The Bridge on the River Kwai

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is David Lean's landmark war drama you can watch online on iFILM. British prisoners of war, held in a Japanese camp deep in the Burmese jungle, are ordered to build a railway bridge for their captors. The film took seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Alec Guinness plays Colonel Nicholson, a career officer who refuses to break even under brutal conditions — and then slowly becomes so invested in building the bridge that it turns into a point of pride. William Holden is the American officer given the opposite assignment: get to that bridge and destroy it. The two missions converge in one of cinema's most striking finales.

Adapted from Pierre Boulle's novel and shot on location in what is now Sri Lanka, the film introduced the famous Colonel Bogey whistling march to generations of audiences. A cornerstone of the war genre. Stream The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) online on iFILM.