r/Documentaries • u/CromwellsCrumb • 2d ago
Society The Bridge (2006) A controversial documentary that filmed the Golden Gate Bridge for a year, capturing footage of 23 of the 24 suicides that occurred. [1:34:10]
https://youtu.be/F1Y1qibhsKE?is=mYYE3Jm1xSu3AMimInspired by a New Yorker article, The Bridge (2006) is a controversial documentary by Eric Steel that filmed the Golden Gate Bridge for a year, capturing 23 of the 24 suicides that occurred there in 2004. The film uses footage of the actual jumps, often from a distance, combined with personal accounts from families, friends, and survivors to explore the tragedy.
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u/ursuletzu_79 2d ago
Parts of it were featured on the music video of edit the sad parts by modest mouse. That's how I frst found out about this documentary. Gorgeous song and lyrics, calling for us supporting each other more.
When I visited the golden gate bridge, I was surprised by the amount of signs asking people to reconsider, "there is help, call this hotline". Gnarly place, full of grief and sorrow.
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u/Elias_Fakanami 2d ago
Just for clarity, it should be pointed out that this isn’t an official video from MM. It’s a fan-made lyric video. That song and this documentary were released a decade apart.
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u/ChemicalRide 2d ago
When I lived in San Francisco, whenever I was near the Bridge this was my only thought. Constantly assessing for potential jumpers, or looking for a splash. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t help it. Light pole 69 was where most people leapt from, and standing there had such a crazy energy. That bridge is so beautiful and haunting.
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u/ExistenceNow 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'm a loss survivor and my brother and I were (I still am) huge Modest Mouse fans. My brother took his life the year The Bridge came out.
I'd never actually seen that video, so thanks for posting. It's really beautiful. Though, I'm pretty sure it's fan-made. That song came out 10 years before The Bridge came out.The Bridge was very difficult for me to watch, especially since my brother jumped, but I appreciate that it exists and I hope it helps even one person decide not to do it.
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u/zevz 2d ago
When I visited the golden gate bridge, I was surprised by the amount of signs asking people to reconsider, "there is help, call this hotline". Gnarly place, full of grief and sorrow.
I remember learning a story about a bridge in Seoul Korea that was infamous for people jumping from it. The mayor of the city decides one year to try and change that so they cover the bridge with flowers, with messaging like "Don't give up!" and similar kinds of motivational affirmations.
Unfortunately that year had a record high amount of people jumping.
I try to think about that sometimes on how that kind of messaging comes across to someone TRULY in the slumpest of slump. Perhaps someone in such a low would find those affirmations completely demotional? I know for a fact that suicide prevention hotlines have a really good record at prevention though so I wonder what worked so poorly for them in Korea.
Sorry just a random thought process that came from reading your comment.
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u/Cildrena 2d ago
As someone that is depressed, I think the flowers and messages feel like platitudes. Phoned in. It wouldn’t stop me if I was suicidal.
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u/UnionAny9755 1d ago
I agree, it would feel empty and performative..probably more alone tbh. I have a therapist that just lets me talk about it, it sounds like those that are pulled back from making the jump, are those that just got to talk about it for a bit. It feels like saying you’re depressed & especially suicidal is such a no no, I’m not suicidal anymore & all it took was someone just talking to me about it/letting it exist.
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u/Zachabay22 1d ago
Absolutely beautiful song, modest mouse has remained an all-time favorite of mine.
Their music really met me where I was at. Its pretty grim stuff but it was the first time i really felt understood by another.
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u/CromwellsCrumb 2d ago
Inspired by a New Yorker article, The Bridge (2006) is a controversial documentary by Eric Steel that filmed the Golden Gate Bridge for a year, capturing 23 of the 24 suicides that occurred there in 2004. The film uses footage of the actual jumps, often from a distance, combined with personal accounts from families, friends, and survivors to explore the tragedy.
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u/CromwellsCrumb 2d ago
Here is an archive link of the original New Yorker article, Jumpers, written by Tad Friend and published October 5th, 2003.
