The Bridge on the River Kwai rebuilt

It is perhaps one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time - the moment the bridge on the River Kwai is blown up in the 1957 film about prisoners of war in World War Two. Now, 59 years after it was destroyed, the Sri Lankan authorities plan to rebuild the wooden star of the Oscar-winning film The Bridge On The River Kwai. While the World War II epic was supposedly set in Japanese-held Burma, it was mostly filmed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) between 1956 and 1957, less than a decade after independence from Britain.

An epic movie that I will never forget! Incredible actors like Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa demonstrated that good movies are possible using low-tech technology and passion. Nowadays many movies are somewhat the same and I hardly remember any actor. 

Tourist hotspot: Visitors in the area like to call in and see where the Bridge on the River Kwai was built for the Hollywood film.

The 1957 film was shot in various locations, concentrating in particular on Sri Lanka, where a wooden bridge was built as a set.

One hundred meters downstream there was a second bridge during World War II. This was a wooden bridge that could carry light diesel rail trucks transporting construction materials while the main bridge was being built.

In recent years, the village has become a magnet for adrenalin junkies who can white-water raft down the river, whose real name is the Kelani. But after Sri Lanka's Electricity Board unveiled plans to dam the river as part of a £50million ($82million) hydroelectric project, there was widespread dismay among locals whose livelihoods depend on tourism. In a bid to soften the blow, the electricity board has announced that it will pay for the reconstruction of a new wooden bridge, built on the original's foundations, to attract fans of the Oscar-winning movie. 'We have offered to rebuild the bridge at the same location,' the board's chief project engineer Kamal Laksiri told AFP.

''Today there is no bridge, only a few concrete posts remain. But we have looked at drawings and pictures of the bridge and we will recreate it.''

Many fans have around the world have been waiting for such good news. It would have been a disaster for local tourism not to reconstruct the bridge. 

The final scene in which a British officer played by Alec Guinness blows up a rail bridge that his fellow prisoners of war have just built was shot at sleepy Kitulgala, two hours' drive from the capital Colombo.

The explosion scene, in which a train packed with Japanese VIPs derails and then plunges into the river below, had to be shot twice in 1957 after a cameraman failed to give the correct signal to director David Lean. Elephants were used to haul the train out of the river for the second take and locals used the wooden debris to build homes or keep as souvenirs.

With Japanese engineers in command, a rickety bridge and lackadaisical work by the POW soldiers prove inadequate and dooms the project. But under British engineers, a stronger bridge begins to take shape. Taken from the book by Pierre Boulle and with a screenplay by Carl Foreman, it’s a story of enduring courage. The majority of films about World War II deal with the European theater, but this movie is the finest one depicting the courageous actions of British troops half a world away. Its values — steely adherence to military regulations and traditions in the face of unbridled fanaticism — are still compelling, fifty-nine years later.

As with many movies, the story of the production was almost as interesting as the film itself. The real camp was in Thailand along the river Kwai, but the movie was filmed in Ceylon along a wide rushing stream near Kitulgala along dense jungle. As Col. Saito said: “There are no bars here. The jungle keeps you in.”

Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, is halfway around the world. The intense heat and humidity were a heavy burden on cast and crew alike. There was also the challenge just to reach the set, live there for weeks, and oh yes, make a movie. Producer Spiegel built bungalows, installed plumbing facilities, water filtering, even a gourmet food-catering service. (Government officials in Colombo soon heard about the French Chef on location, and soon trekked to join Spiegel for lavish lunches.) Spiegel’s chauffeur-driven Jaguar took him as deep into the jungle as the roads would permit.)

He built miles of roads and cut through the mountains for the railroad tracks. Sixteen elephants hauled trees across the river for timber to build the bridge. The filmmakers used no special effects, building a bridge similar to the one in real life, and used few modern techniques to preserve authenticity. On a budget of just seven million dollars, that was a real challenge in and of itself. Today, computer animation would have created a railroad, but in Spiegel’s time, he bought an old engine and six railroad cars, then cut them in two to transport them through the jungle, then had them re-assembled by welders.

But Director Sir David Lean couldn’t quiet the numerous jungle birds whose squawks and chirping crickets before filming caused delay. Thus, just before rolling, he’d fire a gun in the air to scare them off. At least Holden had no problem with his makeup; he’d leap into the muddy river to get dirty before each scene.

World War II movies need a technical advisor so a General of the British army was hired. He was a veteran of jungle warfare, and wore a monocle even to bed. He believed “every boy of 17 should be sent into the jungle with no food nor water and suffer a bit of pain. It would teach him so many things.”

But not everyone was pleased to have the movie filmed in their country. The local press denounced Spiegel as a “Yankee imperialist” and “capitalistic exploiter.” Holden –the George Clooney of the 1950’s – was attacked as “The Great White Star.” A security guard was sent to mind the bridge, lest it be blown up prematurely. The troublemakers notified customs officials, saying the completed footage would contain diamonds and opium, hoping the ensuring inspection would spoil the negative. One night in Colombo, Lean and Spiegel were surrounded by men with knives yelling: “Money! Money! Money!” Spiegel, who’d fled the Nazis right after Anschluss engulfed his native Austria, would not be cowed. He placed his hand in his pocket and yelled: “Pistol! Pistol! Pistol!” The marauders dispersed.

Three Siamese actresses were hired, though they hadn’t read the script. So they lugged along evening gowns, unaware their roles were porters carrying heavy equipment for the commandos sent to blow up the bridge.

The movie even created its own mini-zoo, thanks to animal lover and environmentalist Holden. There was a stray cat, two parrots, a monkey, and a flightless owl who took a liking to Guinness. He’d feed it with an eye-dropper while it sat on the actor’s shoulder. Guinness would coax it while feeding it, saying: “Come, come. Here’s Mom.”

Bridge on the River Kwai told a story that hadn’t been widely known. In the recent movie “The Railway Man,” a former POW working on the same railroad suffered the effects of Japanese torture four decades later. Both films show how courage in the face of evil can be one’s finest saving grace.