless stories to share and lessons to teach humanity. This movie is one of the most important. Oh by the way, I went on to become a US military officer. Not totally because of this movie, but it was part of it. Good show o chap.
Such a good movie. Just watched the full film for the first time. My favorite storyline of the movie is the conflict between Colonel Nicholson and Saito. So good. Alec Guinness was the definite star of the film.
Note on African Queen. Re-shoots and additional outside river scenes where actually done on an old disused stretch of canal near Elstree studios after Uganda location filming had been completed.
I always felt that Holden's role was the weakest part of this otherwise great film. It may be mostly to do with the casting of Holden, who was just too Hollywood slick, and he stuck out like a sore thumb when put alongside the likes of Guinness and Hayakawa. It also took away from the essential Britishness of the story.
Holden is Hollywood slick as you say, but I think he's a fantastic actor. No one played a better "smart ass" than him. Shears story is my personal favorite of the film and adds some levity to a very serious story in my opinion.
Two years ago I was living in Thailand and hiked the old Thai-Burma railway. It was an amazing experience to pass through an area where so many people suffered horribly and died . The real bridge over the river Kwai is steel, not wood and the men had to hand make their own tools as we, the allies, were so effective at destroying Japanese shipping they could not get any equipment through. To see the roughest of country that these POWs and Malasian prisoners slaved to construct is at once humbling and sorrowful. You can still see the hand made tools discarded along the way. In the end the bridge was bombed by a young pilot from Vancouver, British Columbia flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force out of his base in India. It was a million in one shot to get his bouncing bomb to strike the bridge but it was done. The Japanese rebuilt the destroyed section of the bridge after the war as reperations. Please review the more recent film, "The Railway Man" as it is actually filmed onsite and is about the same events from a different perspective. Thank you, excellent job.
"In the end the bridge was bombed by a young pilot from Vancouver, British Columbia flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force out of his base in India. It was a million in one shot to get his bouncing bomb to strike the bridge but it was done." Was his name Luke? ;-)
@@dwc1964 This is something I was able to find online from a recent commemoration celebrated by 100 Squadron RCAF in Thailand. A few months before the final days of WWII a bomber with an RCAF crew flown by F/L Roy Borthwick of North Vancouver, BC, part of a large raid of Liberator bombers from RAF 159, 355, and 356 Squadrons, destroyed the bridge for the final time.
I understand that former soldiers in England protested this film when it came out. Appears it was more like a Summer Camp compared to reality, which could not be shown at that time. I read a great book called, Prisoners of the Japanese, with stories from guys who were POWs in several locations taken by the Japanese; it was worse than most people can imagine. Many of those POWs would never have surrendered if they knew what was coming.
Robert Giles Sorry to be pedantic, but England is just one of the countries in the United Kingdom. Britain refers to England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is all four countries. Britannia is a fictional patriotic figure, similar to Uncle Sam.
It was a long watch for me in my teens during the 90s when I first saw it but it was definitely worth it, as was Lawrence of Arabia, Lean was a master of the epic film in the proper sense of the word and as you say I have to wonder now how badly dated all these cheap superhero films will look in just 20 years time when all the CGI technology has moved on as it inevitably does. it may cost more to do location shooting but you get out what you put in and that can equal money, something studios cant seem to get their head around now.
As kid growing up in the 80s we still used to sing it but the lyrics were slightly different. Hitler has only got one ball The other is in the Albert Hall His mother, the dirty bugger Cut it off when he was small And repeat.
One thing that I've never understood about this film is whether the camp commandant intended to kill Col Nicholson. There is a scene where Saito is shown writing a letter, including a lock of his own hair which would seem to hold some special meaning. And then at the beginning of the climax of the film (you actually show it at 16:41) Saito appears to be going for his knife as Nicholson is near by, but when Nicholson spots trouble, Saito puts the knife away quickly. I've never been able to find anything written about this but surely others have noticed it. Just always wondered what the purpose was of those shots and why wasn't it made clearer if that was in fact his intention.
I think Saito had the intention to kill himself after the completion of the bridge because he essentially lost command to Nicholson. At the end, he might have had the intention to kill Nicholson too before commiting suicide.
@@martianmanhunter37 I agree, I think he intended to kill himself. That makes sense when taking into consideration the letter writing scene. Whether he was going to kill Nicholson first is still unclear, all we can do is guess.
My grandad was a (UK) Japanese POW in WWII And considering what an otherwise talkative & jokey big Mancunian fella my grandad always was with me he would *never* talk about his time there (even when I asked him to as a kid) - And he never did, but left dad and me a trunk full of miscelaneous WWII stuff in his loft, for us to look through after he died. R.I.P. William Wilde, my fantastic grandad ❤
Big respect to your grandad.. My nanas best friend was a pow also and was a strong healthy man played football for Wrexham and Rugby for his local team and was considering training for the 1940 Olympics in running before obliviously War broke out and when he came back from kwai he weighed 3 and half stone he absolutely detested this film and how it made British and other pow's look.. They went through absolute hell and not one person died building the bridge it was after they built it and went into the jungle.. he wouldn't buy anything Japanese and no word of a lie thanked God every single day for what the Americans did at hiroshima and nagasaki
I watched the movie when I was 14 years old. I didn't understand much of the scenario in which it was set but I knew I had watched a great film. Now 20 years later I'm going to order it on 4K bluray and watch it again.
