Gutsycurene
Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.
Robert J. Maxwell
This is a remake of the 1959 film of the same name. The remake is in wide screen, is in color, has a bigger budget, is gorier, and has an international star in a prominent role.Yet, I wouldn't say it was better. The original was shorter, more raw and schematic, made its point more clearly, and gave both the Wehrmacht and the American soldiers a bit of humanity. This one meanders around, gives much more time to the Franka Potente character, and spends more time with the American infantrymen. The German soldiers, by and large, get short shrift. They're all a bunch of weaselly cowards or arrogant slobs.Except, of course, for the handful of high school youngsters who are drafted and immediately assigned to defend a bridge. I was able to keep their identities straight in the first version but not here. After a heroic last stand, which only one of the kids survives, the Amis roll slowly across the body-strewn bridge.I haven't seen the first version in years but if I remember correctly, the kids don't "lose" the bridge to the Americans. The Americans simply decide to pull out and use their resources elsewhere. When the Wehrmacht tries to destroy the bridge, the surviving kids prevent it.There is one major difference that rather spoils this remake. In the original, a non-commissioned officer, Gunther Pfitzmann, is assigned to see that the boys get some duty that keeps them out of danger, some out of the way place where they'll be safe. The bridge is supposed to be safe. Pfitzmann is not at all like the fat, loud corporal in this movie. Pfitzmann has a kindly face, full of experience, and the compassionate demeanor to go with it. When he's killed while trying to save the school boys, it's a moving moment captured dramatically.I didn't particularly mind the extra time given to the international star, Franke Potente. Her attempts to have the kids withdrawn are futile and she doesn't give an especially memorable performance but I don't care. I like her face. She has the kind of features that will last beyond her reproductive period. She'll be great playing old ladies.The American soldiers don't really have much to say, and what they say is dubbed. I preferred the first version, in which there is a scene that has an American coming out into the open and shouting for the kids to surrender and go back to Kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN! A word that means the same in both German and English and is taken as an insult by one of the more ideologically rabid kids, who then shoots the American, who dies in agony with his intestines exposed. Here, the Americans talk about not wanting to make war on children. In the original, I recall only one such sentiment, brutally expressed: "What are you kids doing in this frigging war anyway?" My judgment is infallible, as my shrink has told me many times. "Your judgment is infallible," he always says, then, "Now please write out the check." Given that infallibility, you can rely on my word when I recommend watching the original, if you can find it anywhere. The director was Bernhard Wicki.
brickley220
I did not realise that this was a TV remake of Berhard Wicki's 1959 classic 'Die Brucke' especially as the cover was more misleading than a James Bond movie and the credits stated that the screenplay was based upon a book by Gregor Dorfmeister (Wicki's masterpiece credited a novel by Manfred Gregor). In fact it was a remake of 'Die Bruck' albeit with the additional sub-plots of a sexual nature. I also was impressed with the attention to detail on the equipment employed and care taken with the Production set and design. Whilst it was not quite the work of art displayed by the 1959 version it was acceptable and fairly realistic. Indeed I thought that it was very well made and was to Feature Film standard. I am still working on identifying some of the kit used but it was all believable for the period. Despite the reliance upon Franke Potente as the main international 'Name' in the cast, the casting was very good and all of the characters were believable and did a grand job in telling this sad tale. I do not believe that most fans of this genre will be too disappointed with this well made little tale of the futility of war.
Shaolin_Apu
The original Die Brücke could be that much appreciated work of art that the fact alone presents too many demands for any conceivable remake. I however found this one surprisingly good, and it certainly was not as bad as some people have claimed it to have been. Why to make just similar movie again?Seven poorly trained schoolboys are given a mission to hold out against a strategically important bridge. Germany has a lack of manpower by spring 1945, schoolboys fight alongside with old men: the last remaining reserves of the Reich . And the boys are too young to grasp the hopelessness of the situation, unlike their leader who runs away. Movie doesn't anywhere show that the boys were ever trained, but apparently they have some basic training because they can assemble and use several weapons and they can move under cover.Seven schoolboys hold out against seasoned American troops? Given that they have a good position with effective weaponry (plus the suggested basic training), and the American commander does not want to fight against children, they possibly could even make it. Weapon freaks will notice hereby a plentiness of rarely seen ww2 equipment, save for the one tank whose type I didn't recognize. Some effects are rather lame too, but I have seen worse and have still forgiven them. I give a relatively high rating because I didn't suffer as much watching it than these boys depicted.
dixibuster
First of all I want to say that I don't know the original movie, but I think thats not important at all. On the other hand I really hope the original movie is better. The story of 7 teenagers forced to fight in the last desperate days of nazi-germanys battle is a typical German war-film-story. Even thou it is not very impressive, it is still the best of the movie. Complains can be made about pretty much everything in the film, because everything in the film lacks sophistication. the look and the atmosphere of the movie are to clean and it feels to empty. even fighting scenes look boring and bad coordinated. the editing is terrible and features some bad continuity mistakes. the dialogs are flat and meaningless. Acting is behind the average. at no time you believe in the characters. Most characters lack a reasonable background story and side-stories that occur don't add to the characters deep at all. in general they are useless, because they don't add to the film except for the duration. the side-plots can be ignored. overall this film is unimportant, badly made and lacks in all important aspects of film-making. If you want to deal with the topic of youth in Nazi-Germany and how it suffered from the fanatical NS-education system, I recommend to see "Napola" instead. that would also spare you from some ridiculous fighting scenes...
