The Bridge on the River Kwai
8.1
“It spans a whole new world of entertainment!”
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.
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Cast
20 people
William Holden
Cmdr. Shears
Known for
Sunset Boulevard
The Wild Bunch
Alec Guinness
Col. Nicholson
Known for
Star Wars
Lawrence of Arabia
Jack Hawkins
Maj. Warden
Known for
Lawrence of Arabia
Ben-Hur
Sessue Hayakawa
Col. Saito
Known for
Swiss Family Robinson
The Cheat
James Donald
Maj. Clipton
Known for
The Great Escape
Quatermass and the Pit
Geoffrey Horne
Lt. Joyce
Known for
Bonjour Tristesse
The Green Hornet
André Morell
Col. Green
Known for
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Plague of the Zombies
Peter Williams
Capt. Reeves
Also in
Pathfinders in Space
Two Letter Alibi
John Boxer
Major Hughes
Known for
Frenzy
Percy Herbert
Grogan
Known for
One Million Years B.C.
Mutiny on the Bounty
Harold Goodwin
Baker
Known for
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Mummy
Ann Sears
Nurse
Also in
Cat & Mouse
Lady of Vengeance
David Lean Director · Carl Foreman Screenplay Michael Wilson Screenplay
Worldwide gross $45M · Budget $2.8M · United States release December 14, 1957
Box office
Budget
$2,800,000
Worldwide gross
$44,908,000
Gross vs. budget
16.0×
Production
Horizon Pictures
Production
Columbia Pictures
Studio · Production
United Kingdom · United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · Japanese · Thai
Release dates
United Kingdom · October 2, 1957
Premiere · London
United Kingdom · October 11, 1957
Theatrical
United States · December 14, 1957
Theatrical
United States · November 21, 2000
Physical · DVD
United States
November 2, 2010 · Physical · Blu-ray
October 3, 2017 · Physical · 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Australia
December 2, 1957 · Theatrical
Austria
September 5, 1958 · Theatrical
Belgium
October 11, 1957 · Theatrical
Brazil
December 23, 1957 · Theatrical
Czechia
January 22, 1998 · Limited theatrical · Projekt 100
Finland
October 11, 1957 · Limited theatrical
France
December 20, 1957 · Theatrical
October 4, 2026 · Digital · Arte.tv
October 4, 2026 · TV · Arte
Germany
March 7, 1958 · Theatrical
October 4, 2026 · Digital · Arte.tv
October 4, 2026 · TV · Arte
Greece
March 7, 1958 · Theatrical
Hungary
August 18, 1988 · Theatrical
Ireland
January 3, 1958 · Theatrical
Italy
January 30, 1958 · Theatrical
Japan
December 22, 1957 · Theatrical
Netherlands
March 21, 1958 · Theatrical
March 1, 2003 · TV · V8
December 2, 2004 · Physical · DVD
April 18, 2012 · Physical · Blu ray
Norway
October 11, 1957 · Theatrical
Portugal
November 28, 1958 · Theatrical
South Korea
April 10, 1981 · Theatrical
Spain
December 25, 1957 · Theatrical
Sweden
July 18, 1958 · Theatrical
March 26, 2004 · Physical · DVD release
January 5, 2011 · Physical · Blu-ray release
December 4, 2017 · Physical · 4K Ultra HD release
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Some details come from TheTVDB.