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Celluloid
WarDrama

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Directed by David Lean · 1957 ·

LLM fact sheet (.md)

Answer Summary

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) earns a 87% Celluloid Score — Recommended. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.

Quick Verdict

Averaged from five public sources (critic, audience, Metascore, Letterboxd, IMDb). See how we calculate scores.

87%
Celluloid Score Recommended

Five-source breakdown

95% Critic Score
95% Audience
78 Metascore
★★★★☆ Letterboxd 4.3
8.1 IMDb /10
Runtime
2h 41m
Cast
William Holden , Alec Guinness , Jack Hawkins

Why this score?

  • Strong critic approval (95% positive).
  • Audiences widely enjoyed it (95%).
  • Metascore is generally favorable (78/100).
  • Letterboxd diarists rate it highly (4.3/5).
  • IMDb users score it 8.1/10.

Best for

  • Viewers who want a well-regarded war, drama pick
  • Epic-length viewers who want a big-screen experience

Not ideal for

    Scores reflect data indexed at build time. Component sources are shown on this page; Celluloid Score is our composite, not a third-party trademark. Scoring policy

    Is The Bridge on the River Kwai worth watching?

    Yes — The Bridge on the River Kwai earns a 87% Celluloid Score. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.

    Critics Consensus

    Lean's POW epic balances honor, madness, and whistling that echoes through cinema history.

    Celluloid Critics Consensus

    Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.

    What is The Bridge on the River Kwai about?

    Allied POWs build a railway bridge for their Japanese captors while a commando team plans to destroy it in the Burmese jungle.

    Critic Reviews

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