David Lean in scale and more extensively released internationally. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) was based on a novel by Pierre Boulle recounting the story of British and American prisoners of war trying to survive in a Japanese prison camp during the Second World War. The film stars William Holden and Alec Guinness and became the highest-grossing film of 1957 in the United States. It won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Alec Guinness, who had battled with Lean to give more depth to his role as an obsessively correct British commander who is
The Godfather Part II his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family enterprise in New York City. "The Godfather Part II" opened to divided reviews from critics. Its reputation, however, improved rapidly and it soon became the subject of critical reevaluation. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and became the first sequel to win for Best Picture. Its six Oscar wins included Best Director for Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro and Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Puzo. Pacino won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Both "The Godfather Part