The Bridge on the River Kwai (VHS, 1998, Columbia Classics; Widescreen; EXPIRED)

Still credited as 1 of the top 100 films ever made, "Bridge on the River Kwai" took home 7 Oscars in 1957:

Best Picture;
Best Director-David Lean;
Best Actor-Alec Guinness;
Best Adapted Screenplay-Carl Foreman, Michael Wilson, Pierre Boulle;
Best Cinematography-Jack Hildyard;
Best Film Editing;
Best Original Score-Malcolm Arnold;

Wilson, Foreman & Boulle's screenplay adaptation of Pierre Boulle's (1952) novel is as legendary as the brilliant performance of Sir Alec Guinness. Davis Lean's direction deserved the Oscar.

Boulle's story goes like this: During WWII, British POWs in a Burmese, Japanese controlled, internment camp are forced to build the famous bridge over the Kwai River. By so doing, the POWs reluctantly do hard labor in extraordinary climate conditions to aid WWII Axis enemy forces.

While construction of the bridge is underway, both US & UK Allied Intelligence Officers plan to wire the bridge with explosives in order to destroy it.

Sir Alec Guinness gives his legendary performance of a lifetime as British Colonel Nicholson, the POW in command who has been forced to supervise the endeavor to aid the enemy. The film features the psychological consequences of identifying with captors; especially Col. Nicholson's. During the project, he's developed an attachment to bridge. Instead of going along with the Allied Officer's bridge-bombing plans, Nicholson attempts to prevent destruction of the bridge-building project he supervised. William Holden plays a crucial role, albeit none too large a part.

Without the Oscar-winning script, it's difficult to imagine another WWII film becoming a classic. Even though, Carl Foreman, 1 of the 3 screenwriters, was actually given credit for the award-winning script, the blacklisted screenwriter, Michael Wilson, is the writer who made the key script contributions. Wilson's & Lean's collaboration to create "Bridge's..." finale is one of the most notable in the film-making industry's history. To write that "Bridge's..." climax is 'sensational' clearly seems like an obtuse understatement.

This is a Columbia Classics VHS that has 'Hi-Fi' sound which is pre-digital. However, it's the original VHS version that is a collectible classic~