The Night the Bridge Fell Down Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Night the Bridge Fell Down Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 12, 2023

1979’s “The Night the Bridge Fell Down” is a television movie that finally aired in the U.S. in 1983. It’s an Irwin Allen endeavor created at a time when such things were out of style, finding the once mighty production force reduced to making nonsense for T.V., including this miniseries, which went virtually unwatched when it premiered, slotted against the final episode of “M*A*S*H,” so don’t feel too bad if you’ve never even heard of it. It’s also fine if you’ve never seen “The Night the Bridge Fell Down,” which is arguably one of the worst Allen offerings, rivaling “Hanging by a Thread” in terms of complete filmmaking immobility and lameness of premise. It’s a real chore to sit through, carrying the vibe of a project that was slapped together to burn off a contract, with little effort put into the picture to make it compelling.

Cal (James MacArthur) is a bridge engineer concerned about the Madison Bridge, which has seen a sudden uptick in car accidents. Learning about the seismic activity pulling the structure apart, Cal orders a shutdown, but city leaders, including Meech (Phillip Baker Hall), refuse his request, forcing him to take matters into his own hands. The bridge soon falls apart with a small collection of commuters on it, with Johnny (Desi Arnaz Jr.) trying to find freedom with his girlfriend, Dee (Char Fontane), recently committing a bank robbery to fund his future. Paul (Leslie Nielsen) has planned the perfect financial crime with his lover, Elaine (Barbara Rush), but a sudden illness facing his infant son derails his escape plan, putting all three on the bridge. Harvey (Richard Gilliland ) is a police officer striving to maintain order, reunited with his ex-girlfriend, Terry (Eve Plumb), who’s looking to become a nun, enjoying work at an orphanage. And painter Diego (Gregory Sierra) is also trapped on the crumbling pile of steel, trying to calm young Judy (Colleen Davis), who reminds him of his own sickly daughter. As Johnny hastily turns a disaster into a hostage situation, Cal, the police, and the fire department work to put together a rescue plan, trying to avoid being shot by the armed crook in the process.

Allen sticks with what he knows in “The Night the Bridge Fell Down,” hiring writers Arthur Weiss, Ray Goldstone, and Michael Robert David to create a collection of characters all stuck in the central disaster. What’s a little odd about this picture is how it offers two elements of crime, finding Johnny taking to a bank robbery to fuel his escape plans with Dee, who isn’t aware of his gun-toting ways. And there’s Paul, who’s aiming to pull off a scam involving photocopied bonds with help from Elaine, who isn’t sure about the whole scheme, but stays committed to the situation. Paul has a baby with a wife he no longer loves (poor kid), and the infant has a fever, forcing Paul to deal with his escape and the needs of a child, greatly complicating his life. Less panicked is Harvey, who’s supremely bummed about the end of his relationship with Theresa, who’s looking to heavenly ways due to an incident that’s rattled her life, finding comfort in the orphans she helps.

Much like “Hanging by a Thread,” “The Night the Bridge Fell Down” is broken up by flashbacks, filling in character motivations as the 194-minute endeavor unfolds. The movie opens with some light panic as Cal springs into action, researching seismic activity around the bridge and butting heads with Meech, a typical city leader unwilling to sacrifice community comfort for safety needs. Disaster soon strikes, leaving the gang trapped on the destroyed bridge, and the static location inspires trips back in time, learning more about the inspiration behind Theresa’s calling, the ache that consumes Diego, and the cruel ways Johnny was treated by his bosses, triggering his rage.

Johnny’s fury is basically as far as screen activity goes in “The Night the Bridge Fell,” with most of the movie devoted to his angry orders and volatile interactions with law enforcement and rescue teams. It grows tiresome in a hurry, but the production has nothing else to offer, dipping into soap opera with rekindled romances and family divide. Physical activity is limited because the setting is so small, but director Georg Fenady isn’t going to let a little thing like that bother him, quickly arranging lengthy scenes of the characters crawling around the bridge, trying to achieve their goals. For Johnny, escape is a possibility, making his moves to figure out a way to avoid capture while still firing his weapon at innocent people. Cal is also working to gain access to the bridge, doing his own exploration in secret. It’s not exciting in the least, but there are three hours to fill in “The Night the Bridge Fell Down,” and more crushingly dull events are generated in the writing, including a lengthy sequence where the rescue squad attempts to fire a rope to the bridge to aid safe passage. And we watch all of their attempts, seemingly completed in real time.

The Night the Bridge Fell Down Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation is working with film that primarily takes place in a single setting during the night. Early scenes manage to show off a range of locations, which remain dimensional, and bridge events also retain intended scale. Interiors preserve decorative additions, and skin particulars are appreciable, exploring age and levels of concern on the actors. Costuming is also fibrous. Colors are stable, with appealing primaries on clothing choices and office spaces. Period hues are also well represented. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is acceptably resolved. Source is in good condition.

The Night the Bridge Fell Down Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix offers a clear understanding of dialogue exchanges, with argumentative behavior and softer emotional moments nicely balanced. Scoring supports with decent instrumentation, delivering active music to help with the picture's limited suspense needs. Sound effects are blunt but appreciable.

The Night the Bridge Fell Down Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

The Night the Bridge Fell Down Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Night the Bridge Fell Down" is a grueling viewing experience, especially when the endeavor is under the belief that the simple act of people crawling around a broken bridge is the height of suspense. Not helping the cause is a general disregard for filmmaking finesse, as continuity errors are periodic, and performances, usually the highlight of any Allen production, are either sleepy (Nielsen looks visibly bored with it all) or painfully melodramatic. The endeavor isn't exactly working with a stellar cast, but thespian energy is noticeably lacking, making the whole thing harder to watch. A few bits of oddity manage to appear, with use of the "Vertigo" theme during climbing sequences most curious, but more often than not, there's nothing happening in "The Night the Bridge Fell Down." It's a static exercise in disaster activity from Allen, with the subgenre milked dry at this point, going from star-studded casts, sizable budgets, and mass appeal to a 194-minute-long tale about emotionally constipated people standing on a bridge, with Desi Arnaz Jr. in the lead role.