The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

During World War II, Allied POWs were forced by Japanese Soldiers to work on the construction of the Thailand to Burma railway which included the Bridge on the River Kwai. The prisoners worked under savage conditions and only with basic tools. Based on witness testimonies and photographic evidence, the documentary tries to answer the questions as to how this feat of engineering was built. The documentary special also tells of the development of America's first precision guided munition, the' Azon' bomb, and how it was used to destroy the bridge.

Filmmaker John Milius discusses David Lean's classic Academy Award winner "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

Made famous by the 1957 Hollywood movie, the bridges of the River Kwai emblematize one of the most misunderstood events in history. Contrary to the romanticized film version, the structures represent a period of terror, desperation, and death for over 16,000 POWs and 100,00 local slaves. The Thailand - Burma Railway was the vision of the Japanese Imperial Army: a 250-mile track cut through dense jungle that would connect Bangkok and Rangoon. To accomplish this nearly impossible feat, the fanatical and ruthless Japanese engineers used POWs and local slaves as manpower. Candid interviews with men who lived through the atrocity - including Dutch, Australian, British, and American POWs - illuminate the violence and horror of their three-and-a-half-year internment. From Britain's surrender of Singapore the enduring force of friendship, The True Story Of The Bridge On The River Kwai narrates a moving and unforgettable account of a period in history that must be remembered.