Rating: 
Summary: So close to great.
Review: But no cigar.I could probably forgive the fact this is 3 hours long, but I have a difficult time understanding how you cast Ryan O'Neal as ....wait hahahahahaha...hang on a sec...hahahaha..a 30's Something General. I can beat that though-Gene Hackman as Polish officer with an accent as bad as Ellie May Clampett. Add Eliott Gould to the cast of allegedly serious action characters and you have just flunked Filmaking 101. Oh yeah, Robert Duvall plays a one-eyed German officer. "Vee have vays of making you tawk!" A monstrous casting disaster, and that's too bad because the rest of the cast and the action sequences are outstanding. Without these silly distractions this film is excellent. I just cant deal with the thought of "Oliver" commanding US troops. The Widescreen presentation and 2 Channel Dolby are more than adequate. Crank the stereo for this one...to hell with the neighbors.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Laid Plans.........
Review: This review refers to the MGM DVD edition of "A Bridge Too Far".... In September of 1944, shortly after the success of the Normandy Invasion, allied troops were eager to put an end to WWII. A huge operation was planned called "Operation Market Garden". 35,000 men were sent by land and air to take the vital bridges and stop the Germans cold. They were led by some of the finest officers the American and British forces could offer.It seemed like a plan that couldn't fail. But it did. Due to many unforeseen circumstances, the German's gained the upper hand, and the operation turned disastrous. Many lives were lost in what was probably one of the worst defeats of the war. The film is an excellent retelling of the actual events that occured(based on a book by Cornelius Ryan).It is a riveting story, directed by Richard Attenborough, with a screenplay by William Goldman.The film is overflowing with big names. It stars Sean Connerey, Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Edward Fox, Elliot Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, Maximillan Schell and Liv Ullman! So all these great stars and an excellent war story, why only four stars from me? I had just a couple of little problems with it.
First, is that there are so many big stars, that their screen time was very limited.It was difficult to really get to know the important charceters they played. Laurence Olivier and Liv Ullmann didn't even make it into the story until about the 2 hour mark(the film runs about 3 hours), and Robert Redford about the 2:10 mark. The other thing is that, the story is a very complicated one, and at times(on first viewing) I wasn't sure who was supposed to be where, doing what, and when.But those things aside, it IS a great story and an important event of WWII, that is well worth viewing that 2nd or 3rd time.I would reccommend it to anyone who loves war movies, especially those based on true stories. If this is a film you already know you want and are wondering about the DVD, it is generally a good transfer of this 1977 film by MGM. For the most part it presented a clear and sharp picture in the widescreen format. There were times it seemed a bit grainy but it was nothing to distract from the viewing pleasure. The sound also was good in the Stereo surround but with all the action probably could be great remastered in 5.1 surround.It may be viewed in French(Mono) or with subtitles in English or French. The only extra on the disc itself is the Orginal Theatrical Trailer, but it does come with a very informative booklet that talks about the operation itself, and also the making of the film(probably a good idea to read this first if you've never seen the film). Oh and don't forget to look for John Ratzenberger(Cliff, from "Cheers") in a soldier's uniform this time. You'll see him shortly after Redford makes his first appearance! Thanks and enjoy....Laurie
Rating:
Summary: A Dvd Too Few
Review: When I was ten years of age, my mother's uncle gave me his copy of Cornelius Ryan's A Bridge Too Far book. This was a very special gift from him, since he has been deported to Germany to work for the Reich during WWII and never recovered mentaly from what had happened to him. At the time I got the book, he was living in a small village, some miles west of Arnhem, on the southbank of the Rijn river. Obvious, I was to young to read the book at that time. Over the years my interest in WWII and operation Market Garden started to grow, and every time A Bridge Too Far was broadcast, I watched it. The scenes depicting the drops of the paratroopers and the Waal river assault were the ones mostly remembered. That, and the great musical score by John Addison. I finaly bought the DVD, and watched it a few times since. I must say that with every time I watch it, the movie gets better and better. Especially with the close captions: first those specifying at which location we are. Without these, one could get confused at where the viewer was brought from one scene to another. Secondly, since English is not my native language, I got to understand some of the dialogues more better. (Finaly got to understand what Liv was trying to say in Dutch =) The widescreen option is fantastic. You really get into the battle scenes and to see all the extra imagery... for example when John Frost's batalion is entering Arnhem, you see people riding on bikes in the background, which you can't see in the pan and scan version. But with such a great medium as DVD, and also with the movies 25th anniversary last year, MGM and United Artists missed out on a great chance. It is a shame the only extra is the original theatrical trailer. I really would have liked to see extra behind the scene footage included on a second disc. The Dutch Broadcasting Company (NOS) must have a lot of file footage, I remember the news broadcast often spending time on the filming on the movie, such as the re-enacted droppings. Beside that footage, the studio must have extra footage as well. They could even produce a new documantary on filming this movie, including interviews with the main actors and Sir Richard Attenborough. And how about original footage and notes on the battle as it took place? Despite this miss, it is still a must buy if you're into war and/or classic movies. After 25 years it still holds it's own, and still is a thrill to watch. Buy it, and meanwhile keep hoping for a DVD special edition. I give this DVD 4 stars, but if they had included the extra material, it would easily get 5 stars!
