The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge over the River Kwai (French:Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai) is a novel by Pierre Boulle, published in 1952, that won France's "Prix Ste Beuve." It is a fictional story but it is based upon the real plight of Allied prisoners of war during World War II forced to build the 258-mile Death Railway by Japanese forces.

Awards

Award wins:

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• Academy Award for Best Picture
• BAFTA Award for Best Picture
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama
• New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Film
• Academy Award for Directing (David Lean)
• Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (David Lean, Assistants: Gus Agosti & Ted Sturgis)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture (David Lean)
• New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Director (David Lean)
• Academy Award for Best Actor (Alec Guinness)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama (Alec Guinness)
• New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Actor (Alec Guinness)
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography - Jack Hildyard
• Academy Award for Film Editing - Peter Taylor
• Academy Award for Original Music Score - Malcolm Arnold
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay - Pierre Boulle - Carl Foreman - Michael Wilson

Award nominations:

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• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Sessue Hayakawa)
• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Sessue Hayakawa)
• Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album, Dramatic Picture Score or Original Cast (Malcolm Arnold)

The screenwriters, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, were on the Hollywood blacklist and could only work secretly. Pierre Boulle, who did not speak English, was given screen credit for adapting his own novel, and the Oscar was awarded to him. Only in 1984 did the Academy rectify the situation by awarding the Oscar to Foreman and Wilson retrospectively (and posthumously in both cases, although Foreman did live long enough to know that it was going to happen). At about the same time a new release of the film finally gave them proper screen credit.

Related Topics:
Carl Foreman - Michael Wilson - Hollywood blacklist - Pierre Boulle - Credit - 1984 - Academy

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The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

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