I wish people would remember this is the construction of the Thai Burma railway the 'death railway 'while American and phillipino forces were fighting and surrendering to the Japanese British empire troops were fighting and dying in Burma and Mayla. After the surrender of Singapore. 130,000 British empire troops capulated to the Japanese. Thousands would never see home again . POWs were put to work on this railway project. There was no commando raid to blow up this bridge it still stands today concrete and steal as a testimony to Japanese engineers and the sheer will and sacrifice of those troops who built it 🇬🇧🇦🇺
I wish that the world would remember the cruelty and brutality of the Japanese when they were overseeing (not bloody Engineering) the construction of this structure and others. Hiroshima was the world telling the Japanese that their barbaric cruelty would no longer be tolerated.
@@MegaBoilermaker "I wish that the world would remember the cruelty and brutality of the Japanese", you must be new to the internet if you think people don't know about this. The man you replied to simply stated the fact that the actual bridge still stands to this day. No need to be insecure about the level of engineering that allowed this.
You forget the 200 000 Thai people that died to build the railway and one of the bridges. They built 2, one in wood and one in steel. The steel one still standing. I was there last year, that was a experience that I will never forget.
Another great film to watch for wide screen composition is BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK by John Sturges. He was one of the first people (along with Lean) to understand how to shoot intimate scenes on a wide screen.
People don't sing Colonel Bogey in the US? I didn't know that. I'm from England, we sang it when we were children in the 1980's, it's still well known The version I grew up with is : Hitler has only got one ball The other, is in the Albert Hall, His mother, the dirty bugger, Chopped it off when he was small
The book, "Through The Valley Of The Kwai", was written by a Scottish soldier, serving with the British army, was captured at Singapore and forced to work on the Kwai railroad. It is about what actually happened during the building. The prisoners, along with Chinese slave labor, worked not only on the bridge but on the entire railway. No commandos came to blow up the bridge and railway. Both were in operation until bombed in 1944.
one day when i was in 6th grade, (1963/4) our teacher announced "we're going to see a movie today". ever ready to get out of class we all cheered and walked 3 blocks to the englewood theater. (suburban new jersey) we saw "bridge over the river kwai", the awarded film of great renown. i enjoyed it and don't remember any negative reactions from students or parents. now it would be unthinkable to take students to see a "war movie" as parents would be triggered... i'm glad we had that experience.
I don't think that is totally true, I just think that really good, significant war movies are very rare and special. I grew up in the 90s and remember having screenings at school of Saving Private Ryan. It was so realistic and poignant that it was deemed important for even younger people to see.
@@jacobward7507 yes but "the 90s" were 20+ years before "decolonization" and the revision of western history became a thing in public schools. i believe today even a great film like SPR would be seen as "triggering". imho
@@mj99a Revision of history has always been a thing, and I'd argue it was much worse in the past... I mean you had history books talking about how Columbus discovered America, and basically described it as an uninhabited paradise! I don't know if people would be more or less "triggered" by something like a war movie now adays, but there were tons of books and movies that were banned in school in the past. Many more than there are now.
Great insight into all the work it takes to make great movie. One small correction you may want to make: in the screen with the 'sea gulls', those gulls were actually BATS!
Loved the film......Butt, the glory and grandeur it portrayed, helped lead me to the jungles of Vietnam. No cinema heroes there, just tragic victims - on both sides. "Madness," cried the doctor, that part, and only that part, directly translated to those terrible jungles in the Nam. 66-68
Thanks to this fictitious film, Thailand has made a wartime tragedy into a tourist bonanza. By shrewdly renaming the upper Maeklong River (over which the railway bridge actually crosses) into the Kwai Yai (big Kwai), the "Kwai Bridge" is now a major tourist attraction.
If this film used any other Englishman, I doubt it could achieve the same affect. Alec Guinness was just superb in his acting. This is still one of my favorite films of all time. Hats off, to those who made this story a Big screen reality.
It's more than just a theme about the futility of war. It's about the erecting the structure inside of a jungle as relates to the establishment of pomp and civility inside of war. Each officer holds to the principles of their establishment to the detriment of everything else, including the main effort for which their established office is purposed. I remember having a really good essay on all of this in my head about a decade ago. It's been quite a while since I've seen the film.
"The Bridge on the River Kwai" was produced by Sam Spiegel's British-based company, Horizon Pictures, but Horizon was partnered with the American film company, Columbia Pictures. Columbia supplied co-financing for the project and insisted on the casting of American actor William Holden. Holden had finished a long-term Columbia contract two years earlier with "Picnic," but Columbia production chief Harry Cohn coaxed Holden for "Bridge" with a sizable contract.
My esteem for you is maintained by your opinion of this film. I first saw it over 30 years ago and am still waiting for its equal. (Until then I'll content myself with Kind Hearts and Coronets and Arsenic and Old lace.)
I have special interest in this film because my dad, serving in the army during WW 2, tried to volunteer for a secret mission. The mission, he later learned, was the raid to destroy this railroad. He was turned down because the army considered it a suicide mission with poor chances of raiders ever returning alive. Dad was rejected because he was married and a father.
Growing up in the 1970s the lyrics we knew referred to his lost ball being kept in the Albert hall, and the story as to how he came to only have one ball? It was his mother (described somewhat disparagingly) who cut it off when he was small.
wonderful movie, I always thought the design of the bridge was based on the victorian rail bridge that links Edinburgh with the north east coast in Scotland, called The Forth Bridge, crossing the river Forth, they are identical in appearance. Twenty years ago I visited Sri Lanka and hired a driver and car to make a tour of the Island, I had in mind to find the location of the movie and armed with a map and directions from locals I found the sign pointing down a path off a single track road east of the town of Candy, the sign was crudely painted on a square piece of rusty tin and said...."location of the Bridge on The River Kwai. A ten minute walk down the path took me to the site of David Lean's bridge set. It was hard to imagine that this was the same place as the vegetation had closed in and the river seemed much narrower and very shallow, I think various dams were built during filming to modify the width and depth of the river and to allow filming of the low tide where the explosive cable becomes visible in the water. On one side there was clearly visible a large rock on the river edge with large round holes bored into the rock and these were used to plant the main wooden logs that held up the bridge structure. I guess the most fascinating thing about visiting that location was that there was an middle aged man and his wife who lived in a modest cabin next to the river who gave guided tours and offered to ferry people across the river in a small two man coracle, he spoke quite good english and he informed me that he had appeared in the film, he was one of the children flying the kite in the village that William Hiolden crawls out the jungle to, you may remember the scene, he is almost delirious and mistakes the kite of the children for a vulture swooping down on him, so this man who had appeared as one of the children had remained by the river bank and was making a living giving tours to travellers and telling stories of his experience on the film, I was happy to have him show me around and ferry me across the river for photos, I ended up giving him around £20 which he was elated with, I later learned that £20 represented 6 months income to him.
