Original title: Die Brucke
Year: 1959
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins.
Country: Germany
Language: German
Subtitles: English (.srt)
Genre: Drama | War

Director: Bernhard Wicki

Cast:
Folker Bohnet … Hans Scholten
Fritz Wepper … Albert Mutz
Michael Hinz … Walter Forst
Frank Glaubrecht … Jurgen Borchert
Karl Michael Balzer … Karl Horber
Volker Lechtenbrink … Klaus Hager
Günther Hoffmann … Sigi Bernhard
Cordula Trantow … Franziska
Wolfgang Stumpf … Stern
Günter Pfitzmann … Heilmann
Heinz Spitzner … Fröhlich
Siegfried Schürenberg … Lt. Colonel
Ruth Hausmeister … Mrs. Mutz
Eva Vaitl … Mrs. Borchert
Edith Schultze-Westrum … Mother Bernhard

Plot/Synopsis:

Based on a true incident, this powerful anti-war drama from West Germany tells of a group of teenagers in 1945 who are drafted into the remnants of Hitler’s army. Called on to defend a bridge leading to their hometown from the approaching American forces, the young men prepare to carry out their duty…even if it costs them their lives.

The Bridge is one of the most-powerful antiwar films ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by Manfred Gregor, it depicts seven Bavarian schoolboys who face death defending an insignificant bridge against an American attack in the last days of World War 2. The film first vividly pictures the home lives and personal problems of the boys. Then we see the boys joyfully discover they are being drafted into the Wehrmacht, after which they are assigned to defend a bridge at the edge of their town. Unknown to them, a colonel has given them this assignment because the bridge is strategically useless, planning to withdraw them before the Germans blow it up.

This film did not come easily to the screen. Many publishers rejected Manfred Gregor’s book, several directors rejected the script, and the young actors in the film had little or no experience. Yet in the end The Bridge succeeded spectacularly. The director, Bernhard Wicki, was able to elicit harrowing performances from his cast, and the film received accolades from all over the World, including an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award in America.

Torrent Download
The Bridge (1959)
Uploaded By : dstead