Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately, it's just not very good.
Review: Probably considered top-notch for its time, A Bridge Too Far most definitely shows its age after twenty-five years. By this, I'm referring mostly to the technical aspects, some of which are still impressive, but the battle scenes lack the gruesome authenticity of more recent war pictures such as Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers, and what graphic violence the movie does present isn't terribly convincing. Worse yet, the skirmishes that are presented are very unconvincingly acted, and as a consequence, much of the death scenes are more melodramatic than realistic (the part where the old lady is shot is unintentionally amusing, and not the slightest bit horrific).The problems go far beyond the action sequences. As most know, the film features a huge cast of stars, including Sean Connery, the excellent Anthony Hopkins (the best actor of this cast), Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Michael Caine, James Caan, and a lot more people than I'd care to waste space mentioning. Just about everyone here, with the possible exception of Hackman, is slumming, obviously just there to pick up paychecks and get their screen time over with. Almost no here makes an impression. They're just on-screen to inform us of the dire situation and occasionally wield a gun and fire it. Worst of all is that Operation Market Garden was a massive event, but the film fails to capture just how epic the invasion was. The battles we witness are small in scale, very disappointing when you consider how many extras were involved in the production. The musical score is horrendous; most of the time its composition consists of a distracting, upbeat tune that doesn't gel with the material it corresponds with. Thus, moments that should be generating suspense almost elicit laughter, since the score almost seems to be inviting parody. Sure, I realize this was the late 70's and all, but Apocalypse Now, made just two years later, was a much more convincing and effective anti-war film, and it wasn't even an accurate depiction of the Vietnam War! True, A Bridge Too Far strives for accuracty, but such an attempt amounts to little if you can't make the audience care.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than it seems, but why make this?
Review: A Bridge Too Far was trashed when it opened in 1977 for reasons of length and appearing old-fashioned in a world that was about to be changed by Star Wars. Looking at this film now, you can see that ABTF isn't a bad film per se, but one that ought never to have been made. Why endure a three hour pummelling for a rout? If you watch this film and know little history, it looks as though the Allies lost WWII. Compared with a modern war film, say Blackhawk Down, which also concerns a battlefield disaster, you can see that ABTF is prissy almost, in its depiction of combat, and so obsessed with "STAR" quality that its distracting. The producer needed Olivier, Redford, and the superfluous Liv Ullman to open this film, otherwise who would come to see it? Still, no one did.
Really, this film has its values in 1950's film production. Richard Attenborough directs with competence, but without verve. Ridley Scott's BD is compelling, involving, and disturbing, much more so given the scope of the action and its consquences (small and not many). Worth seeing if you're a history freak. Worth seeing if you like Anthony Hopkins playing somebody who would refrain from eating the brains out of a living skull. Worth seeing if you like Hardy Kruger in an SS uniform. Worth seeing if you understand that Monty was a poor general and his precense in Allied command arguably delayed the defeat of Germany by six months. Side note: for an accurate account of the 101's involvement, see the Eindhoven segment of "Band of Brothers." Like most wars, A Bridge Too Far is a noble waste. What were they thinking?
Rating:
Summary: Lots of exciting battle scenes, but much of it is muddled.
Review: A Bridge too Far isn't as effective an anti-war film as, say, Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down, but it is an interesting film in its own right. The actual planning and strategizing is compelling, and Richard Attenborough stages a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of exciting action sequences, but in between these moments, the film almost becomes a mess. The cast is too large to keep track of, the dialogue is a little goofy, and the film never does attain the same chilling violence that SPR and BHD displayed. Still, slightly recommended for war film fans.
Rating: 
Summary: 90% Successful
Review: This movie, starring - among others - Sean Connery, Micheal Caine, Elliot Gould, Robert Redford, Dirk Bogarde, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Edward Fox, tells the story of Operation MARKET GARDEN, the largest airborne operation in history. The aim of this operation was to seize a number of bridgeheads across the Rhine, and other rivers, through Holland, so as to allow the Allies to drive into the centre of Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr. Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery, famous as the commander of the British 8th Army in North Africa and Italy, devised the plan to use airborne troops to 'Lay a carpet across which XXX Corps (an armour and infantry column) can pass". The movie provides very accurate depictions of the prelude to the operation, and it's conduct. It clearly shows the failures on the part of Allied commanders and gives graphic vision of the type of street fighting the soldiers of the British 1ST Airborne Division endured in the city of Arnhem. It is in fact the bridge at Arnhem that gives the movie - and the Cornelius Ryan book it is based upon - it's title. For the soldiers of the 1st Airborne (British) - heroism showed no bounds. To have held their location for 9 days against overwhelming odds was nothing short of miraculous. The efforts of the US 82nd and 101st airborne divisions also get the credit they deserve - particularly the daylight crossing of the Rhine by the 82nd Airborne, under the guns of General Wilhelm Bittrichs Panzers. This movie tells the truth about a military disaster of the worst kind. It's author, Montgomery, described the operation as '90% Successful'. Prince Bernard of the Netherlands said "My country can ill-afford another of Montgomery's successes". An outstanding cast give fine performances in what is easily one of the top 5 war movies of all time
Rating:
Summary: Anybody who loved this movie will love the book
Review: The others reviewers have done a fine job in providing facts about Operation Marketgarden and how they pertain to this film so I'll keep my review short and sweet. For the few dollars this DVD will cost you; it's entertainment value is very high, it has a great cast, a great story, it's based on true events, and it's just a great film. I say order a pizza, gather the kids around the family room and prepare to enjoy a great flick!!
