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While Patton was in the south, pushing through France on the backside of the old Maginot line, Montgomery hit upon an idea to seize a series of bridges across the various rivers that made up the geography of the Low Countries, all the way up to Arnhem, one of the northern-most major bridges ... Read review
September 1944. The Battle of Arnhem was one of the most audacious but ultimately ... more
controversial battles of the Second World War. Airborne drops in Holland were to secure important bridges on the route to be taken by ground forces racing to gain foothol...
This massive 1977 adaptation by director Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) of Cornelius Ryan's ... more
novel features an all-star cast in an epic rendering of a daring but ultimately disastrous raid behind enemy lines in Holland during the Second World War. A lengthy and exhaustive look at the mechanics of warfare and the price and futility of war, the film is almost too large for its aims but manages to be both picaresque and affecting, particularly in the performance of James Caan. The impressive cast includes Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde, Sean Connery, and Liv Ullmann among others. While not a classic war film, it nevertheless manages to be a consistently interesting and exciting adventure. --Robert Lane, Amazon.com
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Advantages: Great depiction, realistic in many ways, great subject Disadvantages: Minor flaws with history
* * * * The History * * * *
Operation Market-Garden, begun in September 1944, was an Allied military campaign led by Montgomery, the senior British field commander, in the latter stages of World War II. While the Allies were still in France, a plan had to be formulated for making the major push into German territory, a difficult task, considering the Rhine River (one of the major rivers of the world) provided a natural defensive border with ... ...required taking this into account, and how the forces would cross the river and remain safe while doing so, rather than have bottlenecks that would make the forces easy targets for defending German troops.
While Patton was in the south, pushing through France on the backside of the old Maginot line, Montgomery hit upon an idea to seize a series of bridges across the various rivers that made up the geography of the Low Countries, all ... more
* * * * The History * * * * Operation Market-Garden, begun in September 1944, was an Allied military campaign led by Montgomery, the senior British field commander, in the latter stages of World War II. While the Allies were still in France, a plan had to be formulated for making the major push into German territory, a difficult task, considering the Rhine River (one of the major rivers of the world) provided a natural defensive border with the majority of the German homeland. Planning offensive operations required taking this into account, and how the forces would cross the river and remain safe while doing so, rather than have bottlenecks that would make the forces easy targets for defending German troops.
While Patton was in the south, pushing through France on the backside of the old Maginot line, Montgomery hit upon an idea to seize a series of bridges across the various rivers that made up the geography of the Low Countries, all the way up to Arnhem, one of the northern-most major bridges across the Rhine, a bridge outside of German territory, but a good jumping-off point for invading northern Germany. His plan won approval, and in one of the largest military operations of the war, a major push was developed to secure the bridges. This had the largest airborne component of any battle in the war, as troops were airlifted and dropped into position around each bridge, charged to hold the bridges until ground forces pushed northward linking up logistic and defensive lines toward each spot.
Operation Market-Garden was actually two operations – Operation Market was the airborne component; Operation Garden was the ground component. It was meant to take the Germans by surprise (which it did) and exploit their disorganisation (which was, sadly for the Allies, not as severe as intelligence predicted). The Allies were stopped short of their primary military objectives (securing an 80-mile corridor of bridges) by some 25-30 miles. Hence the name of the film, derived from the book by Cornelius Ryan, ‘A Bridge Too Far’.
* * * * The Film * * * * Cornelius Ryan’s book was adapted for the screen by writer William Goldman and director Richard Attenborough, a leading director of British cinema, noted for such diverse films as Gandhi (for which he won an Oscar), A Chorus Line, Cry Freedom, and Shadowlands. Attenborough was nominated for a BAFTA directing award for ‘A Bridge Too Far’ in 1978. Attenborough is also well-known in front of the camera, too.
Attenborough brought together a monumental cast for this epic film, worthy of Cecil B. DeMille in scope and size. At just under three hours in length, it is as unrelenting as the combat scenes it depicts. While not matching the graphic realism of films such as ‘Saving Private Ryan’, it nonetheless does a good job at combining a look at grand strategies (from formation to failure), tactical maneuvers, and individual combat situations. The high command in Britain, hoping to capitalise on the continuing disorder in Germany arising from their adjustment to fighting a losing war on two fronts (three, in fact, if one includes Italy), saw the opportunity to strike. Through a series of misfires and misunderstandings, they end up fighting not local police forces (the Netherlands had been spared intense battleground warfare for most of the war, and thus was thought to not contain any real combat-strength troops) but crack Panzer division placed there, essentially on a rest stop before being deployed in more critical areas.
The planning and preparations are realistic, from a look at the intelligence gathering and analysis (these were the days before satellite imagery), the gathering together of equipment and personnel, the execution of the operations, and the demoralising realisation that Operation Market-Garden is not going well. One of the most outstanding scenes involves General Stanislaw Sosabowski (played by Gene Hackman) discussing the operation with his superiors – Sosabowski, a general of the Polish forces in exile in England, distrusts the operation, for good reason, but acquiesces to support the plan. His uneasiness is palpable.
The cinematography is terrific, considering it was done largely without ‘trick’ shots – no helicopter shots, no CGI graphics, no slow motion or composite tricks. The airborne drops are breathtaking, giving the thrill and the danger a realistic tone. The film does not depict glider landings (some of the most dangerous types of drops, and presumably because of this danger, omitted from the filming). The desperation of the men who land without their equipment (or miss the airdrops later due to failed communications) is easily felt – the sense of the waste of war is driven home when one soldier sprints to get some desperately needed supplies that have fallen just outside of the secure zone – being shot by a sniper, the sense of futility is underscored by the breeze blowing soldiers’ caps (which was the contents of the supplies for which the soldier paid with his life) drifting away.
The acting is stunning in many instances, but for the most part it is the usual good job rather than outstanding that one might hope for from such an elite group of actors. The music is memorable and appropriate. One drawback is that the editing of the film makes it a bit confusing to keep the various storylines going, particularly if one has studied the sequence of events in World War II history, which, while followed as a pattern, is not adhered to with rigour in the filming.
* * * * DVD Extras * * * * In addition to the feature film, the DVD I have includes the following special pieces:
- 'A Bridge Too Far: Heroes From the Sky' - Original documentary - 'A Distant Battle: Memories of Operation Market Garden' - Stories told by real life soldiers who fought in the battle that inspired the film - 'Richard Attenborough - A Filmmaker Remembers' - Audio Commentary with screenwriter William Goldman and key crew members - Theatrical Trailer - Trivia Track - A Photo Gallery
* * * * The Cast * * * * There were nearly 150 credited actors (a staggering amount for any film, making this a film of epic proportions, literally). Actors from all over Europe, the UK and North America were used, and to make the film seem more real from the human dimension, even if only for a few seconds, many faces stood out in the crowd, the combat scenes, and the aftermath. The following list is a listing of some of the ‘major’ stars in the film; Richard Attenborough had a cameo as a lunatic in the asylum, but he was not credited in the final list.
Dirk Bogarde....Lt. Gen. Frederick 'Boy' Browning James Caan.... SSgt. Eddie Dohun Michael Caine.... Lt. Col. J.O.E. Vandeleur Sean Connery.... Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart Edward Fox.... Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks Elliott Gould.... Col. Robert Stout Gene Hackman.... Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski Anthony Hopkins.... Lt. Col. John Frost Hardy Krüger.... Maj. Gen. Ludwig Ryan O'Neal.... Brig. Gen. James Gavin Laurence Olivier.... Dr. Jan Spaander Robert Redford.... Maj. Julian Cook Maximilian Schell.... Lt. Gen. Wilhelm Bittrich Liv Ullmann.... Kate Ter Horst Denholm Elliott.... RAF meteorologist officer Peter Faber.... Capt. Harry Bestebreurtje Christopher Good.... Maj. Carlyle Frank Grimes.... Maj. Fuller Jeremy Kemp.... RAF briefing officer Wolfgang Preiss.... Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt Nicholas Campbell.... Capt. Glass Paul Copley.... Pvt. Wicks Walter Kohut.... Field Marshal Walther Model Michael Byrne.... Lt. Col. Giles Vandeleur John Ratzenberger.... U.S. lieutenant
* * * * Conclusions * * * * Operation Market-Garden was conceived as a plan to get the troops ‘home for Christmas’, hoping to secure a passage into Germany prior to the winter, and to force them into surrender. As history would have it, there were major battles to fight before the war would finish the following summer. This film captures a significant campaign in good format, showing the operational and human aspects in a high relief.
Advantages: Grim, gritty, well acted and directed, an epic production Disadvantages: maybe overlong for some
...better word. The destruction of Arnhem is heart breaking and entirely convincing, as we see the 2nd Parachute Battalion attempt to hold onto the last bridge, Arnhem Bridge. Civilians are part of the carnage, and no-one is spared, as ruthless in it's depiction of war as the far more saccharine 'Saving Private Ryan'.
The cast list is awesome, and all perform wonders with the exception of a floundering Ryan O'Neal and an outrageously accented Gene ... ...to lead his troops into a no-win dropzone. Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde, Edward Fox, Anthony Hopkins, James Caan, Robert Redford, Elliot Gould, the cast list goes on, the Germans are well represented too with Hardy Kruger and Maximillian Schell amongst others. It makes a refreshing change to see the Germans dealt with sincerely, and appropriately, not as the movies prefer to portray them as crazed gun toting maniacs. ...
dadmancat 18.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arnhem - A Bridge Too Far (DVD)
Advantages: Very realistic. Disadvantages: A bit long.
This epic film is much more than just another war story. Make sure you are sitting comfortably before you watch this film as at 175 minutes it is very long. The film is based on the true story of the Allied forces in World War II trying to capture a number of important river bridges in Holland in order to secure a route for our troops to pursue the fleeing German army. Operation Market Garden was the largest operation since D-day and involved putting ... ...to capture the bridges. This film has a particular interest to me as my uncle was one of the paratroopers who jumped at Arnham. He was shot during the operation and still has a piece of metal in his leg to this day. The film does not glorify war but shows many scenes of death and injury and the sadness and pain that this leads to. This is shown not only affecting the soldiers but also the civilians who lived in the towns and villages of the area ...
daseaford 25.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arnhem - A Bridge Too Far (DVD)
Advantages: Great true to action.... Disadvantages: None.
...member to actually serve at Arnhem during the realbattle was Dirk Bogarde-he was only 24 years old when he was choosen by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to work in intelligence. Veteran war photographer David Douglas Duncan, whose career has taken him the battlefields of World War II to the war zones of countless other countries. He was also impressed by the accuracy of the film.
HINDSIGHT 20/20
Well before the Allied attack was launched, reports ... ...Arnhem. Allied air reconnaissance photograghs confired the Dutch reports. Both Montgomery and Eisenhower,under pressure to bring an early end to the war, Failed to pass this information on to their field commanders.
The Final Toll..
During the 9-day battle, over 17,000 Allied soldiers were killed, wounded or reported missing. Over 13,000 of those were from British air and ground forces, and nearly 4,000 were American troops. The exact German soldiers ...
scottishkat 14.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arnhem - A Bridge Too Far (DVD)
Advantages: Great cast, epic military scenes Disadvantages: Very long, not always compelling
No doubt this film did need to be this long (and at nearly 3 hours it is long) since this military exercise was of huge significance and of huge scale.
When i recently watched this film for a second time i really did start to struggle to keep focussed on the film. There are large chunks of the film which although necessary, really do nothing to grip the viewer and let the mind wonder to other things.
Now the film has some great redeeming points. ... ...ever seen in one film with the likes of Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier and Robert Redford all in great form in their own right.
The plot is based around Operation Market Garden which, during WW2, was the biggest airborne mission ever attempted.
Briefly, the plan was to drop several airborne divisions into different parts of Holland, capture all the bridges along the main highway ...
hooves 25.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arnhem - A Bridge Too Far (DVD)
Advantages: Has got many stars and has great subject. Disadvantages: none.
This film is a great adaptation from Cornelius Ryan best-seller.Its director Richard Attenborough well organize and take wonderful scenes of war and invasion with parachutes.Although he works with too many premium stars,he knows how to distribute roles with justice.When watching it you can't say about one of the actor that he plays badly.All of them give their great act style to the movie.The story is the war of Arnhem.At the nearly end of the war,at ...
Dreamlight 25.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Arnhem - A Bridge Too Far (DVD)
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