"The Bridge"

[Worf]

I've been getting "The Bell and Blade" catalogue since forever. One film in there has intrigued me for the longest time "Die Bruke" from Germany made in 1959. So many reviews of how marvelous this film is and how any WWII historian should view it to get one of Germany's first post war views of itself. Well, I couldn't rent it from Netflix so I finally broke down and bought the thing. I watched it last night... I must say I was quite disappointed. While I wasn't expecting "The Best Years of our Lives" I was expecting a more in depth treatment of the late war, Hitler Youth mentality than I got!. It' wasn't the worst but man, the climactic bridge battle scene was from hunger. Farm tractors (literally) painted up to look like Sherman Tanks. Death scenes straight out of the silent era for muggery and anquish. Pheh... I'm sorry but I was very disappointed.

 

[Spitfire]

I saw it the middle 60's when I was a kid and it made a huge impression on me, back then. Maybe you should look for some of the more resent re-makes of it,as far as I've read there's plenty of action, sex and violence.

 

[DNO]

You really can't watch a movie like The Bridge without considering its original context. It was made a mere 15 years after the end of the war...scars and emotions were still very, very close to the surface. It was quite a daring film...in its day. Like Spitfire, I saw it in the '60's as well and it was quite effective. I saw it again last year, and although appearing dated, with some notably hokey props, it was still striking considering its context.

Now, if you want a really exceptional post-war effort, try Fires on the Plain. It too was produced in 1959, in this case by the Japanese. It dealt with Japanese troops in the Philippines very late in the war. A really excellent, powerful film...no hokey props either.

 

[Wally_Hood]

You really can't watch a movie like The Bridge without considering its original context. It was made a mere 15 years after the end of the war...scars and emotions were still very, very close to the surface. It was quite a daring film...in its day. Like Spitfire, I saw it in the '60's as well and it was quite effective. I saw it again last year, and although appearing dated, with some notably hokey props, it was still striking considering its context.

Now, if you want a really exceptional post-war effort, try Fires on the Plain. It too was produced in 1959, in this case by the Japanese. It dealt with Japanese troops in the Philippines very late in the war. A really excellent, powerful film...no hokey props either.

The film is indeed exceptional, and coming in '59, like The Bridge, not quite fifteen years after the end of the war, it deals directly with the Japanese soldier's experience as the short-lived empire was collapsing. If you have the opportunity, read the book for some juxtapositions of beautiful descriptive language with jarring violence and dehumanization.

 

[Worf]

I've seen both "Fires on the Plain" AND "The Burmese Harp". I thought both were excellent films and they moved me in ways "The Bridge" didn't. I've seen many WWII films and have quite a collection, I guess my expectations were just too high. I certainly wasn't viewing it with the eyes of a jaundiced action junkie. Well I'll give it a few months mebbe a year and watch it again.

Worf

 

[DNO]

The film is indeed exceptional, and coming in '59, like The Bridge, not quite fifteen years after the end of the war, it deals directly with the Japanese soldier's experience as the short-lived empire was collapsing. If you have the opportunity, read the book for some juxtapositions of beautiful descriptive language with jarring violence and dehumanization.

Thanks Wally...I'll keep my eye open for the book. It's nice to encounter someone else who has seen this particular movie. You're a rare soul!

 

[mdove]

Of the films mentioned I have only 'The Best Years of Our Lives". It has to be one of the best ever made. Harold Russell (Homer) won two Oscars for his role. Harold is a real hero.

 

[Wally_Hood]

I've seen both "Fires on the Plain" AND "The Burmese Harp". I thought both were excellent films and they moved me in ways "The Bridge" didn't. I've seen many WWII films and have quite a collection, I guess my expectations were just too high. I certainly wasn't viewing it with the eyes of a jaundiced action junkie. Well I'll give it a few months mebbe a year and watch it again.

Worf

Fires on the Plain (Nobi, as it was pronounced in the Japanese) and The Burmese Harp (Biurma no Takekatta, as before) transcend the gung-ho war films that we sometimes watch; both films are intensely human stories, all the more so in light of their country of origin and its history leading up to the films' making. Both films were shown in the local PBS station here in Los Angeles back in the early seventies, with LA Times film critic Charles Champlin hosting. It was on something called (I think) the Humanities Film Forum. I've also caught viewings at local revival houses.