Really sweet edit/cut on 19:23. Lean demonstrating to Guinness in making-of footage how he wants Nicholson to hold his swagger stick and look around, followed by the actual shot of Guinness doing that in the movie. Lean would have liked that.
One of my favorite movies. Saw it when it first was released. For all the attention to realism and detail, I always wondered why the Japanese were armed with British weapons (Enfield rifles, Vickers machine guns).
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This was one of my dad's favorite films, he loved David Lean. He introduced me to this, Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars and Star Trek, he planted the seed that blossomed into my love of cinema.
I am a Sri Lankan ( Ceylon) citizen. I have not seen this movie completely. But I've watched last scene of this movie on youtube and I have heard lot of stories about this film. This location is Kithulgala countryside village of Sri Lanka. This river is Kelani River. Now this area is very famous for the white water rafting and other water adventures among local and foreign tourists. still remaining some memorize of the bridge on the river edge on the location of that bridge was built . However this film was supported to bring my country's name and country's natural beauty to the world.
Scenes in the botanical gardens also ... Beautiful country x
This is one of the best videos that anyone has done on this film. I'm from Sri Lanka (former Ceylon) and there are a few remains of the bridge still on either sides of the river banks. The river (Kitulgala river) is a major tourist attraction by now, and every time when people do white water rafting, they talk about The Bridge on the River Kwai. Anyway, thank you for these videos, I've been enjoying them a lot! Keep em coming.
That's so cool! I'd love to see how it looks now!
I remember when it aired on TV in 1966. It was a real event, everyone in school excitedly talked about it. I was not aware that it was an experiment in TV presentation. But then, Tyler's commentaries are uniquely excellent. Thanks.
Fun fact: Lean directed two films that had a delusional character at the center of the action. Colonel Nicholson in Bridge on the River Kwai and Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. In both films, the character realizes their mistaken judgement just before they die and they utter the same exact line: "What have I done?"
Incredible! It's almost like a spiritual reoccurance
wow, that's interesting!
Have been watching this film for over 50 years... And I still get anxious at the end on whether the bridge will in fact blow up with the train whistle getting louder and louder juxtaposed with the one on one struggles in the river.... It stands the test of time in 2021 and no doubt will still look great in another 50 years... have to call it, it is the greatest movie ever made!
I never, NEVER EVER, expected to hear someone who sings worse than I do! You make me happy to be alive!
Im from SriLanka. I really like this movie. This was filmed in Kitulgala, Sri Lanka. I'm proud of that. That area is still very beautiful. The elders gave some information about where the bridge was built, but now there are no ruins.
I just saw this brilliant movie an hour ago and this is the most comprehensive and well reserched review I've read.. keep up the good work.. more people should see your videos!
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
Best analysis I've ever seen or read on The Bridge on the River Kwai. I saw this movie as a nine year old, during its initial run. I've watched it at least a dozen times over the years since then, first on VHS tape and later on DVD and then Blu-Ray. I've great and lifetime interest in Pacific War history. You've done justice to what is otherwise an exceptional movie--with great acting, direction, cinematography, etc. Location shooting was one of the keys in the making of this film, just as you point out. Thank you for your superb presentation! Andrew McKane, 7 January 2023, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii.
one of the finest examples of on location filming in the history of film making, a true masterpiece.
It's John Milius' favorite film. He keeps coming back to it again and again. Bridge on the River Kwai was one of the many the inspirations of the futility of war and what it's like to be a soldier in Apocalypse Now.
oddly enough it tends to inspire young men to join up. The idea of a futile and 'stupid' gesture, to go out early, die young and for a cause is always used for propaganda films. This movie has it all, youth, vigor, old men striving to make a difference in the end. It has pretty young asian women falling in love and who look perfect in the sun. Only the doctor at the end exclaiming 'madness, madness.' makes anyone under the age of 30 think of the inevitable futility of war. Even then it's hardly enough to keep the immortal feeling of youth from bubbling over in the hope that their war, their bridge, will be meaningful and a glorious reason to die.
It's Bruce Campbell's favorite too!
@@blackbird5634 I'll argue with anyone that United States participation in World War II was "futile." U.S. participation in the Second World War saved humanity from Hitler and his Nazis. Andrew McKane IV, 7 January 2023, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii
The whistling of "Colonel Bogey March" was performed by real British soldiers, the Band of the Irish Guards quartered at
Wellington Barracks in London, and their recording was then dubbed into the final soundtrack of the film.
@xc5647321 xc5647321 What the hell is Comet?
How rare to witness a commentary that is as good as the movie itself. Thank you!
Loved by film buffs. Despised by the men who actually worked on this railway.
History channel interviewed the men,they said it was nothing like real life but said it was s great movie so i wouldn't say despise
Brother Maynard Chiefs, right?
@@phillipgregory9671 Which is why it should have had more names changed -- to make it clearly fiction inspired by history.
