A movie too long, but, at times, an impressive one.

Rating: Null/10 (22 April 2009)

The 60s and 70s yielded quite a few all-star WWII epics and this is one of the better ones. The list of names is a very impressive one, especially when one considers the year in which this was made. The film concerns the disastrous British operation Market Garden, in which troops were to be parachuted into various locales near key bridges and then supported by ground forces to arrive shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, thanks to weather conditions, a few surprises from the enemy and other unwise decisions, the operation was not wholly successful and many lives were lost. A large collection of major actors appear in various parts based on real life participants, frequently using the actual names of the men. It's a long, detailed account of the mission, perhaps a little too involved and chock full for its own good at times, but there are memorable vignettes throughout. Hopkins plays a Lieutenant Colonel trapped with his men in a house that is eventually almost leveled by shellfire. The destruction of the town he's trying to liberate is very vividly depicted. Caan has one of the most unforgettable scenes as a Staff Sergeant determined to keep a promise to Campbell, one of his men. Some of the casting is questionable and will satisfy or disappoint according to taste. Gould, for example, is not believable at all in his role as a Colonel and Redford, though his sequence is decent, comes off as rather ridiculous in his raft-rowing moments. Hackman's entrance into the film is clever and is deftly handled by director Attenborough, but his accent is almost distractingly bad. Bogarde is good as the rather pompous man in charge of everything and Caine and Connery are dependably solid. It's refreshing to know that Ullmann's character, a wife and mother who opens her home to wounded soldiers, was a real life person and not someone just shoehorned into the film to provide a feminine presence. Generally, though some facts and scenarios were altered in order to work in the film, the movie keeps the story true to what happened. One case in which this backfired was the casting of youthful O'Neal as a Brigadier General, who really was the age of his real life counterpart, but who was derided by the public and critics for being all wrong. (Truth is, O'Neal, himself, perhaps, wasn't the right actor for the role, age aside.) Filled with plenty of action, gunplay, bombings, blood and a certain degree of gore, it's not necessarily an uplifting film since it demonstrates the futility that exists in warfare and more so the incredible waste, destruction and death in it.