One of the most historically accurate movies I've ever seen

Rating: Null/10 (17 December 1999)

This movie is one of my favorites. After reading Corneilus Ryan's book, I realized how accurate this movie actually is. Why the critics didn't like it, I don't know so don't ask. The one complaint that other reviewers had was that it was too long. I can sympathize with them, if not agree with them. I personally think this movie was just right. It captures the scale of a battle that had twice as many casualties as D-Day, a favorite subject for movies.
A Bridge Too Far is wonderfully filmed. The scene where the camera takes on the perspective of a soldier jumping out of his C-47 transport plane is a very impressive shot, as are most of the combat scenes (I won't say which ones in order not to spoil it). The equipment, like the real-life Sherman tanks as opposed to the Korean-war vintage tanks too commonly used in WW2 movies, is as historically accurate as the events. A note on Ryan O'Neal. His character, General James "Jumppin' Jim" Gavin, was the youngest general in WW2 at the age of 38 and looked young at that. He wasn't 51 or 52-years old like he's portrayed in "The Longest Day" as noted by another reviewer.
I personally prefer "A Bridge Too Far" to "The Longest Day". I think "A Bridge Too Far" is so appealing to me because there's been who-knows-how-many movies made about D-Day while this is the only one about "Market-Garden". While it uses the same principles as "The Longest Day", I think it uses those principles better from a historic point of view. If you're seeing this just as an ordinary movie, this might seem like an incredibly long movie and I wouldn't suggest seeing it. However, if you like an historically accurate war movie, this is one of the best.