I saw the "Real Story" on a documentary. The Colonel played by Alec Guinness was in fact nothing like the martinet in the movie. His name was Toosey and was a real hero to his men. The Japanese leader was a secret Christian and wrote to Toosey after the war admitting this. The other fiction was that the British knew how to build bridges better than the Japanese. The Japanese were extremely competent engineers
@@geoffrogerson9937 Sorry. I'm not sure what your point is.
This was the age of truly great movie making. Masters of the craft like David Lean created unforgettable pieces of art.
What you have forgot to mention is the American character ( by Sheer) vs the British character (colonel Nicholson) . The cocky America vs the Staunch British upper lip disciplined soldier. That's critical.
What's really weird is that Pierre Boulle also wrote the original novel of Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes is more of a True Story than River Kwai.
@@paulrichards2365 😐
I was reading Planet of the Apes in college and took heat from the guys in the dorm who were into Kerouac and the other beat writers. I read them too... but reading about the Apes... I looked like a nerd.
@@johnbowman1076you all seem like nerds in that situation tbh
@@bigholmes1660 Well.. I was a 19 yo virgin from Baltimore ergo... a nerd.
I was stunned when I saw this film as a youngster in the early 60s. I need to watch it again.
Couldn't agree more the excessive CGI in vogue today will not wear well. Great cinematic analysis.
There is cgi, and there is too much. Many many films have unnoticeable cgi. Much of the interior shots of gravity, with it's plethora of odd space station details is all cgi.
@@sclogse1 Exactly. CGI has a perception problem, in that when you've seen good CGI, 90% of the time you likely have not even realized you're looking at CGI
When I first saw Jurassic park, I left the cinema convinced that had I not known this was CGI I would be convinced they had actually cloned dinosaurs (I exaggerate, but take it as true). Seeing it now the CGI has dated, not awfully, but definitely dated. I now realsie that early generations probably felt the same about "king Kong", "thief of bagdad" etc. What was once the most believable FX shot , may only be so for a few years,
Everything done by hand is better
Nearly ending a film production because there isn't any white women in it is the most absurd thing I've heard all 2017 but this is one of the best video essays I've seen so far this year as well so hats off to you your hard work is much appreciated
Where be all the white womans!
Could you imagine if people today demanded that someone be represented in film merely as a token nod to equality? Crazy to think that someone's skin colour and gender were so important back then...
It would be halted today because there weren't any black chicks......
Theres no women of any color in Lawrence Of Arabia.
@@michaelbruns449 except camels
I’ve been subscribed to this channel for awhile. I really appreciate Cinema Tyler taking the time to learn about how these films were made. His comment that the physical effects, using real set doesn’t date the movie, making it timeless in quality is well said,
That review opinion is because CT studies how films were made. That’s the approach I also try to use with movies / TV I like a lot.
I have only watched this video now for the first time (after the Apocalypse series I simply had to join your Patreon, you are doing world class work of sublime quality here!) and even six years ago you made one of the best analyses I have ever seen on this film! Bridge has been one of my most favourite movies ever since I first watched it as a kid, both in terms of cinematography, character development and of course acting it remains a masterpiece, and I couldn't agree more with your statement that the amount of work Lean put into crafting this picture has rendered it an absolutely timeless piece of art! Thank you so much for your great work, currently catching up on the Alien series and I cannot wait to watch the rest of your excellent videos!
CinemaTyler: You covered this most excellently. By staying away from the fact that this is entirely fictitious and sticking to your fine essay on the making of this great film, you did justice to yourself and your work. Well done!
Never feels like a 3 hour film. In my collection and easy to watch again an again.
I did not watch your entire take on this film, but I will say from what I saw that you understand it. I watched this film with my ten year old grandson recently and told him about my Dad and about old movies (Dad, a WW2 and Korea Vet, and also a projectionist, photographer and film officianato) I'm glad you took the time to highlight this film. First time I saw it was on a pull down screen in my parents' living room in Boston, MA. Dad rented classic 16mm prints and showed them on his Bell and Howell projectors (and kickass Altec Lansing speakers) for mom's "movie club" and for all. Great film, fabulous actors. I told my grandson the history, and Im glad you are telling the history also.
Brilliant essay. Great work. This movie is one of my early favorites. Along such films like "Guns of Navarone" this too is directly responsible for my love of cinema.
Thank you! Kwai and Navarone are such great gateway films.
TThis mоvie is nоw аvaааilааааble tо wаtсh hеrе => twitter.com/7b843fdd456847390/status/822782346612985856 Whаt I Leаrned Froооm Wаtсhing ТТhе Bridgе оn the Rivееееr Kwаi 1957
@@CinemaTyler I love all the old classics they are the best in my book !
The Colonel Bogey March was sung the male students in the movie 'A Separate Peace' originally a book, by Knowles.But also the reference to Hitler having 1 ball was a humourous note in 'Fritz the Kat' cartoon.
It's incredible when you look at the quality of the film it's hard to believe that this was possible way back then.
The first time I saw the men marching into the camp while whistling, I did something I'd never done before: I burst into tears. That's what staying with the scene until all of the information has been imparted.
Th Bridge of the river kwai is one of the greatest achievement in the history of filmmaking, this one of the first films that makes me love to find out what's the story behind from a movie! i love to read everything about it on imdb page and now in this youtube age, somebody has made a clearer, more informative and more interesting way to tell, thanks Cinema tyler.
Great work again! Your movie analysis videos are by far the most comprehensive ones on RUclips! It's quite apparent you do a TON of research in order to make these videos. Looking forward to the next video!
Thank you!
I wanted to add that we had a college film class that talked about Kwai but you presented a feast of information. I would have loved to have watched your video back then. Again, GREAT JOB!!!!!
