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The Bridge on the River Kwai [Blu-ray/DVD]

2 discs
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

One of the all-time great war films, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO). The film is an outstanding, psychologically complex adaptation of Pierre Boulle's 1952 novel, a classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson (a fabulous Alec Guinness), the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans. Although credited to screenwriter Carl Foreman, the script was actually written by blacklisted writer Michael Wilson. The film garnered seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Guinness). The climax is one of the great finales in film history.
Academy Awards Best Film Editing 1957
Academy Awards Best Picture 1957
Academy Awards Best Actor 1957 Alec Guinness British Actor, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Academy Awards Best Director 1957 David Lean British Director/Producer/Editor, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay 1957 Carl Foreman Screenwriter, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay 1957 Pierre Boulle French Author
Academy Awards Best Cinematography 1957 Jack Hildyard British Director of Photography
Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay 1957 Michael Wilson Screenwriter - BlackListed
Academy Awards Best Original Score 1957 Malcolm Arnold British Composer
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Credits

William Holden, William Franklin Beedle, Bill Holden, Alec Guinness, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne, Andre Morell, Peter Williams, Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Ann Sears, K. Katsumoto, Henry Okawa
Critic Reviews

"...Lean handles the climax with precision and suspense..."
Chicago Sun-Times
"...[A] masterpiece...purely enjoyable..."
USA Today
"...[A] masterpiece....That rare film about something as seemingly black-and-white as World War II that is colored entirely in shades of gray, and the better for it..."
Entertainment Weekly
"...It's certainly weathered well thanks to its novel and ingenious approach to presenting multiple perspectives of the Second World War..."
Total Film
"...[T]wo compelling stories jelled into one sprawling action film..."
Premiere