An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge1962

I saw this on tv when I was 12 and never forgot it. Haunting and dreamlike. Wonderful soundtrack.

There is a paradoxical conundrum here. “Owl Creek Bridge” is one of the truly great short stories in literature. So great in fact, the plot has been adapted, borrowed, stolen, hijacked, and vivisected numerous times in other films, tv shows, comic books, and so on. And like other well-known/well-worn tales such as “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Gift of the Magi,” we know how it will all end up before it’s even started.

That said, Robert Enrico’s 1962 film is still the definitive version of Ambrose Bierce’s amazing tale. The eerie atmosphere, minimal composition and taut suspense of this film are reminiscent of the work of Georges Franju and Henri-Georges Clouzot. Equally chilling (though lesser-known) are Erico’s other two film adaptations of Bierce stories, “Chickamauga,” and “The Mockingbird.” Those two films are highly recommended.

I remembered this from high school. It was a ONE REELER for my English class. Somehow it seemed more amazing when I was fifteen, but really, it is simply that this story has been retold so many times in the intervening years, and this film was so seminal that most filmmakers have it I n their subconscious minds. It is a classic.

I wonder if Tarkovsky saw that opening shot before he made Ivan? Beautiful and poetic.

I'm not reviewing the film itself, which is quite good and well worth watching, but not here on Fandor. The quality of the print here is so poor, in both video and audio, that it would be a disservice to watch this film for the first time here. Hopefully somewhere down the line, a better print of this will come along. (March 21, 2016)

Effective.

good ending