The Bridge on the River Kwai Page #2

Synopsis: The film deals with the situation of British prisoners of war during World War II who are ordered to build a bridge to accommodate the Burma-Siam railway. Their instinct is to sabotage the bridge but, under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson, they are persuaded that the bridge should be constructed as a symbol of British morale, spirit and dignity in adverse circumstances. At first, the prisoners admire Nicholson when he bravely endures torture rather than compromise his principles for the benefit of the Japanese commandant Saito. He is an honorable but arrogant man, who is slowly revealed to be a deluded obsessive. He convinces himself that the bridge is a monument to British character, but actually is a monument to himself, and his insistence on its construction becomes a subtle form of collaboration with the enemy. Unknown to him, the Allies have sent a mission into the jungle, led by Warden and an American, Shears, to blow up the bridge.
Genre: Adventure, Drama, War
Director(s): David Lean
Production: Columbia Pictures
  Won 7 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 7 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.2
Metacritic:
87
Rotten Tomatoes:
94%
PG
Year:
1957
161 min
2,213 Views


I'm sure a man of Cmdr. Shears'

experience will back me up on that.

I'd say that the odds against a

successful escape are 100 to one.

But may I add another word?

Please.

The odds against survival in this camp

are even worse.

You've seen the graveyard.

They're your real odds.

To give up hope of escape...

...to stop thinking about it

means accepting a death sentence.

Why haven't you tried to escape,

commander?

I'm biding my time. Waiting for

the right moment, the right company.

I understand how you feel.

Of course, it's the duty of a

captured soldier to attempt escape.

But my men and I are

involved in a curious legal point...

...of which you are unaware.

In Singapore we were ordered to

surrender by command headquarters.

Ordered, mind you.

Therefore, in our case, escape might

well be an infraction of military law.

Interesting point, sir.

I'm sorry, sir,

I didn't quite follow you.

You intend to uphold the letter

of the law, no matter what it costs?

Without law, commander,

there is no civilization.

That's just my point.

Here, there is no civilization.

Then we have the opportunity

to introduce it.

I suggest we drop

the subject of escape.

Is there anything else?

I think we're

clear on the program.

I want everything to go off smoothly

starting tomorrow morning.

And remember this:

Our men must always feel they are

still commanded by us...

...and not by the Japanese.

So long as they have that idea,

they'll be soldiers and not slaves.

Are you with me there, commander?

I hope they can

remain soldiers, colonel.

As for me, I'm just a slave.

A living slave.

Queer bird. Even for an Ameri-

He's been in isolation too long,

poor chap.

Cut off from his unit.

It should be a lesson to all of us.

English prisoners!

Notice I do not say English soldiers.

From the moment you surrendered,

you ceased to be soldiers.

You will finish the bridge

by the twelfth day of May.

You will work under the direction

of a Japanese engineer.

Time is short. All men will work.

Your officers will work beside you.

This is only just...

...for it is they

who betrayed you by surrender.

Your shame is their dishonour.

It is they who told you...

...better to live like a coolie

then die like a hero.

It is they who brought you here,

not I.

Therefore, they will join you

in useful labour.

That is all.

Officer prisoners, collect your tools.

Bradley, back in your place.

I must call your attention,

Colonel Saito...

...to Article 27

of the Geneva Convention.

" Belligerents may employ

prisoners of war...

...who are fit,

other than officers-"

Give me the book.

By all means.

You read English, I take it?

- Do you read Japanese?

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Carl Foreman

Carl Foreman, CBE (July 23, 1914 – June 26, 1984) was an American screenwriter and film producer who wrote the award-winning films The Bridge on the River Kwai and High Noon among others. He was one of the screenwriters that were blacklisted in Hollywood in the 1950s because of their suspected Communist sympathy or membership in the Communist Party. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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