The Bridge (2006 film)

Infobox Film
name = The Bridge


caption = Movie poster for "The Bridge"
director = Eric Steel
producer = Eric Steel
writer = Eric Steel
starring =
music = Alex Heffes
cinematography = Peter McCandless
editing = Sabine Krayenbühl
distributor = Koch-Lorber Films (North American DVD)
released = flagicon|USA October 27, 2006
runtime = 93 min.
country = U.S.
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0799954

"The Bridge" is a 2006 documentary film by Eric Steel that tells the stories of a handful of individuals who committed suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge in 2004. The film was inspired by an article entitled "Jumpers," written by Tad Friend appearing in "The New Yorker" magazine in 2003. [ [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/10/13/031013fa_fact "Jumpers" - The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge] , Tad Friend, "The New Yorker", October 13, 2003]

Synopsis

"The Bridge" focuses on the large number of suicides that occur each year at the Golden Gate Bridge, capturing footage of the suicides and interviewing family members. Also interviewed are people who have attempted suicide at the bridge, witnesses of the suicides and a jump survivor.

The movie was shot with multiple cameras pointed at a notorious suicide spot on the bridge during 2004. It captured 19 people as they took their final plunge, and then offers interviews with grieving families.

Filming

Steel interviewed relatives of the suicide victims, not informing them that he had footage of their loved ones' deaths. He claimed that "All the family members now, at this point, have seen the film, [and are] glad that they had participated in it." [ [http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2592841&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 "The Bridge of Death"] ABC News, October 20, 2006]

The project was kept a secret in order to avoid a situation where someone would "get it into his or her head to go to the bridge and immortalize him or herself on film." During the filming, one person jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge every 15 days on average. ["The bridge of suicide", Catherine Philip, The Times, February 28, 2007] Assuming that the rate remains steady, this means a total of approximately 24 suicides each year.

The documentary caused significant controversy when Eric Steel revealed that he had tricked the Golden Gate Bridge committee into allowing him to film the bridge for months and had captured 23 of 24 known suicides which took place during the filming phase of the project. In his permit application to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area Steel said he intended "to capture the powerful, spectacular intersection of monument and nature that takes place every day at the Golden Gate Bridge". [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/19/MNGENASPH31.DTL Film captures suicides on Golden Gate Bridge] , Phillip Matier & Andrew Ross, "San Francisco Chronicle," January 19, 2005.]

Distribution

A DVD version of the film was released by Koch Lorber Films on June 12, 2007.

Reception

"The Bridge" received mostly positive reviews, receiving a 69 percent Fresh from 53 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which states the critical consensus as: "Tactlessly morbid or remarkably sensitive? Deeply disturbing or viscerally fascinating? Critics are divided on Eric Steel’s unique documentary on the Golden Gate Bridge, wonder of the modern world and notorious suicide destination."

References

External links

* [http://www.thebridge-themovie.com/ Website for the Movie]
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