EN
In the mid-1950s, Carol Reed and David Lean, two leading auteur directors in British cinema, debuted in Hollywood. The resulting films – Reed’s Trapeze (1956) and Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – turned out to be the turning points in the careers of both directors. The article’s goal is to show how a new background of filmmaking influenced the individual profile of the work of both directors and whether, and to what extent, they had to compromise their artistic approach and what impact both films had on their further careers. The article focuses on both a historical and topical analysis of Trapeze and The Bridge on the River Kwai.