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What is the story behind The Bridge on the River Kwai?
The film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” dramatized the WWII story of the Thailand-Burma Railway, yet it was largely fictional. Over 65,000 Allied P.O.W.s battled torture, starvation, and disease to hack the 255-mile railway out of harsh jungle for the Japanese.
Is bridge on the River Kwai based on a book?
“The Bridge on the River Kwai” – film movie, based on the novel Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï (1952) by French novelist Pierre Boulle, was adapted for the screen by Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman, who were both at the time on the Hollywood blacklist.
What happens at the end of bridge on the River Kwai?
Joyce. Honour and duty drove both Nicholson and Saito to madness, Saito realising that his honour has been destroyed as Nicholson nails a wooden plaque to the bridge stating that it was built by the English, and Nicholson realising the folly of his ways in that amazing final scene.
Was there a real bridge over the River Kwai?
The real bridge on the River Kwai was never destroyed, not even damaged. It still stands on the edge of the Thai jungle about three miles from this peaceful town and it has become something of a tourist attraction. The bridge was erected by Allied pris oners during the Japanese occupation of Thailand in World War II.
Who bombed the bridge over the River Kwai?
By May 1945 the British and American air forces had destroyed both bridges over the River Khwae-Noi (or Kwai as it is popularly known). The Japanese army’s vital supply line between Burma and Malaya had been cut, but by then the atomic bomb had made surrender inevitable.
Is bridge on the River Kwai an anti war movie?
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) An Anti-War Film honoured with 7 Oscar wins!
What country is the River Kwai in?
Thailand
The River Kwai, more correctly ‘Khwae Noi’ (Thai: แควน้อย, English small tributary) or Khwae Sai Yok (แควไทรโยค), is a river in western Thailand, near, but not over the border with Myanmar.
How old was William Holden in The Bridge on the River Kwai?
(Incredibly, he was 68 when he played the role.) Alec Guinness, oddly enough, was not Lean’s first choice for the role that won him an Oscar as best actor.
How did people died building The Bridge on the River Kwai?
Many were beaten, shot or stabbed to death for minor transgressions while even more fell victim to ulcers, malaria, cholera, dysentery, starvation, and exhaustion. The Japanese deadline for the Railway’s completion was December 1943.