The Bridge of San Luis Rey Movie Review 2005

Thornton Wilder's moving, Pulitzer Prize-winning 1928 novel is disastrously adapted by director McGluckian, with stellar actors generally miscast in a stuffy costume drama. In colonial Peru in the early 18th century, Franciscan missionary Brother Juniper (Byrne) has been investigating five travelers who plunged to their deaths when the titular bridge collapsed. He's trying to determine if there's some common denominator to their fate and delivers his conclusions to a church court presided over by the Archbishop of Lima (De Niro). Flashbacks depict the lives of the victims and their survivors and the abrupt shifts in scene and character make for confusion.

Distribution

New Line Home Video, 116 N. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, Phone: (310)854-5811, Fax: (310)854-1824, URL: http://www.newline.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on DVD
Running time 120 minutes.
Originally from Spanish, British, French.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Books to Film: Thornton Wilder, Period Piece: 18th Century, South America, Clergymen, Nuns & Priests, Bridges, Screen Teams: De Niro & Keitel

Cast

Robert De Niro, F. Murray Abraham, Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Emilie Dequenne, Adriana Dominguez, Harvey Keitel, Pilar Lopez de Ayala, John Lynch, Mark Polish, Michael Polish

Cinematography

Javier Aguirresarobe

Director

Mary McGuckian

Music

Lalo Schifrin

Other

Peter Glossop, Sylvie Landra, Yvonne Blake

Producer

Samuel Hadida, Michael Cowan, Denis O'Dell, Spice Factory, Kanzaman S.A., Davis Films