The Bridge (TV 2008)
"Die Brücke" (original title)

Director:

Wolfgang Panzer

Writers:

Manfred Gregor (novel), Wolfgang Kirchner

Stars:

François Goeske, Franka Potente, Lars Steinhöfel

Cast

Credited cast:
François Goeske	...	Albert Mutz
Franka Potente	...	Elfie Bauer
Lars Steinhöfel	...	Walter Forst
Robert Höller	...	Klaus Schröder
Florian Heppert	...	Siegi Lindner
Daniel Axt	...	Juergen Neuhaus
Toni Deutsch	...	Karl Baermann
Alexander Becht	...	Ernst Scholten
Paula Schramm	...	Paula Fink
Michael Lott	...	Standartenführer Forst
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothea Anna Hagena
Christoph Hofrichter	...	Herr Wenninger
Roman Jankovic	...	American soldier
Hedi Kriegeskotte	...	Frau Mutz
Arvydas Lebeliunas	...	Kushner

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

boy soldiers | remake | bridge | combat casualty | machine gun | 

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Genres:

History | War

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English

Release Date:

29 September 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Bridge

Filming Locations:

Kuldiga, Latvia

Box Office

Budget:

€3,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herold Productions, Lionheart Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of The Bridge (1959)

User Reviews

Better than the Germans think of it

I noticed that all the former comments about this film were a) made by Germans, and b) they all slander it, and for me that has some weight. I don't know any German, so I can't say if the acting was good or bad, but it looked and felt at least pretty good, most of the time.

As a history buff and germanophile (who can't speak the language - perish the thought!) I found this film to be quite good in a historical context - and, I was impressed by that the equipment used by both Germans and Americans looked very authentic (with one MAJOR exception for the Americans) apart perhaps that the boys were/looked too old: they were supposed to be 16, and not a single one looked that age. Of course, that's the same thing with 25-year-olds playing high school teens in American films...

From a military point of view, this is also a pretty accurate film: The Germans did use single squads of troopers to defend small tactical objectives, as the bridge in the film. It also shows the devastating power of the Panzerfaust 100, the hand-held tank killer. Very nice, unless you are on the receiving end of it.

The sfx was OK, but absolutely nothing fancy.

However, the film has flaws that were carried over the language barrier, namely a totally unnecessary love plot and a more interesting love plot that would have done well to be better developed. Also, I didn't like that characters just vanished from the story without me getting to know of their departure.

I have to agree with some other comments about the lack of character development - it could definitely be better, that's for certain. Oddly, the best character development was done about some of the elder extras, not the main characters.

The film is also too melodramatic for my liking, so much I began thinking of the Russian film Zvesda which was just as bad in that area. Having the film maker telling me to feel sorry for the protagonists is not the way of scoring a 10 on IMDb.