Ron Howard has revealed that David Lean's 1957 war epic *The Bridge on the River Kwai* was the single most influential film on his development as a director, saying he "literally studied and saw" it "over and over again". The Oscar-winning filmmaker, who began his career as a child actor before moving behind the camera in 1977, made the comments in an interview with the New York Film Academy about the films that shaped his path into directing.

Howard explained that he was struck by learning the film was based on real events, which changed how he thought about using history as a foundation for drama. He praised the film's complex, paradoxical characters and its ability to blend grand, uncompromising storytelling with a serious subject, the plight of British prisoners of war forced to build a bridge for their Japanese captors. Starring Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins, the film won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars and remains regarded as one of cinema's finest war dramas, alongside other films Howard cited as influences, including *Mr Smith Goes to Washington* and *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*.