Product Details

• Actors: Vanessa Paradis, Daniel Auteuil, Frédéric Pfluger, Demetre Georgalas, Catherine Lascault
• Directors: Patrice Leconte
• Writers: Serge Frydman
• Producers: Christian Fechner, Hervé Truffaut
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Letterboxed, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: French, Italian
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005A1UG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,146 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a work of art, July 3, 2008

By 

Frank Leonidas - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl on the Bridge (DVD)

It's very seldom that a film truly deserves a perfect FIVE star rating; well, at least a film from the past ten years or so. You know that old saying: they don't make 'em like they used to anymore? That's true, except for Girl on the Bridge. This film is simply put: wistful. It sparkles with a peculiar romantic intensity and a vividness that is not often found in contemporary films; whatever the language. It's as if Cukor or Hawks or Capra stepped out of the past to guide this little film along. It would take the French to make a movie this glowing with romantic saturation. The director is Patrice Leconte. That name will probably not mean much to most people outside of France or Europe, but in his native country he is as famous and respected a living filmmaker as there ever was. When you look at the body of Leconte's work it may not seem impressive at first. He doesn't have a mile long list of blockbuster hits to his name (like Scorsese or Spielberg) but he makes the most of every single film he creates and when viewed as a whole, his films mostly share a similar thread: two lonely and desperate people trying to make a connection in a cruel world.

In some of Leconte's films the connection is as simple as friendship (The Man on the Train '02, My Best Friend '06) but mostly his films revolve around the eminent concept of love (Girl on the Bridge '99, The Widow of Saint-Pierre '00) and to some degree obsession (Monsieur Hire '89, The Hairdresser's Husband '90, Intimate Strangers '04). But do not mistake me, Girl on the Bridge is not some weepy romantic tear-jerker. On the contrary, it is something of an anomaly. It is about two damaged people who share a bond that neither one can quite understand or ultimately ignore. How you feel about that bond in question is up to you since some may say it's luck, and others might say it's clairvoyance. Yes. There is an air of mysticism to the proceedings in Girl on the Bridge, but believe me, in terms of the story it's what makes the whole thing click. That and the chemistry of the two stars: Daniel Auteuil and Vanessa Paradis (better known as the future Mrs. Johnny Depp).

Auteuil dominates the film with his world-weary eyes and saggy face. There is something brutal about him that lingers caged under a gentle surface; he's like a Gallic Bogart with more spontaneity. In this film he plays a professional knife thrower. When one considers the type of person it must take to have knives thrown at them at high velocity, it's no wonder he finds his would-be assistants on the ledges of Parisian bridges after nightfall. This particular would-be target is played by the delicate, sensual and callow Paradis. Their stormy professional relationship (replete with psychic bond) soon matures into a true friendship and eventual...well, I'll leave the rest up to you to discover. The film is filled with playful yet ravishing cinematography (courtesy of Jean-Marie Dreujou) and a haunting musical score (featuring the unforgettable Marianne Faithfull). It's funny, erotic and above all else a film that fills the senses and leaves you breathless. Legend Films presents Girl on the Bridge in a sparkling anamorphic transfer with pleasing sound. This is the first time the film has been released on DVD in region 1, and believe me, it was long overdue. I showed this film to someone once and all they could say afterward was: "it looked like one of those black and white cologne or diamond commercials on TV." Yeah, I suppose there are some people who could look at Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel and sum it up by saying: "it sure went high up." It's so easy for some to miss the point. I think what Leconte is trying to say with most of his films is that love is inherently simple, yet we as human beings complicate the matter every time. Perhaps it's something in our nature. Is it the heart that's responsible? The head? The gut? Maybe it's the whole damn thing...

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars most beautiful film, February 18, 2001

By 

Z. Liu (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girl on the Bridge [VHS] (VHS Tape)

After I saw this film, I liked to say that the last film I saw was in French and black and white. This film has all the wonders of both. In our age of vivid color and candid sex, this film is both erotic and subtle. Although throwing knife as phallic symbol does not suggest it, this film is sensual, not sexual. Vanessa Paradis and Daniel Auteil make an amazing pair. Her supermodel good looks and flippant sexuality makes her HOT the perfect foil for his calm, collected COOL as they go on a gallavanting tour of behind the big tent Europe. This is a film for clever sentamentalists and cynics alike. Sure, the film takes an "other half" attitude to love, but it also makes it plainly clear that love is altogether fragile, and cannot hold.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes Your Breath Away, July 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Girl on the Bridge [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I don't even know where to begin writing about this movie. It follows young Adele, who thinks that her life is worthless and wants to kill herself by jumping off a bridge. Of corse, she dosen't (or else we wouldn't have much of a movie) and is confronted by a circus-knife-throwing man who says he can make her life better as she starts to plunge. This movie is all about how you control your own luck in life, or atleast that is what I felt the message was. It wasn't until I had finished the movie and gotten into bed that i realized that this THE most beautiful movie I have ever seen. It was just so light and and enjoyable, and made you smile inside. Beautiful is a word I have never used to describe a movie before. I always say "funny" or "cute" or "awful" or even "awsome". But never "beautiful" -until now. I have no idea why it's rated R. There was one profain word and nothing explicit (I mean NOTHING) in the whole film. I would even let a 10 year old watch it- just so they can see what a good movie is supposed to be like. Vanessa Paradis has proven to me with this that she is not just one of my favorite singers and models, but is a really great and serious actress. Everything I saw in this film impressed me. And please don't worry about having to read the subtitles! After 2 minutes, I promise you'll be so involved you won't notice or care. If you loved Chocolat, or Amelie, or anything like that, TRY THIS. (It's so inexpensive you might as well buy it. I couldn't find it in Blockbuster anyway.) Absolutley incredible! I don't know if I'll ever find another movie that can touch me this deeply.