A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers:

Cornelius Ryan (book)
William Goldman (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | 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:

Burning Tank | Plan Gone Wrong | Exploding Truck | Tank On Fire | Parachuting

Awards:

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

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Aug. 1

5:00 PM

TCM

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

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

New Zealand:PG | Iceland:16 | South Korea:12 | 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:

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.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Col. Robert Stout responds at some point to Col. J.O.E Vandeleur regarding a comment on American ingenuity, Stout says something to the effect of being born in Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia didn't exist under that name until 6 January, 1929, which would have made him a rather young colonel at 15. Prior to 1929, Yugoslavia was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, a name adopted in 1918. Even so, someone born prior to 1929 in those territories would most likely have identified an individual republic as a place of birth.

Quotes:

[Stout and Vanderleur are discussing how to get the Bailey bridge through town]
Lt. Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur: When you refer to Bailey crap I take it you mean that glorious, precision-made, British-built bridge which is the envy of the civilized world?
[looks at the crowd of Dutch civilians]
Lt. Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur: I don't know how you're going to get it through this crowd.
Col. Robert Stout: No sweat. I got a back way staked out that will avoid all this. American ingenuity.
Col. Joe. Vanderleur: Really?
Col. Robert Stout: Actually, I was born in Yugoslavia, but what the hell.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fairly OddParents: A Wish Too Far!/Tiny Timmy! (#1.3)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

3RD MOVEMENT

Under-rated war epic.

Quite a few bad things have been written about A Bridge Too Far. Richard Attenborough's elephantine recreation of the battle for several strategically valuable Dutch bridges in the winter of 1944 is a star-studded, lengthy and exhausting film (and many critics at the time seemed to be of the opinion that it collapsed beneath its own weight). Almost thirty years on, the film is now viewed somewhat more favourably. It may feel 30 minutes too long, and the need for so many stars in so many tiny parts is questionable, but A Bridge Too Far successfully shows a fierce episode of the Second World War in all its chaotic glory. Incredibly, there's no use of the computer generated effects during the big battle scenes that it is relied upon in modern films like Gladiator and Troy. The scenes in this film were shot pretty much as you see them - so the 35,000 parachutists storming Holland, the river crossing led by Robert Redford under intense enemy fire, and other such staggering combat sequences were filmed with thousands of extras and a good deal of meticulous planning and preparation.

The film is based upon Operation Market Garden, an Allied plot hatched towards the end of 1944 with the intention of ending the war in Europe. The concept behind the plan was to drop 35,000 soldiers into Holland approximately 60 miles beyond the German lines, to seize six vital bridges, and to reinforce the paratroopers by sending in thousands of ground troops. However, various mishaps jeopardised the mission and eventually the Allies were cut off and had to withdraw, suffering severe losses.

As stellar casts go, A Bridge Too Far still takes some rivalling. Among the many famous actors involved, these are just a few: Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Ryan O'Neal, Gene Hackman, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins and Elliott Gould. It seems pointless for some of the actors to be cast in these roles - true enough, Connery, Bogarde and Hopkins get decent roles and a fair bit of screen time, but was it really worth paying Redford $2,000,000 for his ten minute heroics? Could a decent actor have not handled the role for a fraction of that amount? Is Gene Hackman really the correct choice for Polish officer Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski? Should a light comic actor like Elliott Gould be doing his cigar-chomping "fun" turn in a movie as serious as this?

Luckily, the film is a big success on other levels. The cinematography is extraordinary; the music is suitably stirring; the potentially confusing story is handled with clarity and true-to-the-facts sensitivity; and amid the chaos a number of very memorable scenes emerge. A Bridge Too Far is a very good war film - maybe the biggest war film ever conceived (The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan included) - and I feel that, although it has a few casting flaws, it is in almost every other department a great, great achievement.