This impressive film was made the year after the titular bridge (at Rotterdam port) was built. The technical marvel (it could lift up to let ships pass, or down so trains could pass it) is presented with quite some drama. The public-domain version at archive.org has no sound at all, so you can fully concentrate on the visuals (many detail and distance shots of the bridge, the train, the bridge operator, even the camera which wasn't hand-cranked.. I suppose it was clockwork-driven).
A strong, dramatic documentary which somehow gives a soul to the giant contraption of steel and heavy concrete counterweights. Very lovely and fascinating, and much more focused than "Regen" by the same director.
PS: As a Dutch friend told me, the bridge is kept as monument, but fixed in "up" position. Trains now take a tunnel.
PPS: technical marvel yes, but a similar bridge can be seen in "The Hazards of Helen" #26 from 1912 :)
A strong, dramatic documentary which somehow gives a soul to the giant contraption of steel and heavy concrete counterweights. Very lovely and fascinating, and much more focused than "Regen" by the same director.
PS: As a Dutch friend told me, the bridge is kept as monument, but fixed in "up" position. Trains now take a tunnel.
PPS: technical marvel yes, but a similar bridge can be seen in "The Hazards of Helen" #26 from 1912 :)