A bit long in the tooth, but well worth the lengthy run time....

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2008)

While this film isn't a standard war movie with a definitive start and finish, (it's more a series of small vignettes, with the greater plot as a backdrop) this is quite a satisfying film. The overall plot is one of Stranded British troops holding off German forces at a Bridge along the Arnhem river in Holland (the Netherlands if you prefer). The story is a telling of an actual Allied campaign known as Market Garden, where the Allies would drop thousands of paratroopers behind enemy lines at several key bridges, with the anticipation that reinforces troops would soon come to their aid. It was a total disaster fraught with conflict between English and American commanders, and a total lack of coordination of proper supply. There are so many outstanding performances here, and there are a bevy of iconoclastic actors. Gene Hackman, James Caan, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Elliot Gould, Lawrence Olivier, Robert Redford, Max Schell, Anthony Hopkins, and the list goes on. An eclectic roster of Hollywood's who's who, and they all give sparkling performances. Each is given their own vignette, highlighting the different terrible aspects of the campaign, but not all tying together like other films. There's the slaughter of the Polish paratroops, the overstressed MASH units, the understaffed British troops in Arnhem, etc. Each really highlights a different aspect of the campaign, instead of focusing on one main theme, or highlighting a specific aspect of the campaign, like a specific company, but all in all, the wonderful performances more than make up for this flaw.