Rating:
Summary: Lest We Forget: A Movie To Remember.
Review: The generation that lived through the Second World War is fast disappearing, and with it the memories of events. Based on the book by Cornelius Ryan, 'A Bridge Too Far' is a fine movie that captures one of the assaults of the Allies on the Germans towards the end of the war. Operation Market-Garden, the brain-child of Field-Marshall Montgomery, was a failed assault, and that was probably one of the reasons why this movie was a failure at the box office - the masses prefer stories about success. But as a preservation of what really happened, this movie is a wonderful success. It accurately presents the true story about the failed Allied Offensive with authenticity and realism, unencumbered by soap opera romances which dominate most contemporary war movies (Pearl Harbor comes to mind), nor overly dwelling on the blood and gore (Saving Private Ryan comes to mind). The lengthy battle scenes are realistic, but the fighting and blood has all the hall-marks of reality, rather than the graphic horror and gratuitous gore that marks most contemporary war movies. This is not a movie about soap opera, or horror but about reality. Little wonder that it is generally agreed that the story-line is historically accurate without being significantly coloured by bias, and that many reviewers regard it as the best war movie ever made. The dynamics of Operation Market-Garden are somewhat complex, and those who haven't yet seen the movie would do well to consider doing some research about the strategy involved, because it requires complete attention to keep up with the complexity of the plot. Unlike many modern movies, the focus is not on personal tragedy, trial or triumph - although this is not entirely absent. There are moments of personal tragedy and triumph, revolving around the interaction between generals, and between generals and their men. Featuring a star studded cast including Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford and many more, the acting is superb and convincing. But the focus is not on individual stories as it is on the grand picture, especially on the overall strategic plan and large-scale operations. In short, with an Allied victory almost certain, Field-Marshall Montgomery devised a bold plan to open the way into the heart of Germany and so shorten the war with a decisive death blow to Germany. Operation Market-Garden required a massive 30,000 British, American & Polish paratroopers to seize and hold six Dutch Rhine bridges behind enemy lines in daring daylight, while ground forces would rapidly advance up the main highway to meet them and so punch through German lines. In its execution, however, the plan went horribly wrong: the Allies didn't take seriously Dutch intelligence which informed them that a crack German panzer division was currently in Arnhem on relief (proving that military intelligence is occasionally a true oxymoron), communications failed, one of the bridges was destroyed before it was crossed, and German resistance was often far fiercer than expected. As a result, paratroopers in Arnhem found themselves trapped in a tiny pocket for days on end, and were slowly annihilated as the ground forces were unable to reach them. Numerous epic scenes are burned clearly in my mind: the take-off of hundreds of C-47 Dakota transports and towed gliders; the sight of thousands of paratroopers being dropped over Holland; the fierce bridge assault with German tanks; the bold attempt at a night-time river crossing by boat. But it is also the small touches that made this movie: the careful observations of a Dutch teenager acting as spy for the Dutch resistance; the drip of a soldier's blood on the toy train a child is playing with; a general fighting a lost cause being convinced by his batboy to enjoy 'cup of tea'; a soldier in agony being told that morphine is only for those who are 'really hurt'; the British paratrooper who sacrifices his life to retrieve a container which ironically proves to contain only useless red berets. Although there is plenty of action, the movie is not obsessed with action but has plentiful scenes fostering contemplation and painful reflection, particularly the final poignant scene as a Dutch family abandons their home in the aftermath of battle. But the shining quality of this movie is its sense of authenticity and realism. The weaponry, vehicles, uniforms, foreign languages (with English sub-titles) and characters - all are painfully reproduced and accurate. The movie has benefited greatly from the fact that it was shot on location (the Netherlands, with Deventer filling in for Arnhem) and not in a studio. It must be conceded that it is impossible for a movie to include all the factors that led to the failure of Operation Market-Garden, but what is included seems to be accurate. Thankfully, this is a war movie more about Hitler than Hollywood. There is graphic violence and profanity/blasphemy (I'm perplexed how this movie received only a PG rating, although apparently the MPAA originally gave it an R rating), but never is the violence/language merely gratuitous or entertaining: always we have the idea that this is what it was really like. And it's good to remember what it was really like. The tension is all the more convincing, because this it is a real tension experienced in real life by real men who fought in the Second World War, particularly the desperation of men who helplessly and yet passionately fought in a losing cause in blind obedience to their military leaders. The nine days of September 17-26 are tragic, but they deserve to be remembered as representative of the sacrifices that the Allies had to make for our freedom. The three hours of this movie successfully accomplish the creation of such memories, making it a fine choice to watch on or before Remembrance Day. Lest We Forget.
