10 facts about the bridge on the river kwai

Boulle drew on the experiences of Far East POWs building the now infamous Burma-Siam Railway, linking modern-day Myanmar and Thailand to create his work. Guinness regarded this one tiny scene as some of the finest work he did throughout his entire career. Joyce, manning the detonator, breaks cover and stabs Saito to death. Bus Bangkok - Kanchanaburi $ 7.19 3h 30m. The film won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) at the 30th Academy Awards. In January 1943, a base hospital was organised to care for sick and injured prisoners and labourers. 23. This records the names of 11 Indian army men buried in Muslim cemeteries throughout Thailand whose graves could not be maintained. Other parts have been placed in various local war museums. 20. The story is fictional but uses the construction of the Burma Railway, in 1942-1943, as its historical setting, and is partly based on Pierre Boulle's own life experience working in Malaysia rubber . When he asks for Saitos help in cutting the wires, the hidden commando, Lieutenant Joyce (Geoffrey Horne), leaps up and kills Saito. The march was written in 1914 by Kenneth J. Alford, a pseudonym of British Bandmaster Frederick J. Ricketts. The two did not collaborate on the script; Wilson took over after Lean was dissatisfied with Foreman's work. The correct name for the River Kwai is Khwae Noi, meaning small tributary, which merges with Khwae Yai River to create the Mae Kong River. [19], Guinness later said that he subconsciously based his walk while emerging from "the Oven" on that of his eleven-year-old son Matthew,[20] who was recovering from polio at the time, a disease that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Image: Bridge 277 aka the real Bridge over the River Kwai, Image: The iconic poster of the 1957 classic. as for the bridge on the River Kwai, it crossed the river only in the imagination of its author. [31][32] Some consider the film to be an insulting parody of Toosey. Although the Death Railway has never again reached the Myanmar border, a shorter stretch was reopened by Thailand's railway authorities between 1949 and 1958, and trains on this modern-day line cross the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai. The movie is best known for the "Colonel Bogey March", the song that is whistled by the POWs. Geoffrey Horne saved his life. Leadership Analysis: The Bridge On The River Kwai. Realising he has no choice, Shears volunteers. [Ronald Searle, To the Kwai and Back: War drawings 1939-45, London, Collins, 1986, 104] 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' is now the best-known site on the Burma-Thailand railway but its fame is due more to a fictional film than its significance in World War II. Has only got one ball! [31] He strongly denied the claim that the book was anti-British, although many involved in the film itself (including Alec Guinness) felt otherwise.[36]. [citation needed], Julie Summers, in her book The Colonel of Tamarkan, writes that Boulle, who had been a prisoner of war in Thailand, created the fictional Nicholson character as an amalgam of his memories of collaborating French officers. Toosey would provide the inspiration for Lt. Col Nicholson portrayed by Alec Guinness in the 1957 film. In 1957 the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai, premiered in London and became the biggest grossing film of 1958, winning seven academy awards in the process, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Musical Score, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.Not bad for a movie that is largely a work of almost entirely fictional characters and a story which . These problems resulted in a number of anomalies that were very difficult to correct, like a ghosting effect in many scenes that resembles colour mis-registration, and a tick-like effect with the image jumping or jerking side-to-side. No visit to the Western Front is complete without a trip to The CWGC Visitor Centre. The finished screenplay had significant contributions from both Wilson and Foreman, though each went to his grave insisting he was the more important contributor. The key sites containing Thailand and Burma war graves related to Death Railway and the Bridge on the River Kwai are: Kanchanaburi War Cemetery is located a short distance from the former Kanburi POW camp. The Bridge on the River Kwai, British-American war film, released in 1957 and directed by David Lean, that was both a critical and popular success and became an enduring classic. A Cholera epidemic swept through Nieke Camp between May-June 1943. Tooseys men stated this never happened. The ending of that was sort of the story of life. The Bridge Over the River Kwai. In early 1943, a contingent of British prisoners of war, led by Lt. Log in. The filming of the bridge explosion was to be done on 10 March 1957, in the presence of S.W.R.D. Here is 'Minder' telling me to get the timber off the base and start cutting up the dowels. He was a huge star, drawing a weekly salary of $5000 in 1915 (adjusted for inflation: $119,000) and appearing in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1924. US Navy Commander Shears tells of the horrific conditions. Thanks to the film, the Bridge, situated in the Thai town of Kanchanaburi a couple of hours drive from Bangkok, is one of Thailand . The film was based on the 1952 novel Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle. The place is regarded as "The Symbol of Peace". Put on your marching boots and whistle a jaunty tune as we investigate some behind-the-scenes facts about this enduring war film. Although the obvious link was by sea, Allied submarines controlling the region made it too treacherous. Allied soldiers had built a church and a hospital on the site where the cemetery now sits. Mortally wounded, he falls onto the plunger, the bridge is blown up, and the train with the dignitaries falls into the river. TakeMeTour's Review. [12], William Holden's deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving $300,000 plus 10% of the film's gross receipts. Pierre Boulle, a Frenchman, who had experienced great hardship after