Before Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, the British directing legend David Lean created another highly acclaimed classic with The Bridge on the River Kwai is often considered one of the best war films. This would probably not have been possible without the unusual commitment of 1,000 people and 35 elephants.
A new Steelbook edition will be released on February 15th in 4K Ultra HD and Dolby Vision restored film with additional Blu-raywhich you already have on Amazon you can reserve for pre-order *. As bonus material there are also interviews, a making-of and a picture gallery.
That’s what The Bridge on the River Kwai is all about
The inmates of a prisoner of war camp in Indochina are supposed to build a strategically important railway bridge over the River Kwai during World War II. The camp is overseen by the Japanese Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa), who is confronted by the British Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) and US Navy Commander Shears (William Holden).
While Nicholson, after initial resistance, prepares to build a technically more complex bridge to demonstrate the pride and superiority of the British, Shears plans the opposite after his escape: under the orders of Major Warden (Jack Hawkins), the bridge on the River Kwai is to be destroyed become.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is that good
In addition to seven Oscar awards in 1958, including Best Film, Best Actor for Alec Guinness and Best Director for David Lean, The Bridge on the River Kwai also received 5 out of 5 stars in the more recent FILMSTARTS review received the status of a masterpiece.
“This is true cinema magic: soldiers’ boots stamping rhythmically in the sand, half disintegrated, accompanied by the whistling; compositional finesse when this very chess arrangement opens up […]“, it says. The director’s images appear truly lively and impressive and are extremely fascinating, especially in comparison to the “many greenhouses of today“.
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