Review of A Bridge Too Far (1977) by Joe H — 23 Nov 2008

Wow, this film left me completely awestruck. I watched much of it with a true sense of wonderment and amazement. It is a monstrous film. I have never seen anything like it before. This may be the greatest WWII film I have ever seen (i.

E. better than Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, both Eastwood pictures, possibly Band of Brothers, and all the other crap that has been released over the years). No film that was an even remote contemporary of this comes close in my opinion (with the exception of Patton, but that is a very different film in that it is not about a war, but about a man).

The technical achievements and the scale are simply astounding. It does what present day films with sophisticated CGI and makes it look grander and better in some instances. It's amazing how they were able to do so much with so little.

There aren't actually that many planes or parachutists, but the use of so many cameras and the editing definitely makes it seems as if it is a massive invading force. I was positively glued to my seat the entire time.

What is even better is that I had no idea what a treat I was in for. It is not often I come across a film that shocks me to such an extent (I was expecting something more like the supremely inferior Battle of the Bulge).

The screenwriter and director do an excellent job of explaining precisely what Operation Market Garden was and then show you how it failed. It is one of the best and most spectacular history lessons I have ever seen.

The cast is spectacular. Every man (and one woman) seems to be made for their role and carries it off wonderfully. This is perhaps the greatest ensemble cast ever assembled in a picture of this caliber and size.

One difference between this picture and most films, especially recent pictures, is that it focuses almost exclusively on the men responsible for the operations (i.e. mostly O-6 and above). It's a supremely informative view of the war from the top.

This was particularly interesting to me as a military member. I have a vague sense of what some of this could have been like or at least of the massive logistical effort put into something like this (OIF is pretty damn impressive itself).

There are some ridiculously funny sequences (i.e. the German with the white flag discussing surrender on the bridge and many others). They are made that much more hilarious by the carnage and death seen just prior.

I can't say enough good things about the picture. For a far better review see Vincent Canby's in the NY Times. I don't agree with everything he says, but he wasn't far off. John Addison's score is spectacular.

The main theme is definitely worthy of being mentioned alongside those from films like Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. I definitely wish this picture would have also been made by David Lean though.

I can't help but wonder what he might have made of it.