New Release: The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray

The Bridge on the River Kwai movie scene1957’s beloved and highly acclaimed World War II drama movie The Bridge on the River Kwai got its long-awaited high-definition debut on Nov. 2, 2010. The film, which won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, was released on Blu-ray amidst a screening tour.

Directed by David Lean (Doctor Zhivago), the movie stars Alec Guinness (Star Wars) as a British colonel in a Japanese prisoner of war camp who pretends to cooperate with his captors to build and ultimately blow up a bridge. William Holden (The Towering Inferno) also stars.

Guinness and Lean won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Director, respectively, for the film. The drama’s other four Oscar statues were for cinematography, editing, music/score and adapted screenplay. The Bridge on the River Kwai is based on the novel by Pierre Boulle.

The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray boxSony Pictures Home Entertainment restored both the audio and video of the war drama and played a near-final version at the Plaza Classic Film Festival in El Paso, Texas. The movie also was screened at:

  • The Castro, San Francisco, Sept. 10-16
  • Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle, Sept. 10-12
  • Film Forum, New York, Sept. 24 and Sept. 30
  • The Music Box, Chicago, Oct. 22-27
  • The Alamo Drafthouse, Austin, Texas, Nov. 8-11

The Bridge on the River Kwai Blu-ray include three new special features plus a 32-page book with photos and stories from the movie’s production and replicas of original lobby cards. The new special features are:

  • newly released archival footage of The Steve Allen Show With William Holden
  • audio of the William Holden narrated premiere with photos
  • and “Crossing the Bridge Graphics in Picture” track.
  • “An Appreciation by John Milius”
  • “Rise and Fall of a Jungle Giant”
  • USC show film introduced by William Holden
  • photo gallery
  • and an exclusive documentary about the adaptation of Boulle’s novel, casting, production history, score, release and restoration.

In May, 2010, Disc Dish included The Bridge on the River Kwai in its top war movies list.

 

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About S. Clark

Sam Clark is the former Managing Editor/Online Editor of Video Business magazine. With 19 years experience in journalism, 12 in the home entertainment industry, Sam has been hooked on movies on since she saw E.T. then stared into the sky waiting to meet her own friendly alien. Thanks to her husband’s shared love of movies, Sam reviews Blu-ray discs in a true home theater, with a 118-inch screen, projector and cushy recliners with cup holders.