David Lean's 1957 adaptation of Pierre Boulle's novel The Bridge on the River Kwai will be broadcast on Channel 4 this Sunday afternoon at 3:30pm, with the film available to stream on the app for a limited time afterwards.
A Classic of British Cinema
The World War 2 film follows a group of British prisoners of war who are ordered by their Japanese captors to construct the Burma Railway. The movie stars William Holden and Alec Guinness.
The screenplay was written in secret by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, both of whom had been blacklisted in Hollywood before fleeing to the UK to complete their work.
Award-Winning Recognition
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, The Bridge on the River Kwai won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The screenwriting award was initially attributed to Boulle, until Foreman and Wilson posthumously received the Oscar.
In 1999, the BFI voted the movie the 11th greatest British film of the 20th century.
