The Bridge at Remagen (1969)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

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:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the German Major calls the west side defense post, the phone rings and it is answered by the American Lieutenant. All the German says is "Sgt. Becker?" The American replies "He's dead Major." The American could not have known the rank of the person making the call.

Quotes:

Lt. Phil Hartman: Get the men up. We're moving out.
Sgt. Angelo: Those men are tired. They'll kill us.
Lt. Phil Hartman: They're so happy we didn't find any Germans here, they want us to keep going until we do.

Movie Connections:

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

One of the best war movies from the '60s

This has to be one of the best war movies made in the 1960s, an era when all too often filmmakers went overboard in glorifying war while glossing over its horrors and populating their movies with larger-than-life hero characters who could have come straight out of a boys' comic. This movie doesn't fall into that trap. The characters - both German and American - are believable, and the movie sets and the equipment used (with the glaring exception of Korean War era American tanks) are authentic for the period. With so many WWII Sherman tanks and other vehicles still in museums, private collections and (at least back in the 60s) still in use in large numbers in the armies of several smaller countries, it has always been a puzzle to me as to why so many moviemakers took the simple option and used anachronistic military hardware in WWII movies, presumably assuming that the average moviegoer wouldn't even notice or wouldn't care. The most horrible example of this is the 1965 movie "Battle Of The Bulge". But I digress. Ignoring the tank factor, "The Bridge At Remagen" is a great movie. The best performance among many strong ones in this film has to be that of Ben Gazzara as Sergeant "Angel" Angelo, and the scene in which he kills the German sniper is extremely strong, moving stuff. Highly recommended.