La rivière du hibou

This film is chilling, yet absolutely wonderful. One cannot help but to have sympathy for the convicted man. The beauty of nature is displayed quite perfectly in his cute musical number; the sunlight plays wonders with the camera despite the film being in black and white. There is hardly any dialogue to clutter up the message, only one man's struggle to live. The ending is amazing and will leave the viewer's jaw agape. This film is even better than the original short story. Recommended viewing for anyone who craves a short movie that is long on depth.

I am a high school English teacher, and this film is absolutely perfect for classroom use. At just over 20 minutes, it is exactly the right length to show in an 11th grade class - it holds the students' attention and is short enough to keep them from getting bored. It is also an extremely faithful representation of the story, which helps students visualize and reinforce what they have read. To the teacher who posted earlier, who had to keep warning his students about "being bored for 20 minutes," I'd suggest that he's established a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you think it's boring, and you tell them it's boring, don't be surprised if they act bored.

Beyond the classroom applications, this film is just plain good and will prove a real treat for all lovers of film and/or The Twilight Zone.

When I saw the movie Brazil in 1986, I had a nagging feeling that the ending was familiar. I vaguely recalled seeing a film in a high school cinema appreciation class in 1977 or 1978 with a similar theme. The 24 minute film made such an impression, that 20 years later, after screening the Brazil video for my parents, it still rang a bell. After we discussed it I subsequently checked here to confirm the existence of La Riviere, which was identified in my HS class as Incident at Oxbow Creek. The theme of imagined escape is rather unique in my experience of cinema, and the similarities between La Riviere and the ending of Brazil are such that I wonder if Riviere du Hibou may have influenced Terry Gilliam.

Incident at Owl Creek Bridge is an excellent movie. My Mom saw this movie years ago when it was first shown on t.v. and it left an indelible mark on her. I remember how spellbound us kids were as she told the story to us...My hair stood on end. Mom has been wanting to find it and I just looked here, hoping... and voilà, here it was listed. Although it may be an old movie, the acting and the subject matter would appeal to a broad range of ages. There was so much suspense within us kids as Mom recounted the movie that we were totally silent and still, listening raptly, wide eyed and tense.We felt as though we were right there watching it. Years later, I finally saw it and it was just as my Mom had described.I highly recommend this one and so does my family.

The original writer of the story was a civil war reporter. He covered many such events as outlined in the film. I like this film for many reasons. First, it is a black and white film to capture the feeling of the story. Next, the story was very realistic for the time in which the story takes place. Also, there are very few spoken lines. Finally, the twist at the end is worth the wait. I am not going to spoil the ending, but please be patient to the end. I promise that you will not be disappointed. When I was in college my class studied this film for all of the above points. It is short, only about 30 minutes, but the time is not wasted. It is a moving piece and I recommend it to anyone!