The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Roger O. Hirson (story)
Richard Yates (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 October 1969 (Sweden)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

Thus ended the last great German stand in the West.

Plot:

As the Allied armies close in, the Nazis decide to blow up the last Rhine bridge, trapping their own men on the wrong side. But will it happen?

Plot Keywords:

Bridge | Rhine | Army | Nazi | Germany

Cast

George Segal	...	Lt. Phil Hartman
Robert Vaughn	...	Maj. Paul Krüger
Ben Gazzara	...	Sgt. Angelo
Bradford Dillman	...	Maj. Barnes
E.G. Marshall	...	Brig. Gen. Shinner
Peter van Eyck	...	Generaloberst von Brock (as Peter Van Eyck)
Hans Christian Blech	...	Capt. Carl Schmidt
Heinz Reincke	...	Holzgang
Joachim Hansen	...	Capt. Otto Baumann
Sonja Ziemann	...	Greta Holzgang
Anna Gaël	...	French Girl (as Anna Gael)
Vít Olmer	...	Lt. Zimring (as Vit Olmer)
Bo Hopkins	...	Cpl. Grebs
Robert Logan	...	Pvt. Bissell
Matt Clark	...	Cpl. Jellicoe

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | New Zealand:PG | UK:A | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Davle, Czech Republic

Company:

Wolper Pictures

Trivia:

Because of the heavy river traffic of coal barges, tourist boats and other ships, the Germans did not allow United artists and David Wolper to make the movie at Remagen.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The blond SS man wears an arm band with the word "Germania", indicating his regiment. The SS Regiment "Germania" was on the Eastern Front in 1945, not the west.

Quotes:

General Shinner: We're not going to blow that bridge, Barnes, we're going to take it!
Major Barnes: Take it?
General Shinner: As long as it's still standing, we've got a chance. When we get out there, cut every wire and cable. Dent, alert HQ. Ask 'em to give us every available unit on the double.
Col. Dent: Yessir.
Major Barnes: Jesus, sir. I mean, I hate to think of our men in the middle of the bridge when they blow it.
General Shinner: It's a crapshoot, Major. Take that bridge and we shorten the war. We're risking a hundred men, but we may save 10,000 - even 50,000! It's your chance to make history, Major! What you've got to do is throw your men across. Now, Major!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' (2000) (TV)

A forgotten, gritty little gem.

'The Bridge at Remagen' has, for what ever reason, largely been lost or forgotten by today's movie-going public. I think this is a real shame because the sensibilities and attitudes that the film has toward it's own themes fit very much into the modern movie-goer's. Films like 'The Big Red One,' 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'The Thin Red Line,' and a host of other modern war films owe their dark edge to earlier films like 'The Bridge at Remagen.' 'The Bridge at Remagen' is about worn out soldiers. It is a film that doesn't like war, and stews in bitterness. George Segal's world weary eyes are matched only by Robert Vaughn's. Two men, one an American and the other a German who are trying less to kill the others forces than they are trying to just keep the men that they command. Segal has been ordered to capture the town around the bridge. He's told not to worry about the bridge because it is assumed that the Germans will have blown it up themselves by the time he gets there with his troops, or that the Allied air force will bomb it in order to trap and destroy the German 15th Army ... an army on the wrong side of the bridge. Vaughn, excellently playing the conflicted Major Kruger, is ordered to blow up the bridge. The 70,000 troops of the 15th Army and countless civilians are to be sacrificed at the greater expense of protecting Berlin. The General who gives Major Kruger the order to blow up the bridge suggests that holding the bridge for as long as possible so that fleeing troops and civilians can escape might not be a bad idea. This ultimately leads to tragedy for both sides.

The film is highlighted by worn out lower level officers who must command on the front lines, and the incompetent or uncaring officers who outrank them. These lower ranking officers and their men are merely pawns to be pushed beyond the breaking point and destroyed. The lower level officers see letters of condolence that they need to write for the families of the fallen men serving under them. The higher ranking officers see flags on maps. 'The Bridge at Remagen' is deeply cynical and highly embittered. Although it is in my mind superior in every way to similarly themed films like 'Anzio,' It was overshadowed and consumed by films with bigger budgets and star power. Need one look much further than 'A Bridge Too Far'? The two leads, Segal and Vaughn are both tremendous and are playing their parts in top form. Vaughn especially turns in some of the best work of his career.

The only real flaws in 'The Bridge at Remagen' aren't too serious, but they are strong enough to detract overall. The direction does lean toward heavy-handed pedantics and this can become aggravating. Only having a soldier standing in front of the camera and yelling "WAR IS BAD! WAR IS BAD!" over and over again would it have been more 'in your face.' The movie also suffers from some pacing issues, especially early on, although I think it is redeemed by the hard and gritty ending.

'The Bridge at Remagen' -- very much worth taking a look at if you can find it, and almost certainly belongs (with pride) on the DVD shelf of any serious WW2 film fan.