Trivia for
A Bridge Too Far (1977) More at IMDb Pro »

• Originally rated "R" by the MPAA for strong language, it was lowered to "PG" upon appeal.
  
  
• There are 14 Oscar-winners associated with the movie, seven of them actors (though none earned their Academy Awards for this picture).
  
  
• Steve McQueen and Audrey Hepburn were originally cast to play Major Julian Cook and Kate Ter Horst repectively. But they were dropped when Hepburn's asking salary price was too high, and McQueen only wanted to appear in starring roles, not all-star assembled projects.
  
  

• Director Cameo: [Richard Attenborough] One of the lunatics wearing glasses watching the soldiers.
  
  
• According to the DVD version, Gen. R.E. Urquhart had no idea who Sean Connery was or why his daughters were so excited that he had been chosen to play their father in the movie. Richard Attenborough picked Connery because of his strong resemblance to the younger Urqhart.
  
  
• Michael Caine claims that director Richard Attenborough did not tell him that a string of dummy tanks behind the scout car Caine was in would be blown up, so Caine could look realistically startled during the shot.
  
  
• Composer John Addison was a member of XXX Corps during the actual operation.
  
  
• Film critics derided producer Joseph E. Levine for casting a then 36-year-old Ryan O'Neal to play an army general. But in reality, Brig. Gen. James M. Gavin was only 37 years old at the time of the battle. In fact, shortly after this battle, Gavin was promoted to major general and at 37 was the youngest man ever to hold that rank.
  
  
• The officer who is told to "not rock the boat" over the aerial intelligence was actually called Urquhart. His name was changed in the film so that the audience would not confuse him with Connery's character.
  
  
• Over 2.7 million feet of film were shot.
  
  
• The producers were only able to locate four of the many Sherman tanks seen on the screen. The rest were plastic molds set on top of 88" Land Rovers. VW Beetle chassis were used for German Kubelwagens. The tank treads didn't reach the ground, but the film is edited so that this isn't noticeable (except in the section after Elliott Gould cries "Roll the fuckers / Roll 'em, fellas" there are shots of the tanks rolling over the bridge. One tank is seen silhouetted against the background and its tracks are clearly not moving as fast as they should be if the tank were real).
  
  
• Despite the fact that the film was made more than 30 years after the actual battle, a number of its principal characters were able to be employed as military consultants during production. The list of people includes: Brian Horrocks (James Fox), James M. Gavin (Ryan O'Neal), J.O.E. Vandeleur (Michael Caine), John Frost (Anthony Hopkins) and R.E. Urquhart (Sean Connery).
  
  
• During WWII, Dirk Bogarde, who played Lt. Gen. Browning, served in intelligence with the British army. He and eight other intelligence officers were sent to Arnhem by Bernard L. Montgomery during the battle.
  
  
• According to the DVD edition, the real-life Col. John Frost chided Anthony Hopkins during the filming for running from house to house during the battle for Arnhem. According to Hopkins, Frost told him that a British officer would never have run but would have shown disdain for enemy fire by walking from place to place. Hopkins claims he tried but as soon as the firing started, instincts took over and he ran as fast as he could.
  
  
• Originally, Richard Attenborough did not want to direct this picture, as he was keen to make Gandhi (1982) after Young Winston (1972). However, major studios were reluctant to finance the picture, so he sought producer Joseph E. Levine for financing. This film was part of the agreement in exchange for financing "Gandhi".
  
  
• According to the DVD Production Notes, 'James Caan' agreed to do the film because of the scene in which he forces a reticent army surgeon to operate on one of his buddies at gunpoint (Scene 18). He said, "When [Richard Attenborough] came to see me in Los Angeles, he offered me the choice of several roles. I chose the sergeant chiefly for that one scene."
  
  
• Hardy Krüger's character, Gen. Ludwig, is a composite of German division commanders Gen. Harmel and Lt. Col. Harzer.
  
  
• Carlyle, the British officer with the umbrella, who died during the battle, is based on Maj. 'Digby Tatham-Warter', who survived the battle.
  
  
• Special effects supervisor John Richardson was injured driving his BMW and his girlfriend was killed in the accident during production.
  
  
• Numerous officers have the names of crew members. For instance, in one of the shots of the soldiers occupying the house facing the bridge in Arnhem, Sgt. Clegg was a reference to production manager Terence A. Clegg. During the Bailey bridge segment, one Pvt. Gibbs was a reference to editor Antony Gibbs. During (DVD Chapter 26) Frost's Last Stand, Frost calls out on Sgt. Tomblin, a reference to First Assistant Director David Tomblin. Finally, MacDonald, whom agreed to man the wireless as Gen. Urquhart mentioned, was a reference to then camera operator Peter MacDonald.
  
  
• Stuntman Alf Joint was badly injured while filming a stunt falling of a rooftop. He missed the air mattress.
  
  
• The Para playing his flute during a lull was playing the third movement from the Brandenburg Conerto #6 (BWV1051), written by Johann Sebastian Bach.
  
  
• Roger Moore was initially cast in ‘A Bridge Too Far’, but was unable to appear when problems surrounding the Bond franchise meant that The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) was made a year later than originally planned, therefore coinciding with the production dates.
  
  

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