The Bridge on the River Kwai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Bridge on the River Kwai
Directed by	David Lean Gus Agosti & Ted Sturgis (assistants)
Produced by	Sam Spiegel
Written by	Pierre Boulle (novel) Carl Foreman & Michael Wilson (screenplay)
Starring	Alec Guinness Sessue Hayakawa William Holden
Music by	Malcolm Arnold
Cinematography	Jack Hildyard
Editing by	Peter Taylor
Studio	Columbia Pictures Horizon Pictures
Distributed by	Sony
Release date(s)	2 October 2 1957
Running time	161
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English / Japanese / Thai
Budget	$3 million (estimated)

The Bridge on the River Kwai is a famous British movie from 1957. It was made by Columbia Pictures. The story comes from a 1952 book by Pierre Boulle called The Bridge over the River Kwai. Most of the movie was filmed in Sri Lanka (which was called Ceylon back then). Some parts were also filmed in England.

This movie is a war movie that tells a dramatic story. It shows how people deal with tough situations during wartime.

The Story of the Bridge

The movie takes place during World War II. In 1941, the Japanese Army took over parts of Thailand. They started building a long railway. This railway was meant to connect Bangkok in Thailand to Yangon (Rangoon) in Myanmar.

Building this railway was very hard work. Many workers and POWs (prisoners of war) faced difficult conditions. A big part of this railway project was building bridges. These bridges crossed the Kwai Yai in Thailand. This area is near a town called Kanchanaburi.

Real Life vs. Movie Story

The idea of workers and prisoners building a railway was real. But most of the story in the book and movie is made up. In real life, the British soldiers were forced to work. They did not willingly help the Japanese.

Two bridges were actually built over the river. One was made of wood, and the other was made of concrete and steel. Both bridges lasted for two years. They were later destroyed by bomber planes in 1945.

In the movie, the bridge is blown up by special forces called commandos. A real train actually rode over the bridge as it exploded for the movie scene. This was a very impressive special effect for its time!

Famous Music and Awards

The movie is well-known for its catchy song, the "Colonel Bogey March". The prisoners of war whistle this tune in the film. It is also called the "River Kwai March." You might have heard it before!

The Bridge on the River Kwai won many important awards. It received seven Academy Awards, including the award for Best Picture. This is one of the highest honors a movie can get. It also won the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay.

Images for kids

• 

  Chandran Rutnam and William Holden while shooting The Bridge on the River Kwai.

• 

  A picture of the actual bridge over the River Kwai in June 2004. The curved-shaped truss spans are the originals on the bridge (constructed by the Japanese military during WWII) while the two trapezoidal-shaped bridge spans were provided by Japan as war reparations after the war ended in 1945 (to replace two curved-shaped truss spans that fell into the river after the bridge was attacked and bombed by Allied aircraft.

• 

  A photo of Kitulgala, Sri Lanka in 2004, where the bridge was made for the film.

See also

In Spanish: El puente sobre el río Kwai para niños