A Bridge Too Far

Rating:
Summary: Little Fluffy Clouds
Review: A great, big, expensively-mounted spectacle from a director who made this kind of grand entertainment his trademark, 'A Bridge too Far' was the last major studio war film until 'Saving Private Ryan'. The tone is very different - with distanced irony we watch as soldiers sacrifice their lives purely because the men in command did not want to admit that they had made a mistake. The battle at Arnhem was Montgomery's last gasp at greatness - an attempt to shorten WW2 by a few months. The massive parachute drop landed directly on a German Panzer brigade, a bridge that had been pooh-poohed by intelligence staff, and things deteriorated from there.

The film itself is only semi-successful. It relies on size to impress, scale of a kind that only a huge amount of proper, 1970's money could buy. Thus, what seems like several thousand soldiers are parachuted behind enemy lines - and there isn't a trace of CGI. These, and other stand-out moments (a German officer dismissing a captured Allied map as a forgery, a soldier sacrificing his life to retrieve a supply-capsule full of regimental caps) work brilliantly, but at the end we are left with the feeling that we didn't really know anybody in the film, and that we should be angrier at the waste.

Part of the reason for this is the star-packed cast, something that was still possible back then. Uneconomical now, this film features Robert Redford, Sean Connery, James Caan, Elliot Gould, Anthony Hopkins and a host of others in minor roles. It doesn't really work - it's distracting, nobody gets more than a few minutes of screen-time, and you can pretty much work out which people are going to be left alive at the end of the film.

Still, this is so close to being a classic it almost hurts, and is the only decent film on this monumental mistake.

Unfortunately, the DVD itself is a disappointment - the picture and sound quality are good enough, but apart from a trailer and a little paper booklet there isn't anything in the way of special bits (although a 'making of' might be pointless, given that much of the film was re-enacted the hard way). Shame.

Rating:
Summary: War is a heroic, senseless thing
Review: After watching A BRIDGE TOO FAR, the only thing a person can think about is the great sacrifice every service man did in WW2 for us all. I don't want to write down a real review of this movie, I'd rather like to point out the lessons this movie gives. Ever since I watched this masterpice, I vividly recall many scenes: The ultimate sacrifice of the British paratrooper when he tries to retrive a container that has just landed on the No Man's Line, beliving there are inside the much needed supplies, only to be killed by a German sniper ( from the SS, I guess) when he is only inches away from the British lines ( there were only useless red berets inside).

I too remember when Max Schell, playing the role of an aristocratic German high ranking officer (a remembrace of THE IRON CROSS), when he offers a piece a chocolate to a British POW:"Take it. It's good chocolate, your planes dropped it over our lines yesterday". Yes, Virginia, there still can be chivalry on the battlefild.

If you have ever known whatever happened to GEN. Sosabowsky (masterly played by Gene Hackman)after the war, you'd understand the psychology behind the role. I cant think of any other actor more suited than Hackman to play him.

The same goes to Liv Ullmann and Sir Lawrenece Olivier. They two depict the spirit of the Dutch people. Liv is is really superb in the role of the gentlewoman who unselfishly lends her home so it can be transformed into a field hospital, open to every wounded man, no matter his uniform or ideology; and she also lets his garden to be transformed into the last home of this fallen heroes.

Definitively, as I told the soldiers under my command ( I myself became a paratrooper, inspired in the heroic deeds which appear in this movie)this is THE war movie (with the possible exception of THE IRON CROSS).

Rating:
Summary: Washed Out
Review: I just popped the dvd into my player and couldn't get past the first twenty minutes either. The print they used is really washed out. And Ryan O Neal is SUCH a bad actor, ugh. I used to love this movie... I'm hoping I can figure out how I managed. It aint no LONGEST DAY.

Rating:
Summary: Father was there!
Review: This film is very meaningful to me, because as the daughter of an 82nd Airborne paratrooper and his English GI Bride wife, my father told me about this firsthand.

I know Ryan O'Neill is not the person I would have chosen as General Gavin, who he did not physically resemble at all. However, Gavin was idolized by his men, he jumped with them and refused to be, as he put it, "an armchair General". Dad told me that they "would have followed Gavin to the gates of hell" with no question. He was a beloved leader.

This is an excellent film and confirms what my father told me.

Jackie

Rating:
Summary: "It's the center of my life."
Review: While the title of my review may be a bit outlandish, I do very much enjoy this film. It is my favorite of all time. I usually watch "Bridge Too Far" two to three times a week whether my wife wants me to or not. I also have an interest in World War II re-enacting. My impression is that of British paratrooper.

This film is quite accurate and follows Cornelius Ryan's text, but there are some minor details that aren't in the book. The character "General Ludwig", I believe was based on the following two German officers who were present at the battle: Lt. Col Harzer of the 9th SS Hohenstaufen Division and Major Gen. Harmel of the 10th SS Frundsberg Division. These were the two armored divisions that were in Arnhem at the time of Market Garden. Likewise, the character "Harry", British second-in-command at the bridge, was based on Major Digby Tatham-Warter, who did in fact carry an umbrella with him into combat. The charater Col. Bobby Stout was not a real person in the 101st Screaming Eagles at Son. Yet, these are minor "creative licensing" details and do not take away from the film.

