The Bridge (2006) on Netflix
R20061h 33mDocumentary
A camera crew keeps watch on the Golden Gate Bridge through 2004 and films those who come there. Relatives and friends of some of them describe their lives and mental health.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.2/1012,905 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes68%
Trailer
Plot summary
Across 2004, a crew of ten to twelve people filmed the Golden Gate Bridge day and night with telephoto and wide-angle cameras, amassing almost 10,000 hours of footage and recording 23 of the 24 known suicides at the span that year. The project grew out of a 2003 magazine article about people who jump there. Trained in suicide prevention and able to call the bridge authority, the crew intervened when it could, preventing six jumps; in one case a photographer pulled a woman back by her collar. Relatives and friends of some of those who died speak about their lives, and Kevin Hines, who jumped in 2000 and lived, is interviewed.
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Bridge (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Bridge officials accused director Eric Steel of misleading them about his intentions: his permit application to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area said he meant to capture "the powerful, spectacular intersection of monument and nature" at the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Eric Steel interviewed relatives and friends of the suicide victims but did not inform them that he had footage of their loved ones' deaths; he claimed all the family members had by then seen the film and were glad they had participated.
- In 2015 the New Zealand Film and Video Labeling Body asked Netflix to remove The Bridge from its streaming service for being classified as "objectionable", and Netflix complied, removing the documentary from its library.
- The film crew shot almost 10,000 hours of footage, recording 23 of the known 24 suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge in 2004.
- The film's crew, trained in suicide prevention and with their phones programmed to call the bridge authority, succeeded in preventing six jumps during filming.
SPOILER
Jumper Gene Sprague, whose life is shown throughout the film, walked back and forth over the Golden Gate Bridge for 93 minutes on May 11, 2004 while the crew filmed, then climbed the railing and fell motionless into the water.