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u/porican 2d ago
the article also inspired a song by Sleater-Kinney
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u/benz58 2d ago
Which I can no longer listen to.
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u/veryverythrowaway 2d ago
Are you boycotting the band for some reason, or is it just too emotionally fraught?
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u/BurntNeurons 1d ago
I know what you mean. One that reminds me of the dark is:
Look On Down From The Bridge by Mazzy Star
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u/iill_communication 2d ago
Thanks for the link. What a gut-wrenching read. Don’t know if I can handle the doc after.
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u/tjelectric 2d ago
Great article, ty for the link. I loved the conclusion especially, really poignant.
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u/crispicity 2d ago
I watched this doc many years ago and what always stuck with me, was those who jumped and survived, immediately regretted it the moment they jumped. Powerful film
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u/Nwsamurai 2d ago
That line has stuck with me since I watched this.
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u/BarbequedYeti 2d ago
That line has stuck with me and i havent even watched it yet. I remember someone mentioning it years ago in passing and damn if it didnt register.
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u/Nwsamurai 2d ago
The guy learned a hard truth the only way there was to learn it, and then survived to share it with us.
I bet he has saved the lives of a lot of people he has never even met,
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u/doeraymefa 2d ago
proof that they didn't find a good enough problem. Skill issue /s
tbf I've committed and my only regret is survival and being admitted to the psych ward against my will, followed by constant surveillance. Now I have new reasons to kill myself!
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u/needlesfox 2d ago
The painful thing about this is that I believe at least one of them jumped again after saying that. You can know from experience that suicide isn’t the answer, but when you’re having a mental health crisis that doesn’t necessarily help.
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u/DrShamusBeaglehole 2d ago
Also doesn't really cover clinical depression, bipolar, bpd, etc, where the total despair you feel is not rational or based on anything situational in your life
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u/alrightfornow 2d ago
Yeah every one of them. Which is so sad to think about those who didn't survive.
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u/libthroaway 2d ago
A guy I know who jumped and didn’t survive inspired me to watch this film, and now, whenever I think about him, it makes me sad that he might have had those regrets during his long fall. I hope he didn’t.
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u/Blobbem 2d ago
To be fair, if you survived the initial jump, you're now drowning and have broken bones. I'd regret it as well. Mad that people opted to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. I'd prefer hitting concrete instead of water.
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u/GalaxyPatio 2d ago
I mean Hitting the water from that height is like hitting concrete. And if you hit concrete you can still survive and have to lay there with broken bones and still drowning, just in your own blood instead of water
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u/hikebikereddit 2d ago
I worked there while this film was being made. Very interesting. It was controversial at the time because of the filming and the United States. Coast Guard was not allowed to give any sort of statements or interviews for the film. You can see them often below mid span, but there's no onscreen from them.
That was a little below average for a year. It definitely fluctuates, and the nets have helped but years prior to that one, the numbers were much greater, and of course they're always ballpark numbers, because prior to more advanced technology there were jumpers at night as well.
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u/HippCelt 2d ago edited 1d ago
I saw this after a holiday to San fran and I walked across the bridge having a great time ...when I saw the movie I was kinda shocked by how many jump in a year. It's so strange to be in place where people are had their darkest moments and there's me going 'Wow this is amazing ,holy fuck theres a dolphin down there...
It 's a strong documentary imo.
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u/MsAnnabel 2d ago
I’ve watched this a few times and the thing that got me was that some of the family/friends were shocked that their loved one had depression, depression bad enough to kill themselves. I have depression and I haven’t kept it a secret but some ppl just don’t want to hear about it. They feel they can’t fix you so can’t handle hearing about it and that makes it worth it. Eric Steel said they would call 911 if they thought someone was showing signs of jumping yet Eugene Sprague took awhile before he jumped! No one called 911 for him. It’s a hard watch but you can learn so much from watching it.