Rating:
Summary: Lots of action, but not much else
Review: A Bridge Too Far is one of those movies that you feel just has to be great. It was directed by Richard Attenborough with a screenplay by William Goldman. It has a superior cast including Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, James Caan, Elliot Gould, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier and Sean Connery. With all this, it should be great, but it isn't. The problem is the epic scale of the movie: it is the story of an Allied operation in 1944 designed to bring the war to a close in one fell swoop. It is a complicated operation with things going on everywhere and the movie follows it all. As a result, the characters themselves are not very important; the action is everything. There are a few memorable performances, in particular by Caan, Gould and Redford, but they are not nearly enough to carry the movie. No one is in much more than 25% of the movie, and many for far less; there is no one for the viewer to really get attached to, which limits the amount of the interest that can be sustained. There is also a lot in this movie that is reminiscent of other World War II movies from the same general era; even the music invokes thoughts of other such movies. So the movie has kind of a been-there-done-that sort of feel. If the movie has too much talent to make it bad, it also doesn't use that talent enough to make it good. If you are big on WWII epics, this may be your cup of tea, but otherwise, this can be skipped without missing anything.
Rating: 
Summary: A Film Worthy Of the Term Epic
Review: Richard Attenborough has directed a film that is as close as a film can come to being the definitive version of a historical event without actually being a documentary. The director took liberties with some characters and he spells those out in the 8-page booklet that is included with the DVD. Some of the scenes were dictated by the lack of authentic WWII equipment, or in the case of the spectacular gliders that were used, limited by the number that were built for the film without the original plans. At $35,000 per glider in 1977, this was substantial money for what was a small portion of this movie of just under 3 hours in length. The notes on historical accuracy should be read, for unlike some new films that change the nationality of key historical figures without any concern for the truth or the memory and credit due to the real persons, Mr. Attenborough takes the time, and is candid as to why the change was made. Robert Redford's character was portrayed as having accomplished a given feat because it was, "good box office". Refreshing honesty and accuracy that present day Hollywood would do well to take note of. This film was made before the invention of special effect technologies, which now make recreating epic conflicts much easier than when this was attempted in 1977. So in this film when they needed 6,000 men in uniform that is how many they had. Live breathing extras, not synthespians from the digital domain. And this is about the only manner by which the film shows its age. The transfer to DVD is not up to what it could and should be. Any film that is still in demand by consumers 25 years after its release deserves better treatment. The transfer looks like film, with all the attendant scratches, dirt, and grain associated with celluloid that is completing its 3rd decade. This film also was made prior to actors being paid such huge sums that ensemble films have now become all but extinct. To put together a cast like the one in this film would require they work for scale with the balance going to recreating the history. These types of lineups just do not happen anymore. "Ocean's 11", put together a smaller ensemble cast, including Elliot Gould who also appears in this film. The actors took a piece of the gross, and made out well, I would hope more would do the same in the future. If only star vehicles are made, when will the following caliber of players appear in one film again; Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliot Gould, Gene Hackman. Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Kruger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neil, Robert Redford, Maximillian Schell, and Liv Ullmann. A great film that is accurate to those that participated, and also honest when it strays from the history it is based upon, and also a jewel from the past, when talented actors participated in a large event, and not a film when they were the focu
Rating:
Summary: A military classic
Review: There are a number of things which make "A Bridge Too Far" a classic. First, look a the cast. There is no way this movie could be filmed today. To go through the cast list is a "who's who" of Hollywood, especially in the 70's. Second, the amount of time and effort which was put into the movie to get it as historically accurate as possible is to be commended. While todays moviemakers have the luxery of building tanks and things of this sorts from the ground up, the movie makers for ABTF did the best with what they had. Does the movei live up to the book, well, yes and no. The basic outline of the movie does follow the real life story of Market Garden, but there wee a number of things changed for one reason or another in the making of the film. All in all, a good film.
Rating:
Summary: "What a cast¿.what a film"
Review: As a boy, after seeing the 'making of' documentary I had to see the film. I'd always liked war films, but this came out on top. Until then, I didn't know anything about Market Garden, but afterwards it sparked a real interest in the subject, resulting in much reading and research, interviewing veterans and many trips to Arnhem. It's a fast paced blockbuster of a film with a great cast and gives a fairly good all round account of the Operation. It sits high up there with 'The Great Escape', 'The Battle of Britain', 'The Longest Day' and all of the other Second World War classics. It's definitely one to own. I must say however, that since the benchmark film 'Saving Private Ryan', and the advances in special effects and cinematography, a film just dedicated to the British and Polish involvement is long overdue. In light of the many books and autobiographies covering the subject, a film made in this style I believe would give the audience an idea as to how bitter the fighting actually was, the complexity of the Operation and the bravery of the Dutch people.
Rating:
Summary: There Are Better War Movies
Review: My problem with this movie is that it tries to do too much. Operation Market Garden was a fatally flawed plan to end World War II by seizing a series of bridges with paratroops and rushing an armored column over them to attack Germany from an exposed flank. In order to depict this series of events, the attacks on the various bridges, the film is necessarily episodic. There is no unifying theme and no central characters, and is thus more of a documentary than a "war movie". Not that it's a bad film: it depicts the events fairly accurately, is well cast and has combat sequences that hold up very well. I'm glad that it is in my DVD library, but, as noted, there are better films.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Cast
Review: Let me start by saying that I consider 3 stars a good movie, just not a very good or great movie. This movie was directed by the fabulous Richard Attenborough and included almost every big star of the day. But with so many stars, their individual charisma did not have the time to shine through, even with the three plus hours of screen time. The story is of operation Market Garden in World War II. English General Montgomery's plan to invade germany in a week and smash their industrial capabilities to bring the war to a halt. The plan was to take control of three bridges over the Rhine river and allow the Allied forces to progress foward. Unfortunately the plan had a lot stacked against it. It involved troops and support twice the size of D-Day (which is not adequately depicted in the movie) to be dropped almost 400 miles behind enemy lines. With not enough planes and too many men to drop at once. In hindsight it was daring and courageous but seemed destined to fail. At every turn things seemed to become more impossible. And this only during the planning stages. Things continued to go wrong during the actual mission. The movie seemed to lack that "something" that makes a great movie but I am not sure what specifically. I would initially blame it on the era it was made but in retrospect the movie "Midway" was near the same time and "A Bridge Too Far" pales in comparison. But there are some standout scenes and performances. Nevertheless, this is a good war movie that shows what men must go through in battle. The blind courage in following orders. The stubborness of not accepting defeat. Give it a look, you may like it more than I. But even if you don't, you will still like it.
Rating:
Summary: Bernard Montgomery, you idiot!!
Review: Simply put, this movie was great and very very accurate. A captain actually was shot in the head, the sgt after getting just as seen in the movie did point a gun at a doctor to get the captain looked at and the captain lived. This was simply a great movie. One historical comment. British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery. You were and still are the most CONCEITED, STUCK UP, and INCOMPETENT commander of all time. You weren't fit to command a platoon. You cost many good soldiers their lifes because you wanted glory. In both the movie and historically "Monty" ignores the warnings of two understrength SS panzer divisions being in the Arnhem region to re-fit. This proved to be a critical blunder.
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