Bridge On The River Kwai

The year is 1942. Japan has invaded Indonesia and Thailand, and the war is going well for them. One of the problems they have is keeping a supply line going to support the front line. Another problem they face is an over abundance of Prisoners of War. The Japanese had not even considered having POWs, because they lived by the samurai code of Bushido. Bushido, which means “way of the warrior”, always favors death over surrender. They consider surrender to be the act of weak shameful men.To alleviate the supply line issue, a railroad was proposed to connect Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma. The British had contemplated such a railway in the 18th century, but it was determined it was a project too difficult to undertake. The initial Japanese plan called for the railroad to be completed in 6 years, but after they considered all the slave labor of the POWs, whom they could abuse, they changed their estimate to 18 months. The “death railway”, as it was known, was built by POWs from June 1942 to Oct 1943. Since the Japanese had no respect for the POWs, the conditions on the line were brutal and many died.

This is the setting for the 1954 book “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and the 1957 movie of the same name. A British officer, Colonel Nicholson and his soldiers end up as POWS in a prison camp along the “death railway”. The camp commandant, Colonel Saito, has been put in charge of building a bridge over the river Kwai. He lays out the situation at prisoners’ arrival:

“All men will work. Your officers will work beside you. This is only just. For it is they who betray you by surrender. Your shame is their dishonor. It is they who told you: 'Better to live like a coolie than die like a hero.' It is they who brought you here, not I. Therefore, they will join you in useful labor. That is all.”

Colonel Nicholson objects to the use of his officers for manual labor, because it is against the Geneva Convention. But the Geneva Convention offends Colonel Saito as, he feels it is a coward code since the Bushido code does not allow soldiers to surrender. Thus begins a battle of wills between two men who will stop at nothing to strictly live by their codes.

“The production for “The Bridge On The River Kwai” began on November 26, 1956 in

Ceylon on a budget of $3 million. Filming was completed on May 11, 1957. Preparation and construction of the bridge (with a span of 360' x 50') took eight months (to complete).” reports [DavidLean.com]The screenplay was written by Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman who were on the blacklist of people with suspected Communist ties at the time the movie, and thus went uncredited. The sole writing credit, and the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, went to Pierre Boulle, who wrote the original French novel. David Lean had to accept the academy award because Boulle did not speak any English. In 1984, the Academy retrospectively awarded the Oscar to Wilson and Foreman. Wilson did not live to see this; Foreman died the day after it was announced. When the film was restored, their names were added to the credits. Foreman also wrote “High Noon”(1952) and “Guns of Navarone”(1961). Wilson wrote “Lawrence of Arabia”(1962) and from another Pierre Boulle story, “Planet of the Apes”(1968)[filmsite.org]