The Bridge on the River Kwai The Bridge on the River Kwai The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British-American epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the novel "Le Pont de la Rivière Kwaï" (1952) by Pierre Boulle. The film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943. The cast included William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness, and Sessue Hayakawa. It was initially scripted by screenwriter Carl Foreman, who was later replaced by Michael Wilson. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist and had fled to England in
Return from the River Kwai Sam Spiegel had threatened legal action over the film's title, thus breaching the contract. Unger argued that the rights had been bought by Columbia from the Spiegel estate in 1959. Unger claimed he offered to change the film's name and attached a disclaimer denying any connection with the Spiegel film. (When released in the United Kingdom, the film carried a disclaimer that it was not related to or a sequel to the 1957 film.) Unger says he suggested the name "River Kwai" be translated into Thai ("Kwae Noi") and Tri-Star agreed, then changed their mind. Unger claims Tri-Star's decision not