The Bridge on the River Kwai poster

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The Bridge on the River Kwai

1957 · Movie · 161 min
A

MEANRANK

85/100

Averaged across 11 ratings · 488.5K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 30 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

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77–96 out of 100

Mostly agreed

Lowest is Kinopoisk on 77, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 96.

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During World War II, British prisoners of war are forced by their Japanese captors to build a railway bridge in Burma. The proud British colonel becomes obsessed with constructing a perfect bridge as a testament to British ingenuity and morale, losing sight of the fact that he is aiding the enemy war effort. Meanwhile, Allied commandos are dispatched on a mission to destroy it.

Details

Director
David Lean
Based on
The Bridge over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle
Released
11 October 1957
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English, Japanese, Thai
Runtime
161 min
Rated
PG
Budget
$2.8M
Box office
$44.9M
Awards
30 wins, 7 nominations

This title elsewhere

William Holden

William Holden

Cmdr. Shears

Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness

Col. Nicholson

Jack Hawkins

Jack Hawkins

Maj. Warden

Sessue Hayakawa

Sessue Hayakawa

Col. Saito

James Donald

James Donald

Maj. Clipton

Geoffrey Horne

Geoffrey Horne

Lt. Joyce

André Morell

André Morell

Col. Green

Peter Williams

Peter Williams

Capt. Reeves

Awards & nominations

See all 37 →

11 major awards won · 30 wins from 37 nominations across 15 ceremonies

Academy Awards 1957 Best Picture Sam Spiegel Winner
Academy Awards 1957 Best Director David Lean Winner
Academy Awards 1957 Best Actor Alec Guinness Winner
Academy Awards 1957 Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium Michael Wilson, Carl Foreman, and Pierre Boulle Winner
Academy Awards 1957 Best Cinematography Jack Hildyard Winner
Academy Awards 1957 Best Film Editing Peter Taylor Winner
Academy Awards 1957 Best Original Score Malcolm Arnold Winner
Directors Guild of America Awards 1957 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures David Lean Winner
Show all 37 awards across 15 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.