Maybe the best war film of all time?

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2008)

Firstly, I should point out that I'm something of a military history nut, and the conflict of the Second World War is one that I'm particularly interested in. I am a fan of most war movies, but this is one that for me stands above most of the other offerings over he years.
To begin with, the objective movie goer, who may have real knowledge of the conflict and specifically "Operation Market Garden" must be drawn to the incredible cast list. I mean, I can't really think of a better virtually all-male list, containing some of the best acting talent from both sides of the Atlantic as well as some solid continental actors. With such a plethora of acting talent available, as well as the then extremely large budget available to him, Dickie Attenborough easily had the resources to make a classic.
Whilst some may find the length of the film to be a bit tiresome, for someone such as myself who can't stand to see details skimped on, this helps to craft the storyline very effectively, moulding the rather hurried military planning with much of the human stories of those involved in making the military decisions not insignificant either. The contrast in characters, from the supremely confident, at times seemingly arrogant General Browning, to the brooding, doubting figure of General Sosabowski, to the fantastic General Horrocks, played wonderfully by Edward Fox. Whilst many, justifiably probably, can claim this as a "top-down" military film, it does not neglect looking at the actual fighting and the lower ranks involved in that. The action scenes, whilst not the crowning achievement of the film, are brutal and realistic, and complement the more actor performance driven parts of the film well.
Many might consider this a purely masculine film, a point which I find hard to contradict, as I don't know many (in fact none) girls who really like this film. That's fair enough, as war films generally have a massively male audience. Also, don't watch this expecting a simple Anzio/60's war film narrative. Rather, it's more for the discerning military buff, which whilst it has holes and inaccuracies in it (the portrayal of Browning, whilst very good, is a bit harsh, and in fact it was doubtful if the Guards armoured division could have broken through to Arnhem, despite what the film implies), generally it is very well made and a throughly good watch. Best war film since "The Longest Day".