Review of A Bridge Too Far (1977) by Joel S — 22 Jun 2007

A Bridge Too Far is a fantastic film. That has an interesting route to being made. Financed by the daring and uncompromising Joseph E. Levine out of his own pocket, it is a true story almost as seemingly impossible to pull off as Operation Market garden is in the film.

Yet Levine recouped his expenditure most notably, to make it an easy sell to distributors by filling the film with the great and the good of acting at the time. There are great performaces from a raft of British and American actors.

Among them Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, James Caan and even Elliot Gould. It is a grandiose and spectacular film in its staging and in scope it is second to none.

In a time before computer special effects it is an awesome achievement in logistics. Accomplished brilliantly by director Richard Attenborough. A Bridge Too far ultimately has its cake and eats it too.

Whereas at times it revels in the eccentric characters and their seemingly jovial and fantastical quirks and actions. In the end it depicts war as a futile and costly effort for all involved as the mistakes are brushed out of site.