I have to say that the biggest strength of this film is probably the script, or I could also say the original novel. The story is just brilliant and you have to be really bad to mess this one up. The filmmakers here certainly did not and same goes for the makers of the remake almost 50 years later. The novel writer behind this is still alive today, way into his 80s and most of the younger actors are as well. "The Bridge" won a Golden Globe, strangely enough with all four other nominees, and also scored an Academy Award nomination, but lost to a French-Brazilian version of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film's director is Bernhard Wicki, really more known for being an actor, for example in "Paris, Texas". The movie runs for roughly 100 minutes and is in black-and-white, which is not too common anymore for around 1960. It was the big winner at the German Film Awards that year and has some actors who are known in Germany to this date, mostly Fritz Wepper probably.
The story is about a group of very young men, pretty much still boys, who have to go to war. Some are thrilled, some are the exact opposite when it comes to defending the Heimat for the Fuehrer. They are given the (pointless) task of defending a bride from the allied forces. The result is a massacre for both sides. There is almost a clean split around the 45 minute mark. Everything before that is introduction to the characters and how they live, while everything afterward is war action. About the latter, we see on several occasions how the young guys are just not ready for war, for example when they forget their helmets and guns or when one of them, during one scene, holds a gun the wrong way and accidentally kills a man. This is also a pretty easy film to watch, especially during the second half as all the action only takes place on one location and it's always exactly the same characters. Nothing truly confusing about this film. I pretty much enjoyed watching this film for the most part. the story is simply great, but I said that before. i also liked what the filmmakers made of it. The last shot is truly a thing of beauty (or should I say ugliness? in a positive sense of course). One difference compared to the remake is that the focus is not really only on one boy here, basically on every member of the group. It's a bit difficult to display many great characters and elaborate convincingly on them in a running time considerably under 120 minutes. I think they did okay with that, although I really had trouble with keeping them apart or knowing who is who. Maybe this will come on another viewing. However, I think there will not be one anytime soon. It is a good movie, but I do not feel a great desire to rewatch it anytime soon. Still, recommended, especially to those with an interest in politics and war movies.
The story is about a group of very young men, pretty much still boys, who have to go to war. Some are thrilled, some are the exact opposite when it comes to defending the Heimat for the Fuehrer. They are given the (pointless) task of defending a bride from the allied forces. The result is a massacre for both sides. There is almost a clean split around the 45 minute mark. Everything before that is introduction to the characters and how they live, while everything afterward is war action. About the latter, we see on several occasions how the young guys are just not ready for war, for example when they forget their helmets and guns or when one of them, during one scene, holds a gun the wrong way and accidentally kills a man. This is also a pretty easy film to watch, especially during the second half as all the action only takes place on one location and it's always exactly the same characters. Nothing truly confusing about this film. I pretty much enjoyed watching this film for the most part. the story is simply great, but I said that before. i also liked what the filmmakers made of it. The last shot is truly a thing of beauty (or should I say ugliness? in a positive sense of course). One difference compared to the remake is that the focus is not really only on one boy here, basically on every member of the group. It's a bit difficult to display many great characters and elaborate convincingly on them in a running time considerably under 120 minutes. I think they did okay with that, although I really had trouble with keeping them apart or knowing who is who. Maybe this will come on another viewing. However, I think there will not be one anytime soon. It is a good movie, but I do not feel a great desire to rewatch it anytime soon. Still, recommended, especially to those with an interest in politics and war movies.