I have been watching this move my whole life. between this and The Bridges at Toko-Ri you can learn every life lesson you ever need You did an excellent job on the analysis of this great movie Thank you
Excellent! Watching the old movie Dunkirk, I thought the music rang a bell, and sure enough the score was by Malcolm Arnold, who did the music for Kwai too. Also an eye-opener that that b/w film actually came out after Kwai.
You forgot to mention the incident where the can holding the money shot negative of the bridge blowing up went missing on it's way to England! It was eventually found on the runway of an Egyptian airport, safe and sound.
"After filming was completed on the exploding bridge sequence, which cost
an enormous amount of money and time, rumor has it that the footage
disappeared somewhere between Ceylon and London. It was finally
discovered two weeks later, sitting in the intense heat out on the
runway at the airport in Cairo, Egypt. Miraculously, it was undamaged."
I totally forgot! That story is the stuff of filmmaking nightmares. Lucky it all worked out!
According to Egypt Air, the holes in the bottom of the plane are viewing ports. They're supposed to be there. They're so people sitting over the wing, can get a view of the ground. "Or sitting on BOTH wings if it's a newer plane that still has two."
CinemaTyler mad disappointed in you now I gotta look this shit up
It's remarkable how similar this area of Ceylon was to the real bridge site at Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Two bridges were built at Kanchanaburi: A flat wooden temporary bridge to aid in construction, and the permanent one made with concrete pillars and steel spans. The wooden bridge was destroyed by Allied bombing, the permanent bridge suffered damaged to its central spans, but has been repaired and still stands to this day. To build the bridges, the Japanese engineers used an old American book on railway bridge construction.
Re-enactments of the Allied bombings are staged each year at the bridge in November and December, and are best viewed from the far side of the bridge from the main town.
Love how there is sources to each statement in the subtitles. 10/10
This movie has such a fantastic build up to a perfect ending. Love William Holden in this and how it humanizes the Japanese which I did not expect
Fantastic video with great insights on production of Bridge on River Kwai... one of my all time favorite films by one of the truly legendary directors -- David Lean. Been to the River Kwai many times but never to the shooting location in Sri Lanka. On the bucket list
As many have stated here, you do earnest, excellent work on your videos and communicate your love and enthusiasm for a film marvelously. The abundance of background information and "making of" cuts and interviews is staggering. I would only say that you missed a pivotal scene - one of my favorites - the planning meeting between Saito's and Nicholson's staff where Nicholson completely subsumes Saito's authority by relocating the bridge, insisting that meals be served while they all plan together, and ultimately, where he (Nicholson) states that his officers will do manual labor. All the while, Saito mumbles compliantly, "I have already given the order*.
Thanks!! I really enjoyed your breakdown. I saw the movie on TV in '66 and remember it fondly. I still haven't seen it a second time but I have placed it very high on my "to see" list, mostly because of your review.
CinemaTyle - your videos are fantastic, I watched your review of Bridge on the River Kwai and French Connection and have a totally new and richer perspective on these great movies - I'll surely watch these classics again soon. Beautiful job - well done!!
I remember the1966 special show on TV - it was a big deal and one of the few times my parents allowed us to stay up and watch it until the end. I was always impressed by the movie and now am really impressed by what it took to make it.
I too saw it, I wa about 10 years old...
Hayakawa was *in his late 60s* when he took on the role??
He surely DID NOT look that old to me....
Actually, Hayakawa was very popular in the American silent film era right arund the time the U.S. entered WWI.
I remember watching this in the 70’s as a kid!
Great movie even today!
I am impressed that you have an eye for the narrative, and other key elements that go into making an epic film. Too man films consist of too few elements to carry them, action, drama, or special effects. The truly timeless one have a bulletproof narrative which is further embellished by many of these other element to create a masterpiece! Thanks agin for your comprehensive look at one of my favorites, as well!
Gosh. I'm a bit breathless after that. What a wonderfully open, enlightening, brilliantly narrated and beautifully produced treatment of a film I love and revisit over and over again.
Now I know why :)
I'm just sorry I've only discovered your superb, life-enhancing work three years after its conception.
You did far better than I did. I didn't discover this review (or the reviewer himself) until today, 7 January 2023. Andrew McKane, Maunaloa, Molokai, Hawaii.
I went rafting in Sri Lanka on "the river". The guides point out the remains of the bridge foundations. Pretty cool.
njaneardude. The bridge on the river Kwai is in Kanchanaburi Thailand, 3 hours north of Bangkok, I’m suggesting you to come to Thailand visit the cemetery and the museum beside it and then go and see the bridge while you having lunch very close to the bridge, afterwards get on the train and travel for about 1hour towards Myanmar before you make any comments; you will find, is all a lie and a typical British propaganda, that bridge is very far from the truth and so is the history they never told you, 60000 Thai people died during the construction of the railway, but not only on the bridge, but what is afterwards and they never mention any of it, Typical British bullshit, it’s a very good experience to go through it and learn the history of it, unfortunately they lie so much that the people that didn’t have the experience to see it they think is true and the bridge and a lot of other things in history they make people believe it’s a fact,couldn’t be any feather from the truth, typical Hollywood and Anglo Saxon bullshit propaganda.
Come over and see it for yourself and enjoy and learn.
Have a nice day.
Yeah... the bridge is 100% in Thailand. The movie was filmed in Sri Lanka yes... so you just saw the left over film props
Bull shit.
The railway was in Thailand
Kantenburi Thailand
@@juanjoseijurco2333 The film is a dramatisation of a French book, written by a Frenchman.
A mere historical observation about Bogart and "African Queen." He and Huston's actual drink of choice was Scotch: Bogart later said, “All I ate was baked beans, canned asparagus, and Scotch whiskey. Whenever a fly bit Huston or me, it dropped dead.”
