RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
95 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:39

Rotten:2

Average Rating:8.8/10

Consensus: This complex war epic asks hard questions, resists easy answers, and boasts career-defining work from star Alec Guinness and director David Lean.

Runtime: 2 hrs 47 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: One of the all-time great war films, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO). The film is an outstanding, psychologically... One of the all-time great war films, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI is yet another classic from the marvelous David Lean (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR. ZHIVAGO). The film is an outstanding, psychologically complex adaptation of Pierre Boulle's 1952 novel, a 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 (a fabulous Alec Guinness), the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans. Although credited to screenwriter Carl Foreman, the script was actually written by blacklisted writer Michael Wilson. The film garnered seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Guinness). The climax is one of the great finales in film history. [More]

Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa

Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Geoffrey Horne, Andre Morell, Peter Williams, Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin, Ann Sears, K. Katsumoto, Henry Okawa

Director: David Lean

Director: David Lean
Screenwriter: Michael Henry Wilson, Carl Foreman
Producer: Sam Spiegel
Composer: Malcolm Arnold

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Nov 21, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Bridge on the River Kwai

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

No review available.

comment Comment
07/28/04
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/05/03
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

The film has great themes ... fascinating characters expertly acted, a compelling plot and brilliant direction by one of the masters of the epic, David Lean.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
07/04/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The big screen is the place to see this widescreen epic.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Austin Chronicle

Lean achieves a fine balance of creating complex characters from a fine cast, while keeping the pace up throughout this long movie.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC

No review available.

comment Comment
08/25/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

A spellbinding character study wrapped in a great adventure story.

comment Comment
05/07/04
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Guinness, Lean and British war cinema have never been better.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/19/08
Channel 4 Film

For what it is, it ain't bad, though it serves mainly as an illustration of the ancient quandary of revisionist moviemakers: if all you do is systematically invert cliches, you simply end up creating new ones.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 2 Comments
12/13/06
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Most war movies are either for or against their wars. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the few that focuses not on larger rights and wrongs but on individuals.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
09/26/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Epic wartime storytelling at its most vibrant and satisfying.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
11/09/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVDTalk.com

...stirring drama in a timeless setting.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Still one of the most rousing war films, Lean's epic is rich in characters and marked by an ironic and ambiguous POV in the way that it depicts the conflict between Guinness, Hayakawa, and Holden, as individuals and symbols of their national cultures.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/15/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A towering work.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/19/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
03/20/04
Nicolas Lacroix
Nicolas Lacroix
EnPrimeur.ca

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Alec Guinness won his only non-honorary Oscar for this film (did you know he'd be nominated for writing the following year?), and boy is it deserved.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
02/23/06
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

A tense, terrifying, absolutely riveting film about the ironies of war and the deadly psychological games enemy soldiers play with each other.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/01/00
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Bridge on the River Kwai

October 25, 2007: How Many Movies Have You Seen In Your Entire Life?
Newsweek critic David Ansen has courageously revealed the more quietly kept secret of every cinephile: his lifelong, bordering-on-eccentric, meticulous obsession with movies.... More...

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
36% 36% Angels & Demons
95% 95% Star Trek
25% 25% Four Christmases

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Tomatometer Watch

Tomatometer Watch

The early reviews are in for Avatar!

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

RT looks at Disney's best animated movies!

Keith David

Keith David

We get the actor's Five Favorites and more!

Friday Harvest

Friday Harvest

This week's best pics, vids, and posters!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: James Cameron Plans a Fantastic Voyage
9
  • James Cameron Talks Avatar Sequels Source: Collider.com
3
  • Natalie Portman Will Battle Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Source: Variety
30
  • Marvel Begins Iron Man 2 Viral Campaign Source: Superhero Hype
12
  • Bryce Dallas Howard Talks Spider-Man 4, Terminator, and Twilight Source: ComingSoon.net
39
  • David Lynch Says He Turned Down Return of the Jedi Source: CinemaBlend.com
36
  • Thomas Dolby Starts a Star Wars Rumor Source: Ain't It Cool News
32
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
57
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Headed for IMAX Source: Collider.com
48
  • James Cameron Developing Sci-Fi Film for Fox Source: ComingSoon.net
10
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Avatar Live Up To The Hype?
95
  • Total Recall: Keith David's Best Movies
72
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
51
  • The Gimmicks That Changed Cinema: Part 1
35
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Help Us Choose the Community Golden Tomato Award
23
  • The Effects of Where the Wild Things Are
20
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
19
  • Critics Consensus: Princess, Invictus Are Certified Fresh
19
  • Awards Tour: D.C. Film Critics Name Up in the Air as Year's Best
18
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
19
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
51
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
23
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Bridge on the River Kwai at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Bridge on the River Kwai at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Sci-Fi This Decade
Best Sci-Fi This Decade External Link

Techland lists the best Sci-Fi films of this decade.

40 Worst Films of the 2000s
40 Worst Films of the 2000s External Link

Moviefone takes a look back at the biggest stinkers of the past 10 years.

10 Questions For Zac Efron
10 Questions For Zac Efron External Link

The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.

Best Decade Ever!
Best Decade Ever! External Link

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill offers his thoughts on what the best decade for film was.

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure External Link

In the AV Club's "Scenic Routes," Mike D'Angelo reminisces about the Tim Burton film.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.