being captured by the Vichy French on the Mekong River, wrote a novel called 'Le Pont de la rivire Kwa' - The Bridge of the . Some Japanese viewers resented the movie's depiction of their engineers' capabilities as inferior and less advanced than they were in reality. The River Kwai, also known as Khwae Noi or Khwae Sai Yok is a river located in the western region of Thailand. They remain standing at attention throughout the day. They built a railway to link Bangkok to Rangoon. Work on the bridge proceeds badly, due to both the faulty Japanese engineering plans and the prisoners' slow pace and deliberate sabotage. [7][8] In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Bridge on the River Kwai the 11th greatest British film of the 20th century. Young: "Donald, did anyone whistle Colonel Bogey as they did in the film?" Victory over the Japanese navy at Midway in June 1942 had created a turning point in the Far East and Pacific. Goering By daybreak, however, the river level has dropped, exposing the wire connecting the explosives to the detonator. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was set in 1942, shortly after the fall of Singapore. Nicholson will not cooperate and finally insists that the bridge can be built only under his command. Lets examine the history behind the film and the men who made it. When Columbia Pictures read the script for Kwai, it was concerned that the story was too much about men and had no love interest. According to Columbia Pictures, they followed an all-new 4K digital restoration from the original negative with newly restored 5.1 audio. The plot and characters of Boulle's novel and the screenplay were almost entirely fictional. It stretched from Japan, Korea, and China in the north all the way down to Indonesia. 16- "You make me sick with your heroics! The Bridge Over the River Kwai won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) in 1958. Train crossing the wooden bridge which spanned the Mae Klong River (renamed Kwai Yai River in 1960). Nicholson desperately tries to keep Joyce from depressing the plunger, while Shears and Warden try to kill Nicholson. This article is part of our Classic Film Throwback series - By Sam Hendrian - "Madness. As Ashton explained, it was so cheap because "we used local labor and elephants; and the timber was cut nearby.". The commandoes arrive for their mission as the finishing touches are being put on the bridge. Boulle based his novel, published in 1952, on his own experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and on an infamous construction project that he wasn't involved with. Save up to 50% on Thailand River Cruises August 2024. One of the iconic war films of its time, the Bridge on the River Kwai has shone a spotlight on POWs suffering. 13. 6 Interesting And Awesome Facts About Dondokomon From Digimon, 20 Amazing And Fun Facts About San Bernardino, California, United States, 26 Fun And Fascinating Facts About The Gods Of Egypt Movie, 15 Interesting And Fun Facts About Napa, California, United States, 20 Interesting And Amazing Facts About National City, California, United States, 15 Interesting And Fascinating Facts About Needles, California, United States, 15 Interesting And Amazing Facts About Nevada City, California, United States, 15 Amazing And Interesting Facts About Newark, California, United States. The Bridge On The River Kwai was the first of David Lean's five epic films and the third of six movies that he made with Alec Guinness. Chungkai was also a POW worker base camp. The cemetery was established by the Army Graves Service to hold casualties made along the railways southern Bangkok to Nieke section. Copyright 2020 Tons Of Facts. The Kwai River Bridge was part of the meter-gauge railway constructed by the Japanese during World War Two. The Bridge over the River Kwai met its fate in 1945. The Bridge on the River Kwai, commonly referred to as the Railroad of Death or Death Railway, which stands in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, was one of only eight steel bridges of the estimated 688 that were built. Its this structure, Bridge 277, that still stands and is a famous local tourist attraction. It was repaired in time to be blown up the next morning, with Bandaranaike and his entourage present. The actual name of "Bridge on the River Kwai", on the 258 mile long Burma Railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma, built from 1940-1944, was called Bridge 277. The rail link, however, would . Ironically, Allied bombing raids of the region between March and June 1943 contributed to casualties sustained around Thanbyuzayat. Parts of the Burma-Siam railway still stand. Read the response of the CWGC to the findings of the Special Committee. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a work of fiction, but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942 to 1943 for its historical setting. They were calling it the Death Railway. The steel bridge was repaired and is still in use today. For all the death and misery caused by its building, the Burma-Siam Railway only ever carried two Japanese divisions and 500,000 tons of supplies before VJ Day brought the war in Asia to a close. When, the next morning, Saito orders all the British prisoners to begin building the bridge under the command of a Japanese engineer, Nicholson and the other officers refuse, even when Saito threatens to kill them. Nicholson objects, informing Saito the Geneva Convention exempts officers from manual labour. It would be a massive undertaking. At one point during filming, David Lean nearly drowned when he was swept away by a river current. Further afield, and appealing to my military family war history, is Kanchanaburi with its war cemetery and bridge over the Kwai river which is made famous by the Oscar winning film The Bridge on the River Kwai. To enjoy Thailand River cruises, you need to understand a little about the geography of Thailand and its river system. Initial estimates from Japanese engineers suggested it would take five years. Moreover, Kanchanaburi has an annual "Bridge Over the River Kwai" week, which has a sound show to relive the moments of World War II.