One of the best historical war movies ever made

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2015)

"A Bridge Too Far" is one of the best war movies ever made. It's based on a 1974 historical novel by Cornelius Ryan who also wrote "The Longest Day" in 1959. Ryan was highly regarded for the detail of research for his books. He strove for accuracy and authenticity. Ryan was born in Dublin in 1920 and became a British war correspondent for The Daily Telegraph in 1941. He went on 14 bombing missions with the U.S. Army Air Forces. On D-Day (June 6, 1944), he flew over the Normandy beaches in a bomber. Then, after returning to England, he went to Normandy on a patrol boat the same day. He later covered Lt. Gen. George Patton's Third Army, and then reported on the war in the Pacific.
Ryan's "The Longest Day" sold millions of copies and was the basis for the 1962 movie by the same name. He wrote the screenplay for that blockbuster film that won two Oscars. In an item in Time Magazine of Dec. 9, 1974, Ryan was quoted: "What I write about is not war but the courage of man." There can be no doubt about that in his two books that were made into two of the best historical war films of all time. Besides the logistics, planning, and background details and facts, Ryan incorporates the characters and personalities of individual men in his stories. He covers Allied and Axis forces alike, from generals to sergeants to privates.
"A Bridge Too Far" is about Operation Market Garden. It has gritty, tough, scenes of men in battle on both sides. Much time is devoted to the fighting of the British 1st Airborne Division in the Battle of Arnhem. The advance airborne battalion under Lt. Col. John D. Frost (played superbly by Anthony Hopkins) captures one end of the Arnhem bridge and then holds out for nine days. All this with ammunition running out and no resupply or reinforcements, while the Germans throw heavy artillery, tanks and mechanized infantry attacks at them. Elsewhere, the rest of the division commanded by Major General Roy Urquhart (played superbly by Sean Connery) is divided, cut off and surrounded by German forces.
Operation Market Garden failed because the Allies did not capture the Rhine bridge at Arnhem and had to retreat. It was planned to spearhead a drive to capture the Ruhr Valley and shut down Germany's war production plants. The American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions did secure river crossings at Eindhoven and Nijmegen, respectively. But the British XXX Corps met with strong German opposition and slowed to a crawl on the ground. It failed to reach the British paratroopers 64 miles away in just two days as planned. So, the whole operation bogged down, with only the ground gained to Nijmegen.
"A Bridge Too Far," covers the entire Operation Market Garden. For the first time, the public got a look at the foibles and errors in planning this major wartime operation. The film shows the questions raised by various commands and officers at the time. The major foul- ups were many, and the outcome was disastrous for the British and Polish paratroopers. Just over 2,000 of the 10,000 plus British and Polish force were able to escape when ordered to retreat. The rest were killed, wounded or captured.
Not a single radio worked for the British Airborne forces, so they couldn't communicate among their units or with headquarters. How could they go into combat without tested and working equipment? The film shows how. The planners put the landing zone for the Brits eight miles from their target bridge. So a surprise strike and quick capture of the bridge wasn't to be. But the Germans would have time to cut off units and surround them. There weren't enough aircraft for all the forces to strike together the first day. So, units were dropped over three days. Again, there was no surprise or catching the Germans off guard. Instead, they had time to surround the British landing zone. The top brass dismissed aerial photography that showed hidden German tanks. The operation leaders didn't believe or trust the underground reports they received. Yet the Dutch had been reliable for four years. And, when unit commanders expressed concerns, the top brass dismissed them. There were many signs of military incompetence at various levels in this film, but mostly at the top.
"A Bridge Too Far" is an independent film made by Joseph Levine and Directed by acclaimed English actor and director, Richard Attenborough. The production team and crew read like a British telephone directory. The cast includes 20 big name American and British actors of the day. Numerous Allied commanders from Market Garden, now retired, served as consultants during the making of the film. Besides Urquhart and Frost, already mentioned, these included Maj. Gen. Brian Horrocks (played superbly by Edward Fox), Brig. Gen. James Gavin (37 years old at the time, and played very well by Ryan O'Neal), and Brigadier Joe Vandeleur (played superbly by Michael Caine).
The movie was filmed at several locations in The Netherlands. There are some small equipment goofs, but the military equipment and armament are very impressive. The special effects are "dynamite." The filming of the C-47 "Dakota" transport planes and the towed gliders is wonderful. The parachute jump is one of the best and most impressive I've seen on film (I am a former paratrooper). And the musical score for the film is excellent.
This movie didn't receive a single Academy Award nomination in 1974. And it was a year that had very few good films. So, Hollywood blew it by ignoring this great movie. The film did win three BAFTA awards with four more nominations. "A Bridge Too Far" will likely be held as one of the great historical war movies of all time.