It was a half century ago that director David Lean and stars William Holden, Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa made movie history with their Oscar-winning masterpiece The Bridge on the River Kwai. Mumbai-based writer Rajgopal Nidamboor revisits the classic film in this exclusive article for Cinema Retro.
David Lean’s magnum opus, The Bridge on the River Kwai, made exactly 50 years ago, wasn’t just a movie, it’s a sublime epic.The film’s award-winning cinematography, as well as other breathtaking elements, was a landmark achievement. The story touched on themes of human brutality, ingenuity, pathos, ego, dignity, and the meaningless medley of war.. The film was produced with a (then) whopping budget of $3 million. However, on its first run alone, TBRK grossed a staggering $30 million. That the wartime tale went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Sir Alec Guinness, is now part of film lore. If Guinness revelled in his monumental role as Colonel Nicholson, his histrionic brilliance in the movie may have also played a major part in hastening his elevation to knighthood. Talk of the effect of the silver screen!