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
SPECTACULAR JOB BY THE NARRATOR AND ALL THE PRODUCTION TEAM. THIS WAS MY DAD'S FAVORITE MOVIE. HE HAD SERVED AS A MARINE IN WWII.
THANKS TO YOUR FANTASTIC BACKGROUND HISTORICAL CONTEXT ABOUT THE PRODUCERS, WRITERS, THE HOLLYWOOD POLITICAL EVENTS, ETC., NOW I UNDERSTAND MY DAD'S PASSIONATE APPRECIATION FOR THE FILM. WAS AWESOME WATCHING ALEC FROM WAY BACK THEN, THE GREATEST ACTOR OF EPIC STORIES RIGHT UP TO OUR TIME, WHEN HE BREATHED LIFE INTO THE SOUL OF "STAR WARS", WHICH I SAW 50 TIMES JUST TO STUDY HIS GENIUS.
One of my favorite war movies, no doubt. Great analysis and breakdown!
I remember watching this film in the theater when I was about 4 or 5 years old and then again when it aired on TV - I was about 7 years old at the time. Since then I've seen it at least a half dozen times; this is, for me also, one of my all time favorite movies.
This has been my favorite movie since I was about 10, 40 yrs ago. I've seen it about 10 times. This video about the movie taught me things I never knew. Some I kinda wish I didnt learn. But the most important point is how it was so realistic. WW2 has nearly limitless stories to share and lessons to teach humanity. This movie is one of the most important. Oh by the way, I went on to become a US military officer. Not totally because of this movie, but it was part of it.
Good show o chap.
I love this movie. I just watched it yesterday. Can never tire of it. Brilliant film.
One of my all-time favourite movies, too. You did a good job in this exposition.
I never knew that whistling tune had words to it. I love it! Thanks.
Superb work Mr Tyler. Thoroughly enjoyed this, and starting to see how wonderfully composed all your uploads are.
Such a good movie. Just watched the full film for the first time. My favorite storyline of the movie is the conflict between Colonel Nicholson and Saito. So good. Alec Guinness was the definite star of the film.
Note on African Queen. Re-shoots and additional outside river scenes where actually done on an old disused stretch of canal near Elstree studios after Uganda location filming had been completed.
I always felt that Holden's role was the weakest part of this otherwise great film. It may be mostly to do with the casting of Holden, who was just too Hollywood slick, and he stuck out like a sore thumb when put alongside the likes of Guinness and Hayakawa. It also took away from the essential Britishness of the story.
They should have make him a british character with a british actor.
@@samspencer582 No American actor, no Academy Awards.
Not really. Roger Ebert criticized it as well.
Holden is Hollywood slick as you say, but I think he's a fantastic actor. No one played a better "smart ass" than him. Shears story is my personal favorite of the film and adds some levity to a very serious story in my opinion.
Two years ago I was living in Thailand and hiked the old Thai-Burma railway. It was an amazing experience to pass through an area where so many people suffered horribly and died . The real bridge over the river Kwai is steel, not wood and the men had to hand make their own tools as we, the allies, were so effective at destroying Japanese shipping they could not get any equipment through. To see the roughest of country that these POWs and Malasian prisoners slaved to construct is at once humbling and sorrowful. You can still see the hand made tools discarded along the way. In the end the bridge was bombed by a young pilot from Vancouver, British Columbia flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force out of his base in India. It was a million in one shot to get his bouncing bomb to strike the bridge but it was done. The Japanese rebuilt the destroyed section of the bridge after the war as reperations.
Please review the more recent film, "The Railway Man" as it is actually filmed onsite and is about the same events from a different perspective. Thank you, excellent job.
"In the end the bridge was bombed by a young pilot from Vancouver, British Columbia flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force out of his base in India. It was a million in one shot to get his bouncing bomb to strike the bridge but it was done." Was his name Luke? ;-)
Great suggestion on the other related movie. I wonder if there are more movies on this topic?
@@dwc1964 This is something I was able to find online from a recent commemoration celebrated by 100 Squadron RCAF in Thailand.
A few months before the final days of WWII a bomber with an RCAF crew flown by F/L Roy Borthwick of North Vancouver, BC, part of a large raid of Liberator bombers from RAF 159, 355, and 356 Squadrons, destroyed the bridge for the final time.
I understand that former soldiers in England protested this film when it came out.
Appears it was more like a Summer Camp compared to reality, which could not be shown at that time.
I read a great book called, Prisoners of the Japanese, with stories from guys who were POWs in several locations taken by the Japanese; it was worse than most people can imagine. Many of those POWs would never have surrendered if they knew what was coming.
I think you mean in Britain Robert.
@@timothyphillips5043 I did mean England, it's right next door to Britannia.
@@robertgiles9124 What are you smoking?
@@timothyphillips5043 Did you want some?Sounds like.
Robert Giles Sorry to be pedantic, but England is just one of the countries in the United Kingdom. Britain refers to England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is all four countries. Britannia is a fictional patriotic figure, similar to Uncle Sam.
It was a long watch for me in my teens during the 90s when I first saw it but it was definitely worth it, as was Lawrence of Arabia, Lean was a master of the epic film in the proper sense of the word and as you say I have to wonder now how badly dated all these cheap superhero films will look in just 20 years time when all the CGI technology has moved on as it inevitably does. it may cost more to do location shooting but you get out what you put in and that can equal money, something studios cant seem to get their head around now.
Great, i love those movies with all these orchestrated big pictures in a real environment, this is very rare in today's cinema.
Lean wasnt happy but the hot blonde ‘love interest’ really is such a perfect measure of just how big Shears’s sacrifice was.
This is an excellently made analysis of the film, and a great presentation of this analysis. Very, very well done!