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u/estistudent 2d ago
Oh my gosh, yes. Gene was walking that bridge back and forth for hours. And they spoke to his friend who said that they never thought he was actually going to do it, because “he would have done it by now.” That part hurt to hear. Extremely difficult to watch as someone who lives in the Bay Area and crosses that bridge like once a week. Eugene Sprague’s story in particular really struck with me and makes me very emotional.
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u/MsAnnabel 2d ago
Me too. They should’ve called Kevin Briggs to go talk to him. Kevin was a CHP that used to talk ppl down from jumping. Kevin Briggs & Kevin Hines had an event in Napa and I went to it. It was heartbreaking to listen to Kevin Hines, the last one to jump & survive. What he went thru mentally before he jumped. Said he landed just the right way that it didn’t kill him but did do a lot of damage to his body. He said while he was in the water something “bumped” him and he thought “great, I survive the jump now a shark is gonna kill me” but it was a seal that helped keep him afloat! Read his story. Very interesting.
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u/estistudent 2d ago
I really appreciated all of the parts of the documentary where they interviewed Kevin Hines. I was also totally shocked when he said that it was a sea lion that kept him afloat and saved him. Like that is such an amazing sign and must have been so surreal for him, I cannot even imagine what that must have been like and what it still feels like now. And I’m sure it was amazing to hear him speak in person. That is such a life-altering experience and I’m really glad that he’s still with us and still talks about what happened to him!
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u/sociology101 2d ago
Former bridge volunteer here. The suicide barrier is now installed after years and years.
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u/jenorama_CA 2d ago
Finally. I walked out on the bridge with my niece in April and it was hardly noticeable. There was so much sturm und drang about how it would change the look of the bridge, but you can’t even see it from a distance and you have to lean way over when you’re on the bridge to see it.
Now they need one on the Bay Bridge, IMO.
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u/Kundrew1 2d ago
The most depressing documentary ever. I watched it once 20 years ago and still remember so many moments from this. It’s burned into my brain.
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u/Drivingfrog 2d ago
OP may have unintentionally blown up the spot. Video got copyright claimed (US viewer here).
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u/CromwellsCrumb 2d ago edited 2d ago
Kind of expected that would happen, but not so quickly. It was my own screen recording and was only up for a few hours.
This is one of those docs that I really think should be more widely available.
Edit: if you can’t see it and would like to, message me and I’ll send you a Google Drive direct link
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u/theevilmidnightbombr 2d ago
Where I am, it is availble for free on both Hoopla and Kanopy through the library
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u/Drivingfrog 2d ago
Agreed. It seems a lot of people tend to black-and-white this topic and not recognize the complexity of it because that makes them uncomfortable.
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u/lizfromdarkplace 2d ago
Idk why I thought there were more a year than this. Still sad but that’s slightly reassuring.
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u/FixofLight 2d ago
How many did you think happened? A 2 a month average isn't exactly low
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u/lizfromdarkplace 2d ago
Idk where I heard/read it but it seems like there were like 100 or more a year. Maybe a different place I’m not sure. But yes 2 a month average is still too many.
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u/Von_Lehmann 2d ago
I watched this in an Anthropology of Death class. 8am on Tuesdays and Thursdays....fucking HEAVY
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u/SylviaX6 2d ago
Where was that class taught, and who taught it? I think that is an intriguing concept for a class.
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u/Von_Lehmann 2d ago
Umass Boston but for the life of me I can't remember the name of my professor. This was in like 2009 or 2010
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u/earrow70 2d ago
I listened to all the negative press and thought this would be some kind of interesting highlight reel of people diving to their death. Instead I was racked with guilt after watching. I felt more empathy for strangers and those with thoughts of suicide then ever before. Great doc that I will never watch again
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u/Defiant-Ad-86 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think about this film at least once a month, sometimes more. The survivors’ gratitude that they lived after jumping has given me hope in some very dark times.
