Critical Essay | Critical Essay by James W. Palmer

Critical Essay by James W. Palmer

SOURCE: Palmer, James W. “From Owl Creek to La Riviere du hibou: The Film Adaptation of Bierce's ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.” Southern Humanities Review 11, no. 4 (fall 1977): 363-71.

In the following essay, Palmer investigates the similarities and differences between “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and its cinematic adaptation, Robert Enrico's La Riviere du hibou.

Robert Enrico's fine film La Riviere du Hibou is based on Ambrose Bierce's short story, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Enrico's adaptation is particularly interesting for two reasons. First, the adaptation follows closely the immediate events of the story, Peyton Farquhar's hanging and his supposed escape. Enrico skillfully captures the story's tension between the real hanging and the subjective imaginings of Farquhar. Secondly, the theme and tone of Bierce's story undergo significant modification in the transition to the screen, primarily because Enrico deletes the expository section of Bierce's story, thereby...
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