I'm so happy to learn the lyrics to that famous tune! Thanks, Tyler!
I wish I never heard it.
As kid growing up in the 80s we still used to sing it but the lyrics were slightly different.
Hitler has only got one ball
The other is in the Albert Hall
His mother, the dirty bugger
Cut it off when he was small
And repeat.
The Colonel Bogey March, was sung by one of the characters, Hugo, in the 1995 sequel to Terms of Endearment, The Evening Star right before he dies.
One thing that I've never understood about this film is whether the camp commandant intended to kill Col Nicholson. There is a scene where Saito is shown writing a letter, including a lock of his own hair which would seem to hold some special meaning. And then at the beginning of the climax of the film (you actually show it at 16:41) Saito appears to be going for his knife as Nicholson is near by, but when Nicholson spots trouble, Saito puts the knife away quickly. I've never been able to find anything written about this but surely others have noticed it. Just always wondered what the purpose was of those shots and why wasn't it made clearer if that was in fact his intention.
I think Saito had the intention to kill himself after the completion of the bridge because he essentially lost command to Nicholson. At the end, he might have had the intention to kill Nicholson too before commiting suicide.
@@martianmanhunter37 I agree, I think he intended to kill himself. That makes sense when taking into consideration the letter writing scene. Whether he was going to kill Nicholson first is still unclear, all we can do is guess.
My grandad was a (UK) Japanese POW in WWII
And considering what an otherwise talkative & jokey big Mancunian fella my grandad always was with me
he would *never* talk about his time there (even when I asked him to as a kid)
- And he never did, but left dad and me a trunk full of miscelaneous WWII stuff in his loft, for us to look through after he died.
R.I.P. William Wilde, my fantastic grandad ❤
Big respect to your grandad.. My nanas best friend was a pow also and was a strong healthy man played football for Wrexham and Rugby for his local team and was considering training for the 1940 Olympics in running before obliviously War broke out and when he came back from kwai he weighed 3 and half stone he absolutely detested this film and how it made British and other pow's look.. They went through absolute hell and not one person died building the bridge it was after they built it and went into the jungle.. he wouldn't buy anything Japanese and no word of a lie thanked God every single day for what the Americans did at hiroshima and nagasaki
I watched the movie when I was 14 years old. I didn't understand much of the scenario in which it was set but I knew I had watched a great film. Now 20 years later I'm going to order it on 4K bluray and watch it again.
I wish people would remember this is the construction of the Thai Burma railway the 'death railway 'while American and phillipino forces were fighting and surrendering to the Japanese British empire troops were fighting and dying in Burma and Mayla. After the surrender of Singapore. 130,000 British empire troops capulated to the Japanese. Thousands would never see home again . POWs were put to work on this railway project.
There was no commando raid to blow up this bridge it still stands today concrete and steal as a testimony to Japanese engineers and the sheer will and sacrifice of those troops who built it 🇬🇧🇦🇺
I wish that the world would remember the cruelty and brutality of the Japanese when they were overseeing (not bloody Engineering) the construction of this structure and others. Hiroshima was the world telling the Japanese that their barbaric cruelty would no longer be tolerated.
@@MegaBoilermaker "I wish that the world would remember the cruelty and brutality of the Japanese", you must be new to the internet if you think people don't know about this. The man you replied to simply stated the fact that the actual bridge still stands to this day. No need to be insecure about the level of engineering that allowed this.
@@nde1083 I think that an awful lot of people have forgotten this including the Japanese. And yes, I have worked with them.
And I am a retired Bridge Engineer
You forget the 200 000 Thai people that died to build the railway and one of the bridges. They built 2, one in wood and one in steel. The steel one still standing. I was there last year, that was a experience that I will never forget.
It is my prefered film. I saw it about 50 Times ! Kwai is immortal.
What I learned from this film? There is always the unexpected, isn't there?
I remember whistling that tune when i was a kid, I was obsessed with WW2.
I have just read that the film is now available on DVD 4K -HD,remastered and 5.1 sound enhancement and ''the making of'' in the extras
I fear it will look like crap. All these HD and super HD films destroy the look of film-and even make today's "video" projects look horrible
Another great film to watch for wide screen composition is BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK by John Sturges. He was one of the first people (along with Lean) to understand how to shoot intimate scenes on a wide screen.
My enjoyment of watching your essay was spoiled slightly by the superfluous bgm throughout.
People don't sing Colonel Bogey in the US? I didn't know that.
I'm from England, we sang it when we were children in the 1980's, it's still well known
The version I grew up with is :
Hitler has only got one ball
The other, is in the Albert Hall,
His mother, the dirty bugger,
Chopped it off when he was small
I believe nowadays the version I learned is fairly standard, never heard anyone sing the goering himmler goebbels parts
Cheers for the Love Cinema Tyler, straight back at ya ❤️
Very similar to the version i know from Northern Ireland. I dare say our versions are probably closer to what most troops sang.
I'm from Scotland, he only had one ball.
Yes, that's surprising that US wouldn't recognise the reference. Damn the censors then!
The book, "Through The Valley Of The Kwai", was written by a Scottish soldier, serving with the British army, was captured at Singapore and forced to work on the Kwai railroad. It is about what actually happened during the building. The prisoners, along with Chinese slave labor, worked not only on the bridge but on the entire railway. No commandos came to blow up the bridge and railway. Both were in operation until bombed in 1944.
one day when i was in 6th grade, (1963/4) our teacher announced "we're going to see a movie today". ever ready to get out of class we all cheered and walked 3 blocks to the englewood theater. (suburban new jersey) we saw "bridge over the river kwai", the awarded film of great renown.
i enjoyed it and don't remember any negative reactions from students or parents. now it would be unthinkable to take students to see a "war movie" as parents would be triggered... i'm glad we had that experience.