Rating: 
Summary: History In Action
Review: This video portrays with great precision in an almost acted documentary way the failed attempt in September 1944 to end WWII early based on the plan conceived by Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery of El-Alemain (with Eisenhower's approval).The Allies by this time had advanced deep into Belgium almost to The Dutch border but the advance suddenly slowed due to their out-running lines of supply and their inability to take a servicable port intact nearer their front line.Supplies were still being transported from the won Normandy beachheads a distance of over 500 miles.
The Plan involved dropping British, American and Polish paratroopers at strategic bridges in the Netherlands such as The Son, The Grave, Nijmegen, to be taken by the American 82nd and 101st Airborne and the prize, Arnhem to be taken and held by British paratroops.Once all these bridges were captured and held, The British 1st Army would drive up the road linking them, thus giving the Allies a springboard to the Rhine and Germany.It was code-named "Operation Market Garden", Market being the airborne drop and Garden the drive up the road.That was the theory.
The planners overlooked,by ignoring seemingly on purpose aerial reconnaisance photos which indicated that Dieter's SS Panzers were resting and re-equipping in the Arnhem area. The Allies' communications equipment had not been tested thoroughly enough e.g. "walkie-talkies" worked in open country but what about in built-up areas?Did they have the right sort of crystals fitted?The daily air drops to re-supply lightly armed paratroops could not work if the paras were not in their coded/designated drop zones.
Amazingly after the strategic withdrawal from Arnhem, Montgomery is purported to have said it was "90% successful"!
This film, directed by Richard Attenborough, was made in 1977 with a galaxy of well known stars i.e.:Dirk Bogarde as General Boy Browning,Lawrence Olivier, Liv Uhlman,Ryan O'Neal, James Caan, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman,Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery and Michael Caine.They all play historical figures but for me the most effective was Edward Fox playing General Sir Brian Horrocks.The latter presented a UK TV series on WWII in the 1960's and Fox's mannerisms and speech patterns were unerringly similar.Please bear in mind that since the recent film "The Saving of Private Ryan", special effects in war films have gone up a quantum leap, e.g. the havoc that bullets/bombs/morters etc can wreak on the human body.So you are looking at 1977 special effects.Nevertheless the equipment including the DC3's and filming of the actual paratroopers drop into The Netherlands was most impressive.Sometimes the dialogue is a little stilted to modern tastes but this is or should be speech patterns from 1944.It was General Boy Browning who stated "...but sir, I think we may be going a bridge too far" when he met with the Allied top brass to oversee the plan which he had to execute.This is certainly one of the seminal WWII war films and the only one which concentrates on this failed strategy to liberate the Low Countries.
If you can forget the famous actors and get into their characters and have a sense of modern history, this long film will stimulate you.
Rating:
Summary: 5 Victoria Crosses, 2 Medals of Honor, Countless Stars
Review: As the title indicates, British, Polish and American paratroopers displayed tremendous heroism fighting German paratroopers and Panzer Divisions in an effort to "end the war by Christmas," in 1944. The cast speaks for itself in terms of the big names that came together to honor the sacrifices so eloquently described in Cornelius Ryan's book of the same name. The movie and book do an admirable job of accurately portraying the series of actions from drop zones to bridges in the different division sectors. The movie brings out the zeal of the commanders, vying for resources and trying to "get into the fight" before the war is over. Ego drives LTG Browning to ignore intelligence that confirms known Panzer units in the area of Arnhem. Lack of pre-combat checks sends the British into battle without adequate communications. The informed viewer will pick up on the folly of attacking along a single road without having the flexibility to maneuver mechanized forces along multiple axes of advance. Although the paratroopers represent some of the best fighters in the war, without proper lines of resupply and communication light infantry cannot hold out long against armored forces. The director commendably brings to light many of the problems the 82nd, 101st and British 1st Para had during the battle, as well as the tremendous bravery exhibited. The 82nd's forced daylight river crossing and the British stand at Arnhem symbolize two high points of the battles. This is a classic and should be appreciated by anyone who enjoys war movies or has served in the military. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Many Stars, But No "Star" of the Movie...
Review: ...And that's the way it should be. War is not a movie, in which one person stars, and everyone else is the supporting cast. War is about teamwork, and ABTF showed it. There were plenty of big names in the cast, but no one stood out. It was probably meant to be that way, and that's what made the movie great. Some of the scenes seemed to be reenacted quite faithfully, especially the Arnhem Bridge battle scene in which the German attempt to storm the British position was turned back. The equipment is pretty authentic, although most Shermans were short-barreled, and I can't pick out what type of fighter-bombers the Allies used. I am impressed by how the makers of the film managed to scrape together such a collection. The acting (unlike Saving Private Ryan, for example) is more dramatic than realistic. The blood and gore have been limited (like when the old lady walks out into the street and gets shot, but you don't see any bullet holes in her), but then this movie came out 25 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: How do you review a classic?
Review: One of the premier Paratrooper movies of all time. It does Cornelius Ryan's writing justice-and honors those brave "sky-soldiers" who jumped and died without questions.
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