Never Finds its Footing

Rating: 6/10 (11 August 2015)

In the late 1970s Richard Attenborough, well known actors ("The Great Escape") had done some directing and was anxious to make his David Leanesque hagiography of "Gandhi." To further establish himself with the moneymen, he had his arm twisted to show his stuff in "A Bridge Too Far."
"Bridge" itself is a strange amalgam. Before, World War II movies were made to build up and honor the men (and women) who had fought, or died, or come home, after defending the world against Hitler. They were fairly simple. Hitler=bad. Anyone fighting Hitler=good.
But then a generation grew up who knew not Hitler. And they were unwilling to fight the USSR or its proxy Ho Chi Minh, because their ideals were the same. And they undercut war efforts any way they can, even by blatant perjury (cf. John Kerry). To the people who grew up without Hitler rattling his sword in their back yard, war was bad in every circumstance. Especially against Socialist or Communist totalitarian states that were Hitler-like but didn't have funny mustaches.
So along came "A Bridge Too Far" based on a monumental study of the Operation Market-Garden Campaign by Cornelius Ryan ("The Longest Day"). It suited the times well, since it showed a World War II campaign that went woefully wrong through a sheer case of "Murphy's Law." It even suited the times culturally, since the Germans in the film (Hardy Kruger, Walter Kohut, Maximilian Schell) are not really bad guys, they're just by accident of birth playing on the wrong team.
But how to market such a movie? Those who hate war (and America, btw, who came out on top in World War II) don't want to see a war movie anyway; however badly it goes, it won't match their imagination. And those who want to see Hitler kicked in the pants will see the allies kicked in the pants and Hitler triumphant.
The decision: advertise it by stars. Sort of a uniformed "Murder on the Orient Express." Back then, the more stars features were able to shove into little boxes on the posters, the more easily they breathed.
Movies were strange in the 1970s, and no one knew which way they were going to flop. They were still churning out the occasional extravaganza, but little, handmade pictures were also popular. Until "Star Wars" showed the way, they were all groping in the dark. And stars were strange in the 197s, too. Elliot Gould was a major star, and he got chosen (other unlikely headline stars like Alan Arkin and George Segal! did not).
So, Elliot Gould. When Steve McQueen proved too prestigious, they got, of all lousy choices, Robert Redford (for two million--a pretty penny, back then). Ryan O'Neal. And James Caan, another unlikely choice for being hot, thanks to "The Godfather." They went on to sign James Bond himself, Sean Connery. And a series of English actors prestigious (Olivier) and popular (Michael Caine, Edward Fox). They were after bankable names.
The most controversial was Dirk Bogarde, as Gen. Browning. Not that Bogarde, another big name of the era, was controversial. But the film, rather than book, rather hung the whole debacle of "Market Garden" around General Browning's neck like an albatross. Bogarde, who knew Browning in the war, hated his own portrayal and his relations with Attenborough cooled as a result.
Oh, and a very lively Addison score.
Add it all together, and what do you have? Well, the film was important to me. I got my learner's permit that day and drove the family to the theater (all but my mother, who never liked war movies of any kind). So I was impressed by it on the big screen. But seeing it later on TV I thought it relied less on its storytelling ability or its cinematic scope or its acting, than in blowing up things.
Overall, a sloppy mess, sort of like the Operation Market-Garden itself. It throws in a lot of soppy anti-war-clichés, but also a lot of heroics (Robert Redford has the job of leading what has been called one of the bravest action of any war, not just WWII, and for a disgustingly healthy paycheck).
Overall, who wants to see a movie where Hitler wins?