I don't think that is totally true, I just think that really good, significant war movies are very rare and special. I grew up in the 90s and remember having screenings at school of Saving Private Ryan. It was so realistic and poignant that it was deemed important for even younger people to see.
@@jacobward7507 yes but "the 90s" were 20+ years before "decolonization" and the revision of western history became a thing in public schools. i believe today even a great film like SPR would be seen as "triggering". imho
@@mj99a Revision of history has always been a thing, and I'd argue it was much worse in the past... I mean you had history books talking about how Columbus discovered America, and basically described it as an uninhabited paradise! I don't know if people would be more or less "triggered" by something like a war movie now adays, but there were tons of books and movies that were banned in school in the past. Many more than there are now.
You should have whistled THE MARCH all the way back to school❣️😄👍🏼
Thank you so much for this - brilliant work
My grandparents took me to see this when I was just seven! The strange thing was that I completely understood it.
David Lean is such a great filmmaker, he is also a big influence on Sergio Leone another great filmmaker
Great insight into all the work it takes to make great movie. One small correction you may want to make: in the screen with the 'sea gulls', those gulls were actually BATS!
I grew up watching these world war 2 commando movies, Force 10 from Navarone, Guns of Navarone, Where Eagle's Dare, etc..
Loved the film......Butt, the glory and grandeur it portrayed, helped lead me to the jungles of Vietnam. No cinema heroes there, just tragic victims - on both sides. "Madness," cried the doctor, that part, and only that part, directly translated to those terrible jungles in the Nam. 66-68
The 4k restoration is quite glorious.
Thanks to this fictitious film, Thailand has made a wartime tragedy into a tourist bonanza. By shrewdly renaming the upper Maeklong River (over which the railway bridge actually crosses) into the Kwai Yai (big Kwai), the "Kwai Bridge" is now a major tourist attraction.
If this film used any other Englishman, I doubt it could achieve the same affect. Alec Guinness was just superb in his acting. This is still one of my favorite films of all time. Hats off, to those who made this story a Big screen reality.
My god, I love this film.
why?
This and A Bridge Too Far
Madness. Madness.
@@argh2945....and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
@@nebulousy It's almost perfect movie.
Your videos are absolutely fantastic man.
It's more than just a theme about the futility of war. It's about the erecting the structure inside of a jungle as relates to the establishment of pomp and civility inside of war. Each officer holds to the principles of their establishment to the detriment of everything else, including the main effort for which their established office is purposed. I remember having a really good essay on all of this in my head about a decade ago. It's been quite a while since I've seen the film.
"The Bridge on the River Kwai" was produced by Sam Spiegel's British-based company, Horizon Pictures, but Horizon was partnered with the American film company, Columbia Pictures. Columbia supplied co-financing for the project and insisted on the casting of American actor William Holden. Holden had finished a long-term Columbia contract two years earlier with "Picnic," but Columbia production chief Harry Cohn coaxed Holden for "Bridge" with a sizable contract.
My esteem for you is maintained by your opinion of this film. I first saw it over 30 years ago and am still waiting for its equal. (Until then I'll content myself with Kind Hearts and Coronets and Arsenic and Old lace.)
I have special interest in this film because my dad, serving in the army during WW 2, tried to volunteer for a secret mission. The mission, he later learned, was the raid to destroy this railroad. He was turned down because the army considered it a suicide mission with poor chances of raiders ever returning alive. Dad was rejected because he was married and a father.
Wow! Thanks for sharing!
Growing up in the 1970s the lyrics we knew referred to his lost ball being kept in the Albert hall, and the story as to how he came to only have one ball? It was his mother (described somewhat disparagingly) who cut it off when he was small.
wonderful movie, I always thought the design of the bridge was based on the victorian rail bridge that links Edinburgh with the north east coast in Scotland, called The Forth Bridge, crossing the river Forth, they are identical in appearance. Twenty years ago I visited Sri Lanka and hired a driver and car to make a tour of the Island, I had in mind to find the location of the movie and armed with a map and directions from locals I found the sign pointing down a path off a single track road east of the town of Candy, the sign was crudely painted on a square piece of rusty tin and said...."location of the Bridge on The River Kwai. A ten minute walk down the path took me to the site of David Lean's bridge set. It was hard to imagine that this was the same place as the vegetation had closed in and the river seemed much narrower and very shallow, I think various dams were built during filming to modify the width and depth of the river and to allow filming of the low tide where the explosive cable becomes visible in the water. On one side there was clearly visible a large rock on the river edge with large round holes bored into the rock and these were used to plant the main wooden logs that held up the bridge structure. I guess the most fascinating thing about visiting that location was that there was an middle aged man and his wife who lived in a modest cabin next to the river who gave guided tours and offered to ferry people across the river in a small two man coracle, he spoke quite good english and he informed me that he had appeared in the film, he was one of the children flying the kite in the village that William Hiolden crawls out the jungle to, you may remember the scene, he is almost delirious and mistakes the kite of the children for a vulture swooping down on him, so this man who had appeared as one of the children had remained by the river bank and was making a living giving tours to travellers and telling stories of his experience on the film, I was happy to have him show me around and ferry me across the river for photos, I ended up giving him around £20 which he was elated with, I later learned that £20 represented 6 months income to him.
Really sweet edit/cut on 19:23. Lean demonstrating to Guinness in making-of footage how he wants Nicholson to hold his swagger stick and look around, followed by the actual shot of Guinness doing that in the movie. Lean would have liked that.
One of my favorite movies. Saw it when it first was released. For all the attention to realism and detail, I always wondered why the Japanese were armed with British weapons (Enfield rifles, Vickers machine guns).