Difficult to evaluate, but virtues far outweigh defects

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2019)

First - for war film buffs this film is a great treat that bears repeated viewings. There is great attention to detail and period accuracy, all done in rich color and sharp focus. A true fleet of C-47s was assembled to make the spectacular sequence covering the airborne drops. The walking barrage of the Irish Guards is reproduced with terrifying force. The inner city fighting has a closeness and tenseness that proves that effective battle cinema need not be peppered with severed limbs and exposed entrails. The uniforms, rank insignia, and equipment on all sides are done with historical accuracy in mind. The actors have been chosen for their resemblance to the characters they enact. No film about WW-2 was ever done with such attention to accurate detail. And the history itself, the course of the battle, is well represented, at least to those who already understand the course of events.
And that brings us to the second point - the plan for battle itself was so complicated that perhaps director Attenborough could have done a better job laying out the rationale behind the plan, and given more attention to elucidating its individual components - perhaps by onscreen time and place markers, as was done in "The Longest Day". It is easy to get confused, and easier still because of the richness of what is seen on the filmmaker's canvas. There is little time to pause and think about how the various events are connected either in space or in time. For example, although I had a fair understanding of the battle, I had to remind myself which side of the river the Germans were on - and of course it was (mostly) the north side at Nijmegen, and the south side at Arnhem. Indeed, the films greatest expository flaw is in failing to consistently distinguish by cinematic clues the spatial relation of the towns, waterways, and bridges, and the disposition of the attackers and defenders among them. By the time the Poles enter the battle, a viewer without foreknowledge will find himself completely confused about who is where, and what is actually happening.
And that, in my opinion, is a grave defect in this otherwise magnificent film, and one that keeps it out of the very first rank of martial films. Nevertheless, I give this last of the great WW-2 epics a well-earned 8/10 for its ambition and its attention to detail. And of course, with repeated viewings it becomes easier to sort things out.