While some have commented that the film appears disjointed and does not flow, one has to remember this film encompassed a battle that raged from September 17-26 - nine days. In my opinion Joseph E. Levine, producer, Richard Attenborough, director, and William Goldman, the scriptwriter, wanted to capture and emphasize the minor failures that led to the "90 percent success" at Arnhem. I have read many accounts of the battle, not just Ryan's book, and there are many factors that led to Market Garden's ultimate failure. The writer and director don't have the time to show the viewer all the details, so I believe there was an emphasis on those failures that a non-military audience could understand. Such failures included: the failure in the British's trust of Dutch intelligence (which prior to Market Garden had been infiltrated by the Germans), the failure of the radio system, the use of a single-lane highway, the failure to capture the Son bridge in tact which delayed XXX Corps' advance for at least 36 hours, the failure of the 82nd Airborne to immediately capture Nijmegen bridge, the landing zones eight miles from the bridge, the inability of the British Airborne to reach the bridge at full force and the inability to resupply the British Airborne at Arnhem. Based upon the numerous accounts and details of the battle, I believe Attenborough and Levine captured the essence of what Market Garden was about. Montgomery did want a single thrust into Germany in an attempt to shorten the war.

Some have complained about the large cast. I did not have a problem with this because the actual battle had such a true cast of participants. Sean Connery looks like Gen. R.E. Urqhart. Anthony Hopkins looks like Col. John Frost. Liv Ullman looks like Kate ter Horst. Although Ryan O'Neil does overact in his role as James Gavin, as one reviewer mentioned previously Gavin was a young general. I have a special fondness for Hopkins as Frost, but I also enjoyed Edward Fox as General Brian Horrocks. He did a masterful job of capturing the zeal and enthusiasm of Horrocks. I really don't think the large cast takes anything away from the film.

For those who enjoy this film as much as I do, I strongly recommend other accounts of the battle. R.E. Urqhart's "Arnhem" is solid as is John Frost's "One Drop Too Many." I also recommend "The Devil's Birthday" by Geoffrey Powell.

While "Bridge Too Far" may not reach those same standards set by today's World War II movies like "Saving Private Ryan," I think it still captures the essence of what happened during Market Garden.

Rating:
Summary: A Bridge Too Far
Review: A Brilliant DVD could have done with a few more extras such as a documentary etc but the 8 page booklet is a good read and the picture quality of the film on the dvd is good a lot better than the picture quality on the videos. A Worthwhile buy to any war film buff or anybody who likes a good old fashioned war film.

Rating:
Summary: a excellent film, a wasted opportunity on dvd
Review: this movie is excellent and very enjoyable. the action is well done and interesting. the tanks well depicted. interesting characters and events. the movie is very watchable and is a good start to learn about this major battle. the only disapointment is the sound. the dvd speaks of cinema quality sound in your home, sorry not true. the sound overall is poor and no where near the standard that it could have been. when you listen to how they did the sound for das boot and then this film, there really was a chance to make the dvd the version to get. the movie is still very good, but it could have been better.

Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Adaptation of Cornelius Ryan's Book
Review: Cornelius Ryan is a legendary writer of the history of World War II. Sometimes ponderous, this movie faithfully reproduces a battle that is little known to most Americans. Most people lose perspective and have never learned of the major battles between D-Day and V.E. Day. The exception is the Battle of the Bulge. The movie explores the situation on many levels, looking at common soldiers, the division between Montgomery and Patton, the courage of airborne forces, the leadership of many of the same generals that led the D-Day invasion, and the trials of fate. The movie hilights the bond between the British and the Americans. Two countries that have always stepped up to right wrong at great sacrifice. Poignant also is the participation of the Poles and their commitment to liberate Europe even as their own country was trading German oppression with Soviet oppression. The all-star cast is top notch. In the days when epic movies do not keep the attention of viewers, this movie is an exception. The sadness one feels as the Allies are eventually stopped in what has become a futile effort is mitigated by the knowledge that the allies would eventually win.

Rating:
Summary: Very good movie
Review: This movie is an excellent adaption of Cornelius Ryans book by the same name. Ryan's books rely heavily on personal eye witness accounts and interviews, which makes for good movies. The director had an all-star cast for the various characters and most of the acting is decent, with the exception of Ryan O'Neal as General Gavin of the 82nd Airborne (what was the director thinking!). Interesting note, Sean Connery played a Scottish infantry man in Cornelius Ryan's "Longest Day" which was also made into a movie in the 50's. In this film Sean plays a General :) The biggest weakness of the film is the fact that in trying to cover the enormity of the battle the film flow is a bit disjointed, hopping from scene to scene. BTW the reviewer below that stated that the British intelligence assesment could not possible be as bad as shown in the film is dead wrong. British intelligence was extremely arrogant with a "not invented here" attitude which basically ignored all intelligence reports from spies in occupied countries. Poor intelligence technique, a lousy plan, and an overly cautious British advance doomed the Allies for this battle.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, Bad DVD
Review: I couldn't wait to get A Bridge Too Far on DVD, but the quality of the DVD is so low that I couldn't stand to watch more than the first 20 minutes. The sound is extremely poor and video is so much digital noise that it's unwatchable. I would recommend A Bridge Too Far to anyone, but on VHS, not this DVD. I'm going to give the disc away and return to the tape version