Incredible war epic

Rating: 6/10 (30 September 2017)

Richard Attenborough's extensive war epic A Bridge Too Far shows the numerous attempts the Allies made to capture German occupied bridges in the Netherlands in WWII. To go into detail about every plot line would be too extensive, but this is a very heavy, dramatic, tense film with lots of featured battles and missions.
While other war movies were rewarded with Oscar nominations or wins, this film was completely ignored during the awards season. The direction and production values were impeccable, and with an all-star cast to draw audience appeal, I have no idea why the film wasn't nominated for anything. It's an unforgettable film, with Michael Caine, Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde, Maximilian Schell, Gene Hackman, Ryan O'Neal, Liv Ullmann, Denholm Elliott, and Elliott Gould making up the all-star cast.
In particular, Sean Connery's and Robert Redford's performances stand out in my memory. Yes, everyone gives their all in the movie, but the two mentioned actors put a great deal of emotion into scenes where the script didn't give them much to work with. Sean Connery is the man who hears the title line, "I always felt we tried to go a bridge too far," spoken, and his reaction is multi-layered and perfect. Robert Redford is given the line, "Half my men are killed, and you're just gonna stop and drink tea?" which could have sounded corny and awful, but he turns it into something worthy of an Oscar clip.
In lots of war movies, there are a couple of lead characters who survive the entire film, and one person who "buys the farm" and doesn't make it home. A Bridge Too Far isn't the typical war film of earlier decades; it's more similar to Saving Private Ryan or Glory. There are dozens upon dozens of characters, and lots of people die. Be prepared. This is a very tense movie, and sometimes it's difficult to watch. Robert Redford is given a mission to take his men across the water, and the Germans start shooting at them from the bridge they're heading toward. They can't shoot back because they need to use all their strength to keep rowing to safety. Redford and his soldiers start repeating "Hail Mary, full of Grace" over and over, knowing at any second they could be killed mid-prayer. It's very upsetting to watch, but I wanted to describe it so you know what you're getting into. If you like those types of movies, you'll find a gem in A Bridge Too Far.