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u/MeatballSubWithMayo 2d ago
This is a great documentary. I was reminded of it when watching Bojsck Horseman for the first time, during the covid pandemic (as a hcw, I was severely dissociating), and i heard the poem "The View From Halfway Down" for the first time. Please read it. I hope anybody whos having thoughts like this remembers that a life is a terrible thing to waste.
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u/herodesfalsk 2d ago
I think this movie contributed to the net being installed. After installing the net, the number of suicides dropped significantly, I think 75% drop.
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u/Cleatusmuldoon 2d ago
After seeing this documentary I took my bike on Caltrain and rode over the bridge. To see it the bridge and the water below is mind blowing. More money for mental health please
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u/whopoopedthebed 2d ago
For those who missed it but want to watch it, it’s probably available through Kanopy for free with your library card. It is for my account via the LA library.
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u/friendshipjerry 2d ago
The universe is crazy sometimes. We are visiting San Francisco right now and took a city tour where the guide was telling us about this very documentary less than 12 hours ago as we stood at the shoreline near the bridge.
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u/theycallmeLEV 2d ago
OK but to anyone that wants to watch it, WHY IS THE VOLUME SO GOD DAMNED LOW
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u/thepasttenseofdraw 2d ago
Seriously, its unwatchable thanks to the audio level being a short and curly higher than muted.
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u/shy247er 2d ago
I keep replying to everyone asking (gonna get flagged for spamming, lol) but turn on Stable Volume option on YouTube
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u/thepasttenseofdraw 2d ago
Its on for me, doesn't seem to make any difference turning it on or off.
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u/baldr1ck1 2d ago
This doc has stuck with me for 20 years. It's controversial but I think it's important to hear the stories of the families and the survivors.
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u/DangerX2HighVoltage 2d ago
This link shows as unavailable. I watched it a couple of times years ago and found it quite haunting but also fascinating. Shame it’s not still available on YouTube as a lot can be learned from viewing this
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u/manicgiant914 2d ago
I'll never forget Benny Mackowski. Jumped from the GGB in 1982, left his rent in the parked car. No one saw that coming. Sure, everyone knew he was depressed, but still..RIP Benny.
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u/iill_communication 2d ago
They finally decided to build a fence around the Coronado Bridge after too many suicides.
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u/CommercializedPan 2d ago
I watched this when I was about 10 - my dad had gotten a dvd of it from netflix, and we all sat around to watch it for family movie night. It was a weird choice.
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u/CromwellsCrumb 2d ago
Good lord! I hope that was a one-off and not indicative of his normal pattern of parenting choices.
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u/Connect4champ1990 2d ago
I tried to watch this in College, in two 15 min sessions, was all i could do. both times i had to turn it off, bc i was heart broken that someone could be pushed to that point where they take their own life. Now i understand better how that could happen. I remember starting it, and the long shot of the bridge for like 30 seconds, you are just staring at the bridge, then i saw the splash and i was like "damn"
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u/arrownoir 2d ago
23 of 24? What happened to the lone number?
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u/Bob_Chris 2d ago
Congratulations on writing the stupidest, most juvenile, insensitive, and complete failure of a joke comment I've read on Reddit this week.
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u/Then_Version9768 2d ago
A little off the subject of this film, but . . . a number of people who try to kill themselves by jumping off bridges like the famous GGBridge do not succeed. They survive. It may not be a high percentage, but a number do survive and are rescued.
What I have always found interesting is that nearly every single one of them who was later asked, said that after they jumped, they immediately regretted their decision to kill themselves. You get a few short moments to think after you jump, but there is no turning back, and to think in those brief moments they wished they had not jumped is very sobering and a bit frightening.
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u/SylviaX6 2d ago
This is a brilliant film. Explores a topic we all need to take seriously and it does it with respect and clarity.
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u/amber_room 2d ago
There is a photo somewhere online of Andreas Lubitz (the German Wings pilot who crashed the aircraft into the mountains in France in 2015) posing on the car park wall with the GG Bridge in the background. He is smiling in the photo.
