Principal cast
William Holden as Cmdr. Shears, Alec Guinness as Col. Nicholson, Jack Hawkins as Maj. Warden, Sessue Hayakawa as Col. Saito, and James Donald as Maj. Clipton
Film 13 of 244 on the Screen Path
The Bridge on the River Kwai
It spans a whole new world of entertainment!
About the film
The Bridge on the River Kwai at a glance.
Screen Path places this 1957 film at stop 13 in one curated journey through cinema. The learning experience adds context before you watch and deeper analysis after.
The 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, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Key craft credits
Jack Hildyard (director of photography), Peter Taylor (editor), Malcolm Arnold (original music composer), Carl Foreman (screenplay), and Michael Wilson (screenplay)
- Director
- David Lean
- Release
- 1957-10-11
- Runtime
- 162 minutes
- Genres
- Drama, History, and War
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Quiz
- 25 questions
The Screen Path journey
Before. After. Remember.
The featured film is watched outside Screen Path. The app provides the learning experience around it: a guide, an analysis, and a quiz with explanations.
01
Before you watch
Start with a spoiler-free video guide to the context and filmmaking choices worth noticing.
Spoiler-free02
After the film
Return after watching for a deeper video analysis of craft, meaning, and legacy.
Contains spoilers03
Quiz yourself
Answer 25 questions with clear rationales designed to make the ideas stick.
25 questions in this journeyWant to try a complete journey on the web? The Citizen Kane page includes the spoiler-free guide, after-film analysis, and a sample quiz.
Try Citizen Kane →Film data and images provided by TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.