Review of A Bridge Too Far (1977) by Steve G — 19 Aug 2008

An incredible ensemble. The 3 hours of detail to the historical Operation: Market-Garden is very commendable. But it inevitably becomes somewhat long-winded. Almost closer to a documentary. Much extraneous machine gun fire for extended periods of time. All the different divisions of the film are nearly impossible to follow. At one point, I realized almost 2 hours had gone by & I wasn't sure if the story had started yet or not. Although perhaps the case can be made that it helps to reinforce the tediousness of the battle & is to the film's advantage.

Some very good writing involved, but not sure if there was enough to tie all the distinct plots together. Ok, that said, there were scenes of great drama (eg. Redford crossing the River, Caan holding up the doctor). So while it was an extravagant effort that did not quite live up to billing, it was certainly not unenjoyable. Yet I'm not sure that the payoff is rewarding enough for the 3 hours of emotional investment. The ending is just a plain downer. Kudos to Attenborough for solid direction. The music was great as well.