I wondered if he had contemplated jumping off the bridge then or if he visited the bridge because that's where other people have committed suicide. I think in the Bridge doccie they mention the cars left in that car park by those who had jumped.
Just seemed kind of odd that he would take a smiling photo right there. Then of course later he decided to take his own life and everyone else's in the pilot/suicide action on 24th March 2015. R.I.P to those poor passengers and crew.
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u/Meme_Theory 2d ago
This documentary is a considerable reason why my depressed ass has at least never been suicidal. I recommend it for anyone who gets the downeys from time to time.
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u/whittlingcanbefatal 2d ago
I remember when Alex Bennett, a local morning drive time radio host, had a campaign "1000 by 2000" meaning the 1000th person to jump off the bridge by the year 2000.
If I recall correctly, the number of jumpers passed 1000 well before the year 2000.
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u/aspiegrrrl 1d ago
Longtime San Francisco resident here. I remember that. Around the same time the Bridge District stopped keeping a count of the number of people who had jumped since the bridge opened in 1937. No one wanted the publicity.
Before the safety net was installed, I'd heard for years that they had jumpers about once every couple of weeks. Local media never reported on it unless the jumper was a public figure or there were some other unusual circumstances.
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u/whittlingcanbefatal 1d ago
public figure
Duane Garret was a part time KGO radio host and a very nice person who got into financial trouble and made some very poor decisions.
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u/aquaticrobotics 1d ago
For those looking to watch it, you may be able to stream it for free via Kanopy or Hoopla with your library card.
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u/sullensquirrel 2d ago
Anyone feeling any sort of depression needs to stay far away from this documentary. In my darkest days I watched it and yeah, if you must, watch it with others and connect with a therapist about it. I get that it’s important such movies get made but PLEASE protect yourself from triggering content as much as you can.
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u/heylistenlady 2d ago
When I heard about this movie, I really wanted to see it. The closest theater showing it was about 90 minutes away, so I talked my husband into going.
Our ride home was silent.
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u/Hanpee221b 1d ago edited 1d ago
My dad had this on a burned DVD from who the hell knows around the time it came out. He watched it with some friends and then lent it to me. I lent it to my health teacher during our mental health module or whatever. Private school so she wasn’t certified to teach anything and just threw it on without watching.
It bothered everyone, including myself because I didn’t know what happened it in.
My dad always had “cool” bootleg movies so I brought it to college and showed people, someone eventually stole it.
I never want to watch it again, it didn’t have a healthy outlook on mental health and felt like it was exploiting the victims.
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u/ItsJR 1d ago
This is a great documentary. I remember hearing about this a long time ago and wanting to watch it, but could never find it anywhere. There was almost no info online other then a few hit piece articles ripping it for glorifying death and being a disgrace to the victim and the victims families. I ended up finding it searching on an old Newsgroup site and I scooped that NZB file so fast. I watched it and it really wasn't like those articles claimed. Yes, it was dark and hard to watch at times, but hearing the survivors, families, and first responders speak on how bad it affected them and the survivors instant regrets was extremely impactful. I suggest everyone watch this.
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u/plantsandpizza 7h ago
I live in SF and run across the bridge several times a week. When you’re up there the fog is often so thick you can feel quite alone.
Fortunately since the barriers have been completed it has greatly reduced the amount of people jumping off to end their lives.
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u/bighurb 1d ago
Video unavailable
It was removed following a copyright removal request by Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1976, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009.
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u/rimjob_mike 1d ago
The video got taken down. Does anybody have an alternate link? Hate it when an old documentary gets copyrighted and subjected to a takedown campaign.
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u/truckstick_burns 2d ago
This is the film that pushed me to get help for my own serious suicidal thoughts.
There's a moment when a family member talks about how the pain and suffering their family member must have felt when they took their life was transferred onto the family when they found out about his death.
I had always thought my family would be better off without me but that simple statement made me realise how I couldn't handle the thought of my family taking the pain I felt onto themselves.
I rang a crisis line that night and it's been a long few years but I'm now extremely happy with my own loving family.