Rating: 
Summary: A Bridge Too Far- special edition in Japan?
Review: Great movie, everything that has been said about this movie is here so I won't add anything new. Bad dvd, pretty much a vanilla dvd with a small booklet about the operation and film production.However, in Japan, I've seen a special edition 2-disc dvd for this movie in the shops. Has anyone seen it? I've been thinking of buying it but I would prefer an english edition if it comes out in the near future. Could anyone shed some light here...
Rating: 
Summary: About an actual World War II operation
Review:
This film was made in 1977 about an actual srategic operation mounted in Europe in 1944. It was planned by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the British commander who was well-known for his competition with (and dislike of) the American General George S. Patton, who is not represented in the film.
Montgomery is the bloke who got credit for pushing Rommel's Afrika Korps out of the Sahara, and for trying (unsuccessfully) to beat Patton across Sicily. Like many top commanders, he was extremely egotistical, but short on aggression, as Patton demonstrated, and in this case his "Operation Market Garden" turned out to be a hairbrained disaster and blood bath: the Aircraft and gliders missed many of their drop zones and failed to drop vehicles and armament as planned (gliders were a disaster on D-Day, too, and they should have known). Eisenhower, being more politician than general, and trying to placate the Brits, let Monty talk him into the disastrous plan.) In the story, at least, one of the top British commanders refused to accept photographic evidence that German "Tiger" tanks from an SS Panzer division near Ramaden (one of their targets, which was supposed to be a "cakewalk") because he didn't want the operation to be delayed, which resulted in many unnecessary deaths. At the end of the movie, he said, "Well, as you know, I always thought we were trying to go a bridge too far." Hence the title. The man he addressed, played by Connery, should have shot him on the spot. The route chosen for the main body of troops who were to support the
airborne units was too narrow, incapable of carrying the required traffic, and resulted in the operation taking over a week, instead of the planned two days. Then, there were the inadequate boats for crossing the Rhine. The operation was mounted in only seven days, as opposed to several months for D-Day, which accounted, perhaps, for the numerous foul-ups. That, and the unmitigated arrogance of the planners! In short, Monty's plan was hairbrained and poorly thought out, but he claimed afterward that it was "Ninety percent successful." That was Sir Bernard Montgomery! This movie was well-acted with many top name actors, all of whom did justice to their parts: Sean Connery, Dirk Bogarde, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurance Olivier, and Robert Redford, to name only a few. The film itself seemed to be well researched, and quite realistic foe that era. One of the better World War II films, I recommend it for those of that endangered species, the WWII generation--those of us who are left--and will most appreeciate it. Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, bad DVD
Review: The movie itself is well worth seeing. Very entertaining and pretty historically accurate, but...
I bought the DVD at Best Buy and it "froze" early into the movie. I exchanged it at Best Buy for another DVD copy and that one froze in almost the same exact spot! Luckily I got my money back.
I'm not going to bother trying another copy. I don't know if Best Buy just got a bad batch or if this glitch occurs in most of the DVD copies.
Rating: 
Summary: True Heroism- a Tragedy that Market Garden Failed
Review: The praises of this marvelous film have been expressed well by other reviewers, I would just like to make a few points-
(1) I realize that Field Marshal Montgomery comes out looking
bad from this film and his reputation is very poor in the United States, but the plan for Operation Market Garden, coming from such a cautious commander was very bold, and if the war could have been brought to and end in 1944, hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved. Eisenhower and political echelons were aware there were risks, but they were willing to take them in order to try to end the war as soon as possible. The fact is that most commanders have their setbacks and Montgomery was NOT sacked after Market Garden, so those in charge realized that he was not the bumbling fool that many portray him as. However, the question remains why so little time was allotted for the preparations-perhaps the Allies were aware that German defenses were firming up as the Wehrmacht was retreating to the borders of the homeland.
(2) General Browning is portrayed as someone supremely overconfident, yet in reality, it was he who expressed the view that perhaps they were going a "Bridge too Far"
(3) I found the following scenes especially moving-the 504 Parachute Regiment (part of the US 82nd Airborne) crossing the river (scene with Robert Redford) in small boats, many of the troops paddling with their rifles in the face of murderous German fire and yet succeeding to reach the other side, reminiscent of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg; the Polish paratroopers dropping right into a German-controlled area and being killed even before they hit the ground; and, of course,
Lt Col Frost's valiant defense with units of the British First Airborne Division of one end of Arnhem Bridge, and his stubborn pride, even after being captured.
In this troubled time we live in, this film will serve as a reminder of the price that has to be paid from time to time in order for the free world to maintain that freedom.
Rating:
Summary: A Bridge Too Far should've won a few Oscars
Review: A Bridge Too Far is a epic war drama to see. The film tells the story of the illfated raid staged by the Allies in an attempt to seize bridges that connected Holland with the Rhine river that crossed into Germany. This film should have won a few Oscars for Best Cinematography,
Best Costume Design,
Best Art Direction
Best Director: Richard Attenborough
Best Musical Score
and for Best Screenplay.
Even though this film didn't get no Oscars, it's still a great epic movie to watch on a rainy summer day. If you want to see a great epic war movie, give A Bridge Too Far a try.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Picture Quality DVD
Review: I don't think of myself as a "DVD whiner" in that I've never felt cause to complain about the quality of a DVD before. However, I recently purchased "A Bridge Too Far" on DVD and even I noticed the poor quality of the picture. As another viewer noticed there are tiny white scratch blips throughout the movie and the overall picture quality is low- looks very washed-out and aged. Maybe I am naive, but weren't DVD's supposed to give superior picture and sound performance in comparison to VHS? I purchased a VHS version of "A Bridge Too Far" in 1990 and its picture quality is still higher than my DVD. About the only thing the DVD has over my VHS copy is the fact that it is in widescreen- a big plus when watching this epic movie. I know "A Bridge Too Far" received mixed reviews and mediocre box-office when it was released in 1977 and that probably ensures that it will never have a big budget, restored, special features galore DVD. However, one would think a movie with its budget and all-star cast would at least be released in DVD with some sort of upgrade as to its picture quality.
Rating:
Summary: A great film about a little-known but epic battle
Review: A Bridge Too Far is a long movie, so unless you're truly a WWII film enthusiast, I wouldn't recommend it. However, if you're looking for some insight into one of the lesser-known operations of that bloody conflict, then this movie is great. Operation Market Garden was an ambitious plan by the brilliant but often arrogant strategist Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, and unfortunately, it cost the lives of many brave soldiers. Although Monty considered the operation a success, it failed to achieve one of its main objectives (the siege of the bridge at Arnhem in Holland), and the casualty rate was unacceptably high. Many of those killed were members of the British 1st Airborne, who were literally fighting tanks with rifles. Col. Frost (played in this film by Anthony Hopkins) and his men fought bravely, but there was no way in Hell that lightly-armed paratroops were going to defeat an SS Panzer division. It also illustrates the slaughter of Polish troops (the Polish general is played by Gene Hackman), who were delayed in landing because of fog, picked off by enemy troops as they parachuted down, and then ambushed by the Germans in a nighttime river assault trying to come to the aid of General Urquhart (Sean Connery), forcing the General to withdraw. The film is laden with big-name actors, and while it doesn't feature any jazzy modern-day special effects, it focuses on the main issue: the sacrifice of the men who fought in this overly ambitious campaign. The film profiles the mistakes made leading up to the campaign, such as the lack of planning, overlooking of certain obstacles (example: a photo-reconnaissance mission over Holland revealed German tanks, but the Allied high command was so eager to push the campaign forward that they simply ignored them), and the fact that the operation was rushed. The acting is great, but with the cast list that this film has, you wouldn't expect anything less. The film is split up such that no one actor gets the bulk of the attention. It's a great film for history buffs, and reveals the brutal and haunting truth about an operation that Allied forces would like to forget.
Rating:
Summary: They just don't make them like this anymore.
Review: War movies have come and gone by the dozens since this one, but few do what epics as this one did...go all the way. Today's war movies are full of special effects, closeups and camera tricks that please the eye, but none seem to go to the grand scale that movies such as this and The Longest Day did with their thousands of bodies, tanks, trucks, planes, etc. on the screen...at one time! The blood, guts, gore and pyrotechnics may not be as refined as they are now, but that is nowhere as breathtaking as seeing the thousands of parachutes and planes dot the skies as the operation begins to unfold, as previously stated. Today's films will just give you a few at a time, albeit in greater detail, but it's just not the same. Aside from all of that, there are plenty of top-notch actors in this movie, easily recognized as it's still not an "old" film, a very good story (it's history folks!) and several focal points so you're never bored with the same settings. It's a pretty long ride start to finish (3 hours), but was never dull to me. I felt it had a good balance between what went on while on the battlefield, as well as in the command's offices. If you're a WWII history or movie buff, this one can't be missed. If you just like war movies in general, you won't be disappointed...get it!
Rating:
Summary: OVERALL SCORE: (A-)
Review: The movie gives an interesting and comprehensive picture of Operation Market Garden, Montgomery's failed operation to seize a strategic Rhine river crossing in September of 1944. The battle scenes are as good, and the acting is excellent, but the scope of the picture is perhaps too broad. The movie tries to do justice to Cornelius Ryan's book, and in doing so becomes rather confusing, and just one long action sequence by the end. Somewhat lost in all the noise, is the decimation of the British Paratrooper Division who suffer the most astounding casualties, and the heroic last stand at Arnheim bridge by Lt. Col. Frost [Anthony Hopkins]. With an all-star cast starring Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Sean Connery, Maximillian Schell, James Caan, Liv Ullmann, Ryan O'Neil, Robert Redford, Dirk Bogarde, this ensemble is sufficient reason to watch this film [Miss-cast Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neil, the movie would have been significantly better with out their addition to the cast]. OVERALL SCORE: (A-)
PLOT: (B), CHARATERS: (B+), DIALOGUE: (B), SETTING: (B+), ACTION/COMBAT: (A-), ANTAGONISTS: (B+), ROMANCE: (n/a),AGE LEVEL: (PG)
Rating:
Summary: There is a Special Edition!
Review: I managed to pick up a copy of the MGM Special Edition here in Aussie land for 10 bucks (yipee). It features 2 Disks Including;
- Audio Commentary with William Goldman
- Theatrical trailer
- "Heroes from the sky" Documentary
- A Distant Battle: Memories of Operation Market Garden (this is excellent its great to get the low down from veterans who were there)
- Richard Attenborough: A film maker remembers Documentary
- Photo gallery And certainly seems much better than the version offered here at Amazon. It is also produced by MGM so i'd advise anyone looking to pick up this classic movie to look for the MGM Special Edition.
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