Burns' first film
Ken Burns made this film from David McCullogh's brilliant book on the difficulties Washington Roebling had building the Brooklyn Bridge. Ken Burns mines the archives to document the construction, but then adds a Part Two that chronicles the reaction of our culture to the fact of the bridge: high art (paintings, poems), popular culture (movies and songs, including Frank Sinatra's "good ol' Brooklyn bridge")and even ads for, among others, Singer sewing machines. The theme is that man can create something wonderful which can stand as a testament to later generations and inspire them to strive toward creating wonderful things, as Burns has in this film.

Fabulous documentary about the most famous bridge in the world
I just finished reading David McCullough's book "The Great Bridge, the Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge" which I bought on Amazon. Then I purchased Ken Burns' DVD. The bridge was built during the most incredible hardships, and was finished in 1883, and it is still in use today. As a native New Yorker, I am so proud of this bridge, I love to just look at it and dream.

The DVD is very informative, John Roebling's vision of a bridge scanning the two cities of New York and Brooklyn. Roebling lost his life due to a stupid mistake, getting his foot caught in a dock when a boat came in. He died of lock jaw, a horrible death from tetanus. His son, Washington Roebling, took over the planning and construction of the bridge.

A must see DVD of the wonderful and spectacular Brooklyn Bridge. I am so happy to own this DVD and will treasure it forever. And so will you!

Great
I watched this a few weeks before a trip to NY and couln't wait to go after watching. It goes over all the interesting details about it being built. Nice documentary.

inspiring documentary
this review is based on my recollection of the original PBS broadcast, which I remember as being in 1983; the 100th anniversary of the opening of the bridge. if this is slightly inaccurate, so be the rest of the review.

as a mid-westerner with no experience in new york, I found the Burn's interpretation of events compelling. i was studying for my engineering degree at the time and had worked in civil projects up to that point. i was stunned to learn that the plans were mostly pictures and contained little written language. i saw for the first time how the suspension structure was actually achieved. and i understood for the first time what a marvel the erection of the bridge represented in its time. i continue to marvel, today, at the functionality of the structure. I have not seen the documentary except for the one time. i do remember the section of interviews with the bridge's contemporary cohabitants. i thought that was as important and revealing as the function of the bridge today. the film has left such an impression on me that I intend to buy a copy and share it with anyone showing the fainest interest.

Good. Dated, but good.
While Ken Burns was getting his feet wet in the documentary film industry, he created this hour-long tidbit on the BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Relying on David McCullough's wonderful book, "THE GREAT BRIDGE" (see my review), Burns deftly takes the viewer down the long arduous road the builders and engineers had to take--over fourteen years--to get the bridge off the drawing board and into the East River.

The names of the protagonists and antagonist who either supported or stole from the coffers of the Brooklyn Bridge are familiar: John Roebling, Washington and Emily Roebling, Henry Cruse Murphy, William Kingsley, Boss Tweed, etc. And it's the story of these men and women--and their respective intrigues--that keep the film moving, as do the photographs of the various stages in the bridge's rise. Burns does a great job in keeping a liveliness to this aspect of the story. Then, in typical late 70s/early 80s fashion, the director turns his camera to the people of his time to get their impressions of the bridge. A common, though somewhat effective, technique to move from the historical elements of the subject, and show its relevance to "today's" world. It is an annoying and dated technique but it didn't bother me as much as it did some other reviewers. This is still a solid documentary--as solid as the bridge itself.

Rocco Dormarunno
Author of The Five Points