A Bridge Too Far (1977)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

Cornelius Ryan (book)
William Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | History | War

Tagline:

Out of the sky comes the screen's most incredible spectacle of men and war!

Plot:

An historic telling of the failed attempt to capture several bridges to Germany in World War II in a campaign called Operation Market-Garden.

Plot Keywords:

Bridge | WWII | Operation Market Garden | Paratrooper | Plan

Awards:

Won 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Dirk Bogarde	...	Lt. Gen. Frederick A.M. Browning
James Caan	...	SSgt. Eddie Dohun
Michael Caine	...	Lt. Col. John O.E. Vandeleur
Sean Connery	...	Maj. Gen. Robert E. Urquhart
Edward Fox	...	Lt. Gen. Brian G. Horrocks
Elliott Gould	...	Col. Robert Stout
Gene Hackman	...	Maj. Gen. Stanislaw F. Sosabowski
Anthony Hopkins	...	Lt. Col. John D. Frost
Hardy Krüger	...	Maj. Gen. Ludwig (as Hardy Kruger)
Ryan O'Neal	...	Brig. Gen. James M. 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

Runtime:

175 min | Finland:158 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | German | Dutch | Polish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 (1977) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Bemmel, Lingewaard, Gelderland, Netherlands

Company:

Joseph E. Levine Productions

Trivia:

In the opening post-invasion scenes, shot in black and white and matted, a column is briefly shown of A27M Cromwell tanks, one the more effective British armoured vehicles of the Second World War. Elements of the Cromwell's design were incorporated within the later A34 Comet, arguably the best British tank of the Second World War. A Bridge Too Far may have been both the cinematic debut and sole appearance of the A27M in a major post-1945 war film production.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When von Rundstedt is deciding where to send his armoured reserves in order to rest them before meeting the expected attack by Patton rather than Montgomery he decides to send them to Arnhem. The map counter which is moved clearly shows "II SS Panzer Div (division)" when the correct name of the unit at Arnhem was the II SS Panzer Corps (consisting of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions). The 2nd SS Panzer Division at that time was fighting on the Eastern Front.

Quotes:

Lt. General Bittrich: Yes, thousands of paratroopers have landed in Nijmegen... right on top of Field Marshall Model
General Ludwig: I'll bet they landed in his soup!
Lt. General Bittrich: You'd like that, wouldn't you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Angel: Life of the Party (#5.5)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

3RD MOVEMENT

Reasonably good history, well acted and produced.

The movie is a cut above most cinematic portrayals of historical events, likely due to it's being based on historian Cornelius Ryan's excellent book, and it's not as overproduced or staged as the film version of another of his books, The Longest Day. The producer admits to crediting one assault to the Americans, when in the event the British were first to attack, but overall the movie relates a good sense of history and geography, and respects the timeline of the actual events. It shows the national and class tensions affecting the Allied leadership, and gives a sense of the character of the participants. The writing gives the plethora of good actors something to work with despite no single leading role (and it's fun to watch so many actors in a single film.) Relevant information is included in the character's dialogue rather than through narration. The editing adds to the flow of events, balancing the suspense borne by the individuals involved with interest and action for the viewer. Add in the Intelligent direction by Richard Attenborough, and it makes this one of my favorite World War Two films.