Absolutely amazing

A Disappointing Continuation

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Don't worry about reading the spoilers: the film was spoiled before it was ever made. During the last days of WW2 a small riverside town in Germany is threatened by advancing US forces. Overzealous local officials press a class of schoolboys into uniform in a last ditch attempt to protect the bridge long enough for retreating German units. But then the story turns into absurdity. Within a few hours of recruitment the boys are treated like criminals hounded and abused by older soldiers and officers who apparently have absolutely no regard for these kids at all. Every single adult German male under the age of 90 (excepting the schoolmaster) is depicted as overbearing, abusive, aggressive, selfish, depraved or simply drunken.This production is an utter insult to German war veterans who are depicted here as monsters. It perpetuates the propaganda that every single Nazi official was sub human and that the Germans are highly susceptible to control by lunatics. Even the Americans are ridiculously portrayed. A fighter plane spots a young couple by the river and sprays them with bullets. The pilot even returns for another attempt when he misses them. A bomber pilot spots the boys on the bridge and discharges a 2 ton bomb in an effort to clear them. The fact that the bridge might be useful for his own advancing troops never occurs to him. The advancing column has a single tank which once destroyed has no backup to take out the defenders. An entire company of trained soldiers is quite unable to deal with 6 schoolboys who have made themselves a simple dug out behind a small wall. A few grenades or mortars would have finished the boys in ten minutes but after a two day engagement in which the Americans lose at least 5 soldiers they eventually pull back for reinforcements. But it gets worse. The boys are portrayed by actors as old as 23 and only one has a voice remotely like a 16 year old. They all speak and behave just like 21st century lads who have just had a night on the city club scene rather than simple country schoolboys from the time of their grandfathers. One of them even uses American style yells of joy when killing a soldier. The only trained lad amongst them (who had been to Napola military school) blows himself up because he doesn't know how to check safety catches on anti tank rockets. And when told to withdraw so another unit can destroy the bridge and thereby delay the advance these fantasy kids aim their guns at their own comrades in an attempt to continue their mission to protect it. Rather than arresting them, the German unit, obviously beaten by two insane schoolboys, simply abandons the bridge and sprays them with bullets as they leave. The original 1959 version is a masterpiece of German cinema. Every reader is recommended to watch it. But this remake is simply a waste of your time unless such propaganda has any appeal.

The people who made this awful remake should hide and shame. As a German shortly born after the war I saw the original as a boy and that movie has made a lasting impact on me and I have never ever seen a war movie or shall we say a Anti war movie better than the ORIGINAL "Die Brücke". This remake should be burn and forgotten IT IS AWFUL nd waste of time. Look for the original instead. The remake does not even come close to the time it happens, the feeling is all wrong The love story it total out of place and out of context. Even the language is not the language or use of the language during that period of time. Have you ever seen the original "Die Brücke" you will laugh about this stupid remake.

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.

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...