La rivière du hibou (1962)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Robert Enrico

Writers:

Ambrose Bierce (story)
Robert Enrico (writer)

Genre:

Short | Drama | Fantasy | War

Plot:

During the Civil War, a Southern civilian is about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge. When the execution takes place from the bridge, the rope breaks and he begins his escape toward home.

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Civil War | Art | Execution | Safe Return Home

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Roger Jacquet	...	Peyton Farquhar
Anne Cornaly	...	Mrs. Farquhar
Anker Larsen
Stéphane Fey	...	Union Officer
Jean-François Zeller
Pierre Danny
Louis Adelin

Also Known As:

An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge (USA) (actual spelling)
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (USA) (orthographically correct title)
Incident at Owl Creek

Runtime:

28 min

Country:

France

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Filmartic

Trivia:

Aside from the shouts of the soldiers and the song that plays as the prisoner floats to safety, there is no dialogue (not counting the edited Twilight Zone version's narration by Rod Serling). This is significant because the original episode of The Twilight Zone was also almost completely devoid of dialogue.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Ropes can be seen pulling the gates open as Peyton arrives at his home.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Donnie Darko (2001)

Haunting

This film is chilling, yet absolutely wonderful. One cannot help but to have sympathy for the convicted man. The beauty of nature is displayed quite perfectly in his cute musical number; the sunlight plays wonders with the camera despite the film being in black and white. There is hardly any dialogue to clutter up the message, only one man's struggle to live. The ending is amazing and will leave the viewer's jaw agape. This film is even better than the original short story. Recommended viewing for anyone who craves a short movie that is long on depth.