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The Bridge on the River Kwai |  | Director: David Lean
Actors: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.94
Buy Used: $6.95
as of 9/3/2010 20:11 CDT details
You Save: $12.99 (65%)
New (21) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $6.95
Seller: muboutletstore
Rating:  180 reviews
Sales Rank: 12214
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Georgian (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), Thai (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), French (Dubbed), Portuguese (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 161 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: COLD05278D
ISBN: 0767853547
UPC: 043396052789
EAN: 9780767853545
ASIN: B00004XPPC
Theatrical Release Date: 1957
Release Date: November 21, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
ALLIED COMMANDOS ARE DISPATCHED DEEP INSIDE THE BURMESE JUNGLETO BLOW UP A STATEGIC BRIDGE BUILT BY BRITISH POWS. SPECIAL FEATURES: SUBTITLES IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE,CHINESE, KOREAN, AND THAI: LANGUAGES IN ENGLISH, FRENCH,SPANISH AND PORTUGUES: THEATRICAL TRAILERS AND MUCH MORE.
Amazon.com
Director David Lean's masterful 1957 realization of Pierre Boulle's novel remains a benchmark for war films, and a deeply absorbing movie by any standard--like most of Lean's canon, The Bridge on the River Kwai achieves a richness in theme, narrative, and characterization that transcends genre.
The story centers on a Japanese prison camp isolated deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia, where the remorseless Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) has been charged with building a vitally important railway bridge. His clash of wills with a British prisoner, the charismatic Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), escalates into a duel of honor, Nicholson defying his captor's demands to win concessions for his troops. How the two officers reach a compromise, and Nicholson becomes obsessed with building that bridge, provides the story's thematic spine; the parallel movement of a team of commandos dispatched to stop the project, led by a British major (Jack Hawkins) and guided by an American escapee (William Holden), supplies the story's suspense and forward momentum.
Shot on location in Sri Lanka, Kwai moves with a careful, even deliberate pace that survivors of latter-day, high-concept blockbusters might find lulling--Lean doesn't pander to attention deficit disorders with an explosion every 15 minutes. Instead, he guides us toward the intersection of the two plots, accruing remarkable character details through extraordinary performances. Hayakawa's cruel camp commander is gradually revealed as a victim of his own sense of honor, Holden's callow opportunist proves heroic without softening his nihilistic edge, and Guinness (who won a Best Actor Oscar, one of the production's seven wins) disappears as only he can into Nicholson's brittle, duty-driven, delusional psychosis. His final glimpse of self-knowledge remains an astonishing moment--story, character, and image coalescing with explosive impact.
Like Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai has been beautifully restored and released in a highly recommended widescreen version that preserves its original aspect ratio. --Sam Sutherland Stills from The Bridge on the River Kwai (click for larger image) Beyond The Bridge on the River Kwai 
The David Lean Collection | 
WWII 60th Anniversary Collection | 
The True Story of the Bridge on the River Kwai (History Channel) |
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 180
 Bridge On The River of Nevermore May 25, 2010
Strawgold (Wyoming)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In my view, the WWII accounting of "Bridge over the River Kwai" was a masterpiece, not only of it's time, but a picture that has endured all the years hence as a classic work of film. There was one glaring inattention to detail at the very end of the film - but it should be forgiven because many films of that era had similar omissions. I guess they figured nobody would notice and if they did, they wouldn't care.
The story revolves around Prisoners of War, captured by the Japanese and taken to a remote tropical island, with virtually no chance of escape open to them. They are soon to learn their mission as a "Captive Corps of Engineers": to "build a bridge over the River Kwai" the only obstacle standing in the way of connecting two points for the purpose of moving men and supplies through the jungle. The soundtrack was remarkable; outstanding in it's simplicity yet rousing; designed as mental "cement" to hold the desperation at bay; allowing the viewer the experience of feeling the unseen bond keeping the men held "together" in a united front against the enemy through the music as much as through the visuals. Nothing else could have done it quite so well for the viewer as this soundtrack does; like lemon juice in a vinagrette, it brings out the brightness; the courage that these ragged men possessed. The outstanding photography was truly beautiful - filmed in a tropical jungle setting, one almost feels the humid, sultry air, the agony besetting the soldiers who must endure through the weather as well as the trauma when they can barely stand, the gunshots that bring thousands of fruit bats bolting out of the trees into the air - starkly startling; a visual rush by the very suddenness of it.
In contrast, after Holden (Shears) makes good his first and only escape out of the jungle to the picturesque island base, the scene there is one of serene South Pacific beauty and tranquility - uninterrupted by the "real thing" and where soldiers "play at war games", preparing for that which they cannot hope to understand or discover in it's depth until they are launched into it; wherein there is no time to think, to plan; just react in split seconds and hope for the best, benefitting from the "make-believe" training if you can, dying if you didn't.
The cast of characters is splendid, and the film was peppered with Academy Awards well deserved in every category; with Alec Guiness brilliantly cast as the British Allied Commander Nicholson, who "goes by the book of discipline" in everything he does - and who is intent upon "giving the best performance" possible required of a military man, even if it meant doing it for the enemy - a mounting obsession that knows no limits; Suessue Hayakawa as the frustrated Japanese Colonel Saito who attempts to bring the bridge to completion despite his lack of engineering skills and manpower beyond the rebellious and infirm POW's he is expected to manage.
In one of the golden phrases, William Holden remarked during the last moments - "I've heard it said that in a job like this 'there's always one more thing to do' but I can't think of what it might be - except to wish you a long and happy life."
This is an old movie, but I highly, highly recommend it as one worth watching for those who desire to go back in time and discover for themselves where the "roots" of filmmaking began to evolve into breathtaking "special effects", "method acting" and enchanting background scenery.
No Problem May 20, 2010
John K. Schwarz
Evetrtying with this order fulfillment went fine and according to expectation as it should be.
 Bridge on the river kwai review April 18, 2010
J. Hallihan (Australia)
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
We brought this film as we are going on a holiday to Thailand at the end of the year. We began researching Thailands history and came across this movie in an internet search one day, so we came to amazon and purchased it!
It's a story that kept us interested for most of the movie. Towards the end it drags out a little bit, to the point where we actually had a conversation instead of watching it. Overall I'd give it 2.5 stars out of 5.
 Don't Pay Extra For the Collector's Edition April 5, 2010
MBS (Los Angeles)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I could have bought a single DVD with the movie only for half the price but thought I'd go for the Collector's Edition. In my opinion, the second DVD is not worth the extra money. Mildly interesting background material. The reason you're buying the DVD is to watch the movie on disc 1.
The Bridge on the River Kwai March 24, 2010
Ronald W. Wagner (Minnesota USA)
I love this movie. It's probably the best movie of it's era. Alec Guinness and William Holden were great in it. There is a lot of action in this war movie and I would recommend it to anyone that love these actors and war movies.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 180
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