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| Directed by: Eric Steel |
DVD Release: 2007
Released by: Koch Lorber FilmsDolby
Digital 5.1
Widescreen |
"It happens all the time."
The Golden Gate Bridge is the symbol of the San Francisco
Bay area -- an engineering marvel set in one of the most ruggedly beautiful spots in the
world. Ironically, it is also where more people choose to end their lives than anywhere
else. Somber, pensive, and emotional, The Bridge discusses a few of these suicide
attempts in a way that heightens suspense for viewers -- we never quite know how each will
turn out -- and explores the sometimes tenuous connection -- the bridge -- between life
and death.
To capture his mesmerizing footage, director Eric Steel and
a crew of camera operators spent all of 2004 filming the Golden Gate Bridge during nearly
every minute of daylight. They captured almost two dozen nervous moments -- a number of
suicides along with a few saves and changes of heart. This footage was mixed with
interviews with friends and family members, witnesses, and Golden Gate Bridge officials
that shed light on the lives of the people who decided to end it all on the most famous
bridge in the world. These stories bristle with deep meaning, and they attain moments of
poetic beauty.
Much of the tensest footage was shot with a long lens,
which added some unavoidable grain. Still, the video image and 5.1 sound are notably
crisp. Extra materials are often giveaways that make buyers feel like they're getting more
for their money, when, in fact, they add little or nothing to the DVD. Here, a 20-minute
featurette on the making of The Bridge presents Steel's thinking on the making of
his movie and lets viewers see who was capturing the footage and how they did it. One of
the rules was to keep the cameras rolling and intervene only when a suicide attempt was
imminent. As you watch the featurette, you will wonder how the camera operators balanced
the tedium of filming a bridge with the tension of watching suicides unfold in front of
their eyes.
It would be very easy to ruin The Bridge for viewers
by revealing too much about the individual stories that are woven together to create the
movie. I'll avoid that here. This isn't a cheerful film, but it's a sincere one about a
grim subject that literally touches everyone